Friday night football in the southern Flint Hills will take on a new look for 2010 with two teams added to the eight-man football schedule.

Sedan and West Elk will dip their toe into eight-man waters for the first time on Friday night after having been in the 11-man field since the programs’ inception.

The season openers for both teams will be on the road. The Blue Devils of Sedan will travel to Caldwell while West Elk makes the trek to St. Paul. Kickoff for both games will be at 7 p.m.

Playing in the eight-man circuit will get require some adjustment from the 11-man format, not only in the actual playing style of the game but also in the district playoff system. While most teams in the 11-man format play in four-team districts (with the top two teams advancing to the state playoffs), the eight-man, division I system in Kansas has six-team districts. The final five games of the season constitute the district playoffs.

Sedan and West Elk are in the same district playoff schedule along with South Central Border League foes Central-Burden, Cedar Vale/Dexter, Oxford and Udall. The top two teams in that six-team district playoff will advance to the state playoffs.

Eight-man football has a state-imposed, 45-point mercy rule, whereby a game is declared ended when a 45-point point differential is reached. Continuous running clocks may be allowed for the remainder of the game in both leagues,  or administrations from the two teams agree to it prior to the game. State playoffs games are not included in the 45-point mercy rule.

Also on Friday are several other area teams hitting the gridiron for the first time in 2010. Central-Burden will play at Flinthills while Cedar Vale/Dexter will be the lone home team on Friday  when the Spartans host Pleasanton.

Elk Valley High School will forego the 2010 season after the football program was unable to have enough players to support an eight-man team.

Other South Central Border League teams in action on Friday night include Attica at Oxford and South Haven at Udall.