A NEW FIELD OF VISION

In its 18th season, the Cape Youth Tackle Football League has suddenly gotten more visible.

No, the players are not bigger or wearing brighter uniforms. Instead, the league has moved from the relative seclusion of Arena Park to the high profile spot of the new Osage Community Centre grounds located right off Kingshighway.

On Saturday afternoons in the fall, the league is now in plain view.

League director Mike Dunaway is excited about the new location for the league, now in its 18th season.

Dunaway said dry weather and the Cape County Fair combined to kill the grass at Arena Park.

"The City has been kind enough to let us use the facility," said Dunaway, who hopes the arrangement can be made permanent.

While a healthy stand of grass below the players' feet is nice, Dunaway also likes the field's location, which casually lets the public know there is a new generation of football players on the horizon.

"It's really good as far as visibility," said Dunaway.

While less visible in the past, the program has made its presence felt.

"When Cape plays Jackson this year, probably 70 percent of the players played in this league," said Dunaway.

The league, for boys in 5th, 6th and 7th grade, teaches the fundamentals of the game. It is comprised of six teams (approximately 225 boys from a wide area) and plays a six-game season.

The season concludes Nov. 2 by playing its final games at Houck Stadium.

"The University lets us use the scoreboard and P.A. system," said Dunaway. "It's kind of like our Super Bowl. The kids really love it. And for some, it will be their only opportunity to play on a field like that."