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"From the Hip" is your chance to ask questions of WisSports.net Football Writer and Content Manager Travis Wilson about anything going on in high school football. It could be questions on players, games, storylines, teams, or whatever else is happening around the state. Submit questions for next week's mailbag via Twitter by tweeting @travisWSN with the #FromtheHip hashtag or emailing Travis with "From the Hip" in the subject line.
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In 8-man football, what positions are missing as compared to 11-man football? -- submitted via Twitter by @wcbsas

Travis Wilson:  Unfortunately due to other commitments on gamedays, I haven't been able to take in an 8-man game yet, but hope to soon. From what I understand, the "missing positions" can vary depending on scheme and team, but often on offense there are two fewer offensive linemen and one fewer skill position player. As Abundant Life coach Mark Martinez outlined in the WFCA's Point After II newsletter, the options are endless. You can run five linemen with a quarterback and two running backs for a power set; or you can go with three linemen and five skill position players if you want. It can easily be tailored to fit your personnel and schemes. The WIAA has further information on rules and field dimension differences on the 8-man Jamboree page.

What conference will Hortonville most likely end up in? -- submitted via Twitter by @bmonti52

TW:  We'll find out on Friday when the WIAA Board of Control will vote on a first consideration of a proposal to move Hortonville from the Bay Conference to the FVA, with Menasha moving from the FVA to the Bay. This is just a first consideration, so even if it passes the schools would have 40 days to file an appeal and be heard before a final vote. Even if it fails this time, there could still be a move as part of the large-scale realignment under discussion in northeast Wisconsin that will be worked on over the coming months. My gut feeling is Hortonville will end up in the FVA one way or another.

Where do you see the SWC going? -- submitted via Twitter by @Thunderz

TW:  I think the most likely scenario from Friday's WIAA Board of Control meeting is a slight tweak to the SWC/Coulee crossover arrangement that was voted down in the spring. There is one other proposal that will be presented, which I believe may involved moving West Salem from the Coulee to the MVC. I think the tweaked crossover agreement will have a SWC-Mississippi Valley mandate for Week 2 non-conference games. The MVC objected to the previous arrangement as they had used the Coulee to fill midseason non-conference games in the past and would lose that resource now. No matter what, there are teams and leagues that won't be happy. I was told that of the two plans, one of them is heavily disliked by two conferences while one of them is heavily disliked by just one conference. We'll see how it plays out, and if anyone appeals.

Will it take a full SWC, Capitol, Rock Valley, South Central, and Coulee reshuffling to alleviate the pressures in these areas? -- submitted via Twitter by @dryansparky

TW:  I would very much like to see a larger scale look at these conferences taken by the WIAA, as I think the issues with these leagues is more significant than what is being worked on in the large northeast realignment proposal. However, I'm not sure there has been any momentum to do a large scale change in the south/southwest part of the state. I've seen ideas for restructuring these leagues that would make a lot of sense, and hope it is considered at some point. I do think it would take a big shuffling like that to fully address all the issues facing the schools in those leagues.

How big can the realignment in southeast Wisconsin be if Wisconsin Lutheran is allowed out of the Little Ten? -- submitted via Twitter by @Captain_Joe08

TW:  For those that don't follow me on Twitter (follow me here), I posted last night that I'd gotten word that Wisconsin Lutheran will ask the WIAA to move out of the Wisconsin Little Ten Conference, their home since 1975. I've seen a proposed new conference that incorporates several other outstanding suburban programs, and from what I understand there have already been talks amongst those schools about pursuing a new conference. If Wisco is let out of the Little Ten, we could see a significant restructuring of four or five different leagues in the Milwaukee area, which wouldn't be bad necessarily. In fact, the structure for the rumored new conference of Wisco and other schools I've seen would be very exciting and offer a high level of competition in not only football but all sports.
 

Submit questions for next week's mailbag via Twitter by tweeting @travisWSN with the #FromtheHip hashtag or emailing Travis with "From the Hip" in the subject line.