The inevitable has, in all likelihood, arrived.<\/p>\n
North Tama, the smallest public school in Iowa with 11-player football, is having a meeting tonight about dropping down to 8.<\/p>\n
For 2021-22, North Tama had a BEDS number of 108 students in grades 9-11. Le Mars Gehlen, officially the smallest, had 107. Belle Plaine had 114. The maximum for 8-player is 120. North Tama was also the smallest in 2016<\/a> and 2018<\/a> (the two-year district setup has switched to odd\/even after a COVID one-off).<\/p>\n The vast majority of schools that North Tama has played to the south and east over the past two decades have dropped to 8.<\/p>\n North Tama finished the 2022 season 2-7, with a win over Starmont in the optional ninth game for teams not in the playoffs. Here is a photo gallery from Starmont<\/a>. The Redhawks were winless in district play.<\/p>\n I am not sure when schools have to declare for 8 or 11. Moving up a class has a due date of Dec. 1.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The inevitable has, in all likelihood, arrived. North Tama, the smallest public school in Iowa with 11-player football, is having a meeting tonight about dropping down to 8. For 2021-22, North Tama had a BEDS number of 108 students in … Continue reading