BUTLER TWP — Are you ready for some football?

Nearly 100 Butler area residents are ready every Sunday — but not to sit on the couch and watch. They get on the field each Sunday morning as part of the Alameda Coed Flag Football League.

The league is in its seventh year and has grown from three teams to as many as eight. There are six teams this season.

The schedule runs from September through the league championship game in early December. Butler County Parks and Recreation program director Dave Hutner serves as the head referee for each game.

“Whatever team is on a bye week has to provide someone to officiate with me,” Hutner said. “That helps to cut down on expenses. We're not trying to make money here. We're just trying to break even.

“The objective is to get people of all ages out here for some fun and exercise. Some games are competitive, but it's very sportsmanlike, too. Everybody looks out for each other.”

Games are 7-on-7 and at least two males and two females must be on the field for both teams at all times. An attempt to involve a female in the play must occur at least once every four downs. Touchdowns and PATs are worth additional points if a female scores them.

The playing field at Alameda Park is 70 yards in length.

“The league got started by some of the players themselves,” Hutner said. “A lot of these people play softball together and decided they wanted to have a flag football league here in town. They asked me to get one started.”

Players in the league this year range in age from 16 to 54.

The league is non-contact, but injuries can happen.

“We had three broken bones last year,” said Sherrie Montgomery, who has played for multiple teams since the league's inception. “You can get a little nicked up, but I keep coming back because it's so much fun.”

Montgomery puts up flyers at local softball games each summer to encourage more participation in flag football.

“This league keeps some people off the streets and out of trouble,” she said.

I.C. Lightning has won the league title each of the past six years — never losing a game, in fact — until suffering a 37-18 loss to the Warriors earlier this season.

The Warriors feature a number of former Butler High School football players, including Trevor Leyland, Dan D'amore, Adam Collins and Ryan Gold.

“There's not a whole lot to do in Butler on a Sunday, so we welcomed the chance to do this,” Leyland said. “It's based on fun, but you want to win, too.”

The league proved to be important to the Leyland family for a more serious reason, too.

Leyland's sister, Emily, played for the team last year and was injured in an on-field collision. She suffered concussion-like symptoms and went to see a doctor.

Blood work was done and leukemia was discovered. Emily's brothers, Trevor and Levi, were found to be compatible stem cell donors as well.

“None of us had any idea Emily was sick,” Leyland said. “Had she not gotten hurt, she would have had no cause to see a doctor. Thankfully, her illness was caught early.”

“It's not a stretch to say this league may have saved her life,” Hutner said.

While league rosters of 14 are advised, some teams have a different corps of players from year to year.

I.C. Lightning has kept the same corps — co-captains Ryan Beatty and Ryan Edmiston, Dave Morgan, Bruce Cornibe, Josh Swartzlander and Kaitlin Carson — for a number of years.

“Speed kills and we've got plenty of it ... speed and quickness,” Beatty said. “We carry a lot of players because not everyone can get here from week to week.

“We usually put on a clinic out here,” he added, jokingly. “But the best thing about this league is it keeps everybody active and brings people together.”

Edmiston said the team's familiarity with each other is another key to its success.

“You play with the same people, everybody knows what everyone is going to do,” he said. “Other teams don't have that.”

Football is football — and it's played in all types of weather.

“This field was a quagmire for our championship game last year,” Hutner said, laughing. “The puddles were so big, I considered putting a lifeguard on duty.

“We get athletes from all sports to come play in this league, along with weekend warriors. It's fun, it gets intense, but everyone walks off the field friends. There's never any incidents in the parking lot and I don't allow any swearing because small kids come out to watch.

“It's a true community, family event, one I'm sure is going to grow,” Hutner added.