The state of Utah held its eight-man high school football championships on Saturday. In lieu of the traditional coin toss, the game began with a ceremonial loose ball scrum facilitated by a helicopter.
Yes, it was as insane as it sounds!
Monticello High School enrolls approximately 230 students. Rich High School, located in Randolph, enrolls approximately 200. Total.
Obviously, there are not enough students at either school to field a full 11-man football team with enough depth on both sides of the ball. To counteract the lack of players, Monticello and Rich play with only eight players on the field at any given moment. The rules are similar, but games are typically played on a smaller field (80 yards long, 40 yards wide) and at least five players must be on the line of scrimmage. With fewer lineman and more open space, the pace of play is much faster and more points are scored.
Saturday was not the exception. Rich defeated Monticello 50-14 to clinch the 1A 8-player championship at a snowy Eccles Coliseum on the campus of Southern Utah University.
A winter wonderland at @SUUFB_ for state football championship day in 8-player, 1A, 2A and 3A pic.twitter.com/xaRIvaHJsU
— Brad James (@BradfatherSpeak) November 16, 2024
However, the game itself is not the story. An unusual (and totally awesome) replacement for the coin toss is grabbing the attention of an entire nation for good reason.
Two captains from both teams met at midfield, as per usual. Rich and Monticello’s representatives shook hands and wished each other luck, as per usual. In that moment, an official would typically ask the visiting team to choose between heads or tails. Not this time!
Instead of the standard coin toss, a helicopter flew over the 50-yard-line and dropped a football from the air. Both captains battled for the ball. Whichever team came up with possession got to return the kickoff.
My nephew is playing for the state title today. Instead of a coin toss, they drop the game ball from a helicopter and let the captains fight for it. Bring it to the league @NFL pic.twitter.com/SxywqpRBGS
— Porter Ellett (@porterellett) November 16, 2024
The story behind this strange high school football pregame procedure is currently unknown. How did this come to be?
Regardless of the answer to that question, it was incredible and the NCAA and NFL should take note. The coin toss is out. The helicopter ball drop is in.