A five-man team in a six-man league

Driving to work Friday morning, I was pulled into a story that unfolded on Colorado Public Radio. Five Arickaree High School boys talked about the decision they had to make when the school’s tiny student body did not yield enough boys to field a six-man football team. They decided to stick together and play with Liberty High School — Otis was closer, but they are Arickaree’s arch-rivals.

Dan Meyer told the story chronologically, so we come to learn that this arrangement had a drawback: no homecoming football game for Arickaree High. But the Liberty team decided to play one of their home games on the Arickaree field — “I teach the boys to be selfless,” the coach says. We hear the Arickaree cheers when their lone senior boy breaks for a long touchdown run. We hear the halftime ceremony as he is crowned homecoming king. We hear the public address announcer congratulate the losing visitors, a team of precisely six players who had played every down and now faced the four-hour bus ride home.

Colorado Public Radio produced the story as part of a series on the issues faced by small towns. Homecoming is a rite of passage that many of us experience. Putting it into a rural context is an excellent way to give city-dwellers an appreciation for the difference of rural life.