When Josh Stone saw football numbers in the area dwindling, he was worried about the future of the sport for the Ashton-Franklin Center community.

He decided to help do something about it.

“I wanted to get involved and help get that program built back up where I thought it could be,” he said.

Coaching for the first time last season as Ashton-Franklin Center’s offensive coordinator under veteran coach Dave Smith, the 1997 Oregon High School graduate Stone was able to learn from a coach in Smith who has led 10 different schools, including Dixon for nine seasons.

“Dave mentored me and prepared me to be head coach and taught me some of the stuff that you don’t realize comes along with being the head coach,” Stone said. “He helped me develop a system. He taught me a lot.

“I don’t think I could have done it without him there last year.”

Smith planned to only coach temporarily, helping Stone get in position to be the next head coach and help the program get where it needed to be. Dixon grad Jacob Shafer also joins the staff this season. He played quarterback at Beloit College from 2021-24.

“He gives us a little more energy,” Stone said of Shafer. “It’s nice to have a younger guy on the staff to kind of get the boys ready.”

A-FC is in its fourth season playing 8-man football.

Starting last season with 13 players and losing one its first game, the team was not sure if it would even be able to finish the schedule. Although they finished 0-9, A-FC fought to the end with two of its losses by four points or fewer.

“I was really proud of the kids. They kept their heads high. You didn’t hear anybody complain,” Stone said. “We had kids that were exhausted that stuck it out, fought the whole game through. Even though they’re playing offense, defense and special teams.”

Stone says thankfully things are moving in a positive direction for the team.

“This year thankfully we’re up to 19,” he said. “I’m hoping to get to 20 before the first game.”

Stone said returning players have worked hard in the weight room. The offensive line looks to be a strength, anchored by Lane Messer, Musi Mimini and Colin Stone.

“We’ve got kids that are bigger, faster, stronger this year,” Stone said, “and they want to go out there and prove that they’re better than what they showed on the field last year.”

He said the team is confident and believes it has the potential to compete. The Raiders also have a number of freshmen that hopefully develop into the future.

“We didn’t get the wins, but we had some games that we were in,” he said. “Just build off some of those successes from last year.”

Stone said the team struggled particularly on defense last season, so he hopes to make some adjustments on that side of the ball to help stay in more games.

He said consistency will be the main objective in order to have success this season.

“Eight-man is a big play league,” he said. “If we can limit the big play and we can hit it ourselves, that puts us in a much better position.”