Dryden, Lansing gear up for 8-man football

The high school football season is inching closer and closer to getting underway. This year brings a ton of change to the Section IV landscape, especially in Tompkins County. While Groton and Trumansburg move up from 8-man to 11-man football, two other local teams go the opposite way.

Dryden and Lansing will be competing in the 8-man landscape this year. It will be the Lions’ first-ever endeavor into 8-man football, while the Bobcats are back in the division for the first time since 2021.

The other big storyline for the two rivals is that they have new head coaches who are very familiar faces. For Dryden, Chris Nightingale takes over the program after spending the past few years as the Lions’ defensive coordinator. It’s been a lifelong goal of Nightingale’s to be a head coach—his father was one of his football coaches in high school—and he now gets to live out that dream with a program he’s already well-embedded in.

“It’s been good,” Nightingale said. “I’ve had a long time to watch people do it. I’ve been blessed to watch two really good head coaches over the last 10 years. It’s just a daily process. I just chart it out, see what I got to do today, and we go from there.”

The two head coaches Nightingale worked under at Dryden are Justin Wood—who is now their defensive coordinator—and Ralph Boettger, who is now Lansing’s head coach after three stints leading the Lions. Boettger has thoroughly enjoyed the change of scenery so far.

“This is a special kind of school,” Boettger said. “This is a school where there’s a culture of working together, a culture of discipline. What I’ve noticed right away is they’re respectful. They communicate well. Their social skills are excellent. They just seem to have a culture that they’re all buying into.”

Dryden has had plenty of time to prepare for life in 8-man football, as they knew as far back as January that they wouldn’t have the numbers to field an 11-man team in the fall. The transition goes beyond having three fewer players and 

“I think the biggest challenge right now is just trying to learn the other teams that you’re going to be competing against,” Nightingale said. “When you’re in Section IV Class C over the years, you get really accustomed to what other teams, other coaches are going to do. Now, we’re kind of learning on the fly as we go… [We’re] just trying to learn those other programs, understanding that Moravia has had a hell of a run the last couple years, and just hoping that we can emulate how they’ve made their success here.”

Meanwhile Lansing was set to compete in Class C once again following a successful 2024 campaign. But with 15 players graduating and a few other key players not coming back, the decision was made earlier this month to move to 8-man football. As they continue to piece together a full schedule, the players are taking everything in stride.

“They’re warriors because they know they’re up against it,” Boettger said. “We’re very athletic. We have two or three kids that can really smack. We haven’t had a lot of full speed or full contact. But the thing that I’m noticing is their ability to pick up football. Their football IQ is extremely high… That transition was hard. They didn’t want to go 8-man. But they just want to play football.”

In terms of key returning players, Dryden retains the All-State services of Jay Miles, who is already the school’s all-time leading rusher heading into his senior year. Alongside his brother Melo, they make up an indomitable backfield duo.

“Jay can run through you, run around you. Melo just wants to run through you,” Nightingale said.

As for Lansing, Brandon McMillen is one of their top returning players as a wide receiver and defensive back, while Logan Andress is expected to be a major part of the ground game.

With almost an entirely new starting lineup, the Bobcats are hungry to prove they have what it takes to compete in the 8-man landscape.

“They had a good time last year, but a lot of them didn’t see the field, so they’re trying to make a name for themselves,” Boettger said. “We’ll be very competitive. That’s my hope. And if we stay injury free, then I feel that we can play with anybody, win or lose. I think our kids will be in the right spot at the right time. We’re pretty fearless.”

The Lions will attack this new venture with the same mindset they’ve always had.

“At the end of the day, it’s football,” Nightingale said. “You gotta score points. You gotta tackle, gotta control the football. It’s high school football. Stop the run. Stop giving up big plays. Score points. Take care of the football. Run the clock out. Win football games.”

Lansing begins its season on September 12 at Unatego/Franklin, while Dryden gets underway on September 13 at New York Mills. The highly-anticipated rivalry matchup will be on October 31 at the newly-renovated Sobus Field in Lansing.