A new era of WACO Warrior football kicks off this week in Victor. WACO will embark on their first 8-man football season Thursday, traveling to HLV High School for a non-district football game versus the Warriors.

After finishing last season with a record of 3-6 overall, the WACO school board in November showed unanimous approval to move the Warriors from Class A 11-man football down to 8-man football. WACO head football coach Chad Edeker says the move makes his team more competitive moving forward, and won’t force the team to start freshmen and sophomores in a varsity game before they are ready.

Senior Jackson Roth returns as the starting quarterback for the Warriors this fall and says the team has bought in to the move after spending two days at an 8-man football camp held this summer at Northwest Missouri State University. Roth believes the team will play a cleaner game this season in 8-man football than in recent 11-man seasons.

The HLV Warriors made the move to 8-man football before the 2012 season, amassing a 38-8 record in their first four seasons. The Warriors finished last season with a record of 9-2 overall.

The first season of 8-man football for WACO kicks off at 7 p.m. Thursday at HLV High School in Victor.