SPRINGFIELD'S GUNS SHOT DOWN CAPE'S ENFORCERS IN CHARITY GAME

Cape Girardeau area law enforcement officers tackled the game of football Saturday to raise money for charity.

Twenty-eight officers, calling themselves The Enforcers and wearing red and blue uniforms, squared off against The Guns, a 29-member squad of Springfield, Mo., area law enforcement officers in the contest at Houck Field in Cape Girardeau.

About 200 people, many of them fellow officers and families of officers, attended the game. Organizers estimated the game raised a couple thousand dollars for Caring Communities, an organization involved in various social service projects in the area.

Chrissy Warren, director of Caring Communities, said she wished the game had attracted a larger crowd.

But that didn't bother the officers who played in the game. "This is great," said Cape Girardeau police officer Rob Barker, who played the offensive line and defensive line and helped organize the game.

Nice turf

"This is the best surface I've played on here," said Barker, referring to the new synthetic turf. Barker played on the offensive line at Southeast Missouri State University in the mid-1980s.

Barker said about eight members of the squad played college football. The team included members from the Cape Girardeau Police Department, Cape Girardeau County Sheriff's Department, the Missouri Highway Patrol, federal Drug Enforcement Administration, the federal probation and parole office and the FBI.

Saturday's game marked the fourth year that local law enforcement officers have played a charity football game.

The Enforcers lost the game, 12-6. But the score didn't matter, not to Barker and his teammates, who walked off the field full of smiles and enthusiasm.

"It's a good time. I enjoyed the game," said Cape Girardeau police officer Randy Roddy, who like his fellow officers paid for their own jersey to suit up for the game.

"It's a good time to get to know some of the guys," Roddy said.

Officer Mike Morgan of the county sheriff's department also enjoyed the game. Morgan, who played on the offensive and defensive line, said the team played well considering it had only three weeks to practice.

"Every year it is more fun," said Morgan.