Arcadia/Loup City and H&H both made the trip to Shelby-Rising City High School this past Sunday to square off in the annual FVYFL 8-man Championship game. It was very much a back and forth affair that seemed it would only favor whomever had the ball at triple zeros. Alas, the Coyotes prevailed over the Rebels in the end, securing the win with a final score of 28--18. Congratulations to both of these outstanding teams!
H&H was formed during the 2022-2023 offseason from the combined efforts of both the Hampton and Henderson youth football communities. Each former team had always had a program present since the FVYFL's inception, but dwindling numbers and the recent formation of a Sutton team, left these communities in need of new direction. Henderson had made an appearance in the 8-man championship game as recently as 2020, but fell short of victory. Hampton had always been consistent, but never made the leap into title contention. Enter the H&H Coyotes.
2023 proved that cooperatives have staying power in our league. They definitely help those communities struggling to come up with competitive rosters to field more cohesive teams. Of course, co-ops are not a new concept, as the idea is quite widespread among Nebraska's high schools. However, the unique landscape of youth sports makes them that much more difficult to coordinate and maintain effectively. Rural centered youth activities tend to be run by individual towns or even parent groups as opposed to larger bodies such as public schools. This can make it rather difficult when linking up with neighboring communities and keeping such an arrangement functional over the long term. Especially when many coaches step away after their kids age out. The league is very happy to see not only H&H, but other new co-ops such as Nuckolls County, Bruning-Davenport/Shickley, and Newman Grove/St. Edward come onto the scene lately. We believe that it only creates a more competitive environment and gets more kids playing the sport week in and week out.
What great way to cap off yet another season of 8-man ball in the FVYFL. 11-man still has 2 more weeks to go before their season concludes. Keep up with them on the Schedules & Scores page.