SHAPE junior Chris Carter tries to power through a tackle attempt by Jorge Bernal during an Aug. 27, 2024, practice in Mons, Belgium. (Matt Wagner/Stars and Stripes)

Ethan Simmons experienced DODEA football growing up, watching SHAPE take on the best the European scene has to offer.

Being in the Mons, Belgium, area since he was 2 years old, he wanted to play himself. Yet when he made it to high school in 2021, the Spartans were playing against local competition.

So when DODEA-Europe introduced a new Division II/III conference for this fall, the senior center couldn’t hold back his feelings.

“I’m very excited to be back in DODEA to play for my last year,” Simmons said.

Simmons isn’t the only one associated with SHAPE excited to be back in the DODEA fold for the first time since 2019.

Joining the Spartans in the new conference are AFNORTH, Ansbach, Spangdahlem and the International School of Brussels. The Lions, Cougars and Sentinels jumped up from Division III.

ISB and SHAPE, meanwhile, competed the past three seasons in the BNL League, a U-19 competition filled with club teams. Those teams’ rosters typically were filled with 19-year-olds, while the Spartans and Raiders fielded freshmen as many as five years younger.

Playing against older competition allowed players such as Simmons and starting quarterback Keller Schutt to grow quickly.

At the same time, Schutt expressed relief to be facing high schoolers again.

“We’re going against people our own age finally,” Schutt said. “I was glad to be out there playing football, but those guys, they were much bigger dudes going up to 19.

“It was tough for us because we’re a younger team. We did all right, but now that we’re not playing those older guys anymore, it’s going to be good for injuries and health.”

Age ended up being the final straw for the two Belgian schools.

The BNL considered changing to a U-20 competition. With U-19 already being a stretch, Spartans coach Jason Neago and Raider coach Lee Rosky were concerned.

The two coaches reached out to DODEA European athletic director Kathy Clemmons about returning. Neago said Clemmons was instrumental in getting enough smaller schools on board to create the new conference.

“The U-20 league was not an area where we wanted to go in terms of safety and playing with our players,” Neago said. “The other thing about the club league is they started making super teams.

“It just became a safety issue and a competitive issue where we just felt like we couldn’t compete.”

SHAPE sophomore Liam Kennington juggles a pass during an Aug. 27, 2024, practice in Mons, Belgium. (Matt Wagner/Stars and Stripes)

SHAPE quarterback Keller Schutt throws a pass during an Aug. 27, 2024, football practice in Mons, Belgium. Schutt is one of the few returners for the Spartans heading into the season. (Matt Wagner/Stars and Stripes)

SHAPE junior Chris Carter prepares to catch a pass during a route-running drill at an Aug. 27, 2024, practice in Mons, Belgium. (Matt Wagner/Stars and Stripes)

SHAPE football coach Jason Neago demonstrates how to break out of a cut during a drill at an Aug. 27, 2024, practice in Mons, Belgium. (Matt Wagner/Stars and Stripes)

SHAPE sophomore Michael McGlothlin runs with the football during an Aug. 27, 2024, practice in Mons, Belgium. (Matt Wagner/Stars and Stripes)

The biggest change for AFNORTH, Ansbach and Spangdahlem is the number of players on the field.

Division II/III will be nine-man football, the variety to which both SHAPE and ISB are accustomed. The Lions, Cougars and Sentinels have played six-man football in recent years, so for them, it will crowd the field a bit more.

For those used to 11-man football, however, nine-man opens the field more. It appears to have benefited players such as Schutt, who went 43-of-137 passing for 671 yards and seven touchdowns and added 280 yards and eight scores on the ground in 2023; junior Chris Carter at running back and receiver; freshman Trenten Meyer in the slot and at running back; sophomore Michael McGlothlin in the slot; and Liam Kennington in the backfield.

“That can hurt you on defense with so much more room the offense to run, but that goes both ways,” Schutt said. “Offensively, now we have that extra space as well.”

Still, the familiarity isn’t much of an advantage for the Spartans.

SHAPE enters the season with seven returners – just three of whom are seniors – on a roster of 25. Many of those newcomers are international students who’ve never played the game of football before, Neago said.

So, a lot of time is spent teaching the basics of the game.

Because of this, the Spartans coach anticipates avoiding the blowouts rife in the BNL despite the enrollment differences between the schools.

“I think there’s going to be a lot of even matches,” Neago said. “I’m excited to be back in the DODEA league and to give our players that experience.”