IRISH VALLEY - Lydia Deptula squared her shoulders and drove into a ballcarrier, joining a gang tackle that saw her crash onto the snowy, frozen field outside Clark's Grove United Methodist Church on Sunday.
She dusted off her shirt and straightened the eyeglasses jostled loose on her face. Then she thought better of it.
"I'm not smashing these," she said as she ran to her mother, Becky, and handed them over. "I just got them."
Lydia was among a dozen people who gathered at the field about 2 p.m. for an annual game of backyard football on the afternoon of the Super Bowl. The players ranged in ages between 9 and 17, plus two dads who served as designated quarterbacks. Instead of chewing up turf, the crew tamped down a half-foot of snow, leaving behind thousands of footprints between makeshift sidelines.
Ted Deptula, Lydia's father, organized the game. His youngest son, Sam, 16, also played. Ted has put the game together the past 17 years after launching a youth group at the church. Whoever shows up plays - church member or not - and in almost any weather. They've played in rain and mud. Two years ago the game went on with the field likened to a sheet of ice. On Sunday, of course, there was snow.
"Instead of sitting around all day and waiting for the Super Bowl, we get the kids active," Ted said.
They were active enough to start peeling off layers of winter clothing as the game wore on, ditching sweatshirts and snow pants while working up a sweat in the freezing weather. The snow boots, though, stayed on.
"You don't see me falling down," Ted said, looking downward, "but I didn't run much either."
Pastor Billy Frick rested beneath a pine tree while he watched from a safe distance behind a sideline. A knee injury kept him out of the game, on his wife's order. He moonlights as a lacrosse coach at Susquehanna University and as a referee, and donned the black-and-white stripes for Sunday's game.
"These are my warmest clothes," he deadpanned.
The church field along Irish Valley Road had long been home to AYSO youth soccer matches. Those of a certain age will remember spending Saturdays on the grass, and perhaps stomping around in the shallow water of Bennys Run. Before that, Frick said it served as a baseball field.
"A lot of our older members remind me about what used to take place at the ball field," Frick said.
Moments later a defensive play on a potential touchdown pass drew Frick's attention. He blew his referee's whistle and tossed a yellow penalty flag that fell into the snow at his feet. The gag drew laughs from the players.
"I'm not picking this one up like they did against Dallas," he joked, referring to a controversial play in a pivotal NFL playoff game last month.
Sunday's game played on, the forecasted snowfall held off for the most part, and another edition of backyard football was in the books at Clark's Grove church. Same place, same time next year.