The football landscape within the OSAA will likely look much more different than expected come this fall.

The OSAA’s ad-hoc football committee has spent the past two-plus months taking a closer look at the issues that face the sport in the state, such as declining participation and player safety. Over the course of its five meetings, the committee has developed a set of recommendations that will likely be presented to the Executive Board in February that would be implemented for the 2018 season.

The most notable recommendation is giving schools that meet specific criteria the option to play down a classification to help level the playing field. The specific criterion outlined by the committee is for schools with a four-year Colley win percentage of 22 percent or lower or has played 12 and fewer in-classification games during the last four years, or any school with a two-year Colley win percentage of 22 percent or lower.

According to the committee’s early research, 48 schools across the state meet that criteria, which include local schools McLoughlin, Riverside and Pilot Rock.

Riverside, which has compiled a 18-78 record at the Class 3A level since 2007, has made it clear they are very interested in exercising their option to drop from Class 3A to Class 2A. The Pirates have had declining numbers in recent years and formed a co-op with Ione in 2017. According to the most recent recommendation from the Jan. 9 meeting, Riverside would drop into a district with Heppner, Stanfield, Weston-McEwen, Culver and Grant Union.

“My administration and I are in support of playing in the 2A (classification),” Riverside coach David Boor said in an email. “For us, it is about giving our students a safe and competitive opportunity. This decision is about doing what is best for our student-athletes and every school needs to put their kids in the best position for them to have a great experience academically and athletically.

“For us at this time, 2A football would be the best fit for our student-athletes.”

Two more notable recommendations are intended for the smaller schools. The first is the creation of enrollment zone for schools with adjusted enrollments of 89 to 120 that will give the schools the option to play 11-man or 8-man football to best fit their capabilities. The second one is a pilot program for 6-man football on a two-year trial. Any school with an adjusted enrollment of 89 or fewer would be eligible for the program, and as of now schools including Echo, Joseph, Monument, Dayville, South Wasco and Prairie City among others have expressed interest.

Six-man football is played on a smaller field — 80 yards long, 40 yards wide — and is widely used by smaller schools across the state of Texas, as well as other western states such as Wyoming, Montana, and Nebraska. Echo has had some success over the past two seasons at the 8-man level, but with only eight returning players slated to return from the 2017 team they may not have the necessary bodies to compete. Echo coach Rick Thew could not be reached for comment.

The committee’s next meeting Jan. 31 at 9 a.m. at OSAA office in Wilsonville and it is open to the public.