FLORENCE, Wis. — The Florence County School Board voted unanimously at Monday’s board meeting to transition to eight-player football starting next season.

Declining numbers and injuries were the main factors in the decision, athletic director Kris Johnson said.

Johnson said coaches were supportive of the move.

The Bobcats junior varsity team played eight-player all season while the varsity remained 11-player.

Florence canceled the final three games of the year because of a lack of players resulting from a rash of injuries.

The move to eight-player is at least a two-year commitment for the district and means Florence will have to find a nine-game schedule themselves for next season, a tough task given that most schools have next season’s schedule filled by now. But the Bobcats already have a commitment from four teams and two of those will be home games.

The decision to move to eight-player can be revisited for the 2020 season. If numbers are up, Johnson said, Florence can apply to return to 11-player football. Johnson said he is hopeful that will happen.