ENFORCERS VS. GUNS: CHARITY FOOTBALL GAME PITS SPRINGFIELD COPS AGAINST LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT

Men who typically team up to fight crime are drawing battle lines within their ranks and competing against each other.

About 65 men representing law enforcement agencies in Southeast Missouri and Springfield will descend Saturday on Houck Field. The event isn't some vast police operation. It's a football game to benefit the Easter Seal Society.

The local team, the Enforcers, boasts players from several law enforcement agencies: the Cape Girardeau County Sheriff's Department, Cape Girardeau County prosecuting attorney's office, the Cape Girardeau and Jackson Police Departments, the Missouri Department of Conservation, the Missouri Highway Patrol and the U.S. attorney's office.

The visiting team, the Guns, consists of full-time officers from the Springfield Police Department.

Both teams will don pads and helmets and play football observing high school rules with a few exceptions: drives will start at least from the 30 yard line and there won't be any kick returns.

That's to lessen the risk of injury, said Bud Proffer, an event organizer and captain with the Cape Girardeau County Sheriff's Department. "We don't want anyone missing work because of injuries," he said.

Detective Richard Rushin of the Jackson Police Department said the game was organized to benefit a worthy charity. "And we hope this is the first of an annual event," he said.

And although the game benefits a charity, the Enforcers will play to win when the game ball is delivered in the stadium by an eight-man team of parachutists from the SEMO Skydiving Club, based at the Mississippi County Airport near Charleston.

The Enforcers face a daunting challenge. The Springfield Police Department has had an organized football team since 1992.

"We play the Springfield Fire Department every year for charity, and we call it the Guns vs. the Hoses," said Kevin Shipley, a Springfield police officer. "But we really want to start something statewide with other police departments, maybe have four or five games a year."

Shipley said the game in Cape Girardeau will be the first time the Guns play a competitor other than the fire department. He said the Enforcers will be "surprised at the level of football" his team plays.

But the Enforcers, under the tutelage of the Southeast Missouri State University coaching staff, promise to field a competitive team.

John Mumford, the university's head football coach, also is head coach of the Enforcers. He said his team has the enthusiasm and desire to win and shouldn't be underestimated.

"Their enthusiasm is really infectious," he said. "I would like to see some of them back here in the fall."

Both teams will have had at least three weeks of practice before game day. And both teams have promised a serious football game.

Tickets are $5 for adults, $3 for children. Children under 5 will be admitted free. In addition to proceeds from the ticket sales going to Easter Seals, T-shirt sales also will benefit the charity.

The game begins at 4:30 p.m. Saturday.