More than 200 area youngsters in grades 3-6 will strap on shoulder pads, don their helmets and get reacquainted with football at its most elementary levels.
The Allen County Youth Tackle Football League gets underway with its annual football jamboree Saturday at Riverside Park.
There, every player from each of the 12 teams — seven in grades 5-6 and five in grades 3-4 — will get to scrimmage against each of the other teams.
The scrimmages kick off at 9 a.m., although the fun begins a bit earlier.
Volunteers will sell biscuits and gravy starting at about 8:30 at the park as a fundraiser to benefit the league. Meanwhile, players will be weighed in and set up for team photos prior to the first game.
The games will run until about 3:15.
Dan Oswald of Sonic Drive-In has donated hot dogs and hamburgers for lunches, which will be served starting at about 10:30 a.m. Meals will be provided free of charge to every player and coach involved. Proceeds from the lunch sales also will go back into helping pay league expenses, said Josh Oberley, event organizer.
“We really just want to see the stands filled,” Oberley said. “They’re going to see a lot of kids play a lot of football that day.”
The jamboree host rotates between communities that have teams in both age levels — Iola, Humboldt, Mound City and Garnett. “It’s up to us to take advantage of this and get a big turnout,” Oberley said.
Admission to the jamboree is free of charge. Additional volunteers to help serve meals or oversee Saturday’s activities are welcome. Call Oberley at 365-9742 for more information.
The league’s regular season kicks off Tuesday evening, with at least one game being hosted by Iola every Tuesday after that through Oct. 22, with one exception (Sept. 24).
A special evening of activities will be at Riverside Park on Oct. 8, dubbed as “Pink Night.” Duane’s Flowers will provide pink carnations for players to hand out that night to anybody they know who has been affected by cancer — relatives, neighbors or other loved ones. In addition, the Allen County Youth League cheerleaders will give a special presentation.
The third- and fourth-grade leagues run through Oct. 8. The fifth- and sixth-grade leagues run through Oct. 22.
Youth league plans weekend jamboree
