An enjoyable summer Saturday afternoon in the park.

People walk their dogs. A couple hits a tennis ball back and forth. Kids play pick-up basketball. Boys kick a soccer ball into a net. Birds fly overhead through white clouds in a crystal blue sky.

What else could someone want to do in the park?

How about, ‘Are you ready for some football?’

The Carbon County Savages, a semi-pro football team playing their charter season as a member of the Great Eastern Football Association, battled the Monmouth NJ Rage Saturday in eight-man full contact football at Recreational Park in Jim Thorpe.

Team owners, Christopher Styer of Palmerton and Kevin Kline of Stroudsburg, put together a 30-man roster along with five coaches. The process of getting their fledgling team their home opening kickoff had been anything but easy.

Their very first game in March was a victory, but the coronavirus threw a penalty flag against the league until Saturday. Then Styer and Kline were called for illegal procedure, as their original home field plans in Palmerton or Lehighton were scrapped.

Styer, who manages LKQ Salvage in Parryville, relentlessly pursued a home for his team. After sweating out a few insurance glitches, he and Kline secured the multi-purpose field at Recreational Park.

“We’re thrilled to be here,” said Styer. “Our players loved playing here today, and we want to make this our home.”

The Savages are coached by Mike Gonzalez, whose resume includes a playing stint with the Army battalion team during his seven years in the service. A longtime friend of Kline, he’s coached youth football at several levels.

When asked about the biggest difference between coaching men compared to coaching kids, he said with a laugh, “I don’t have to deal with their parents.”

In their second game ever, the Savages led the Rage - a veteran playoff team last year - 56-54 with 14 seconds left to play, but Monmouth scored to win by a 60-56 score. The game saw eight lead changes in the second half.

“With a 70-yard field and eight men on offense and eight men on defense, you’re going to see a lot of scoring,” said Gonzalez.

Trailing 21-16 at the half, the Savages kicked their offense into gear and put up 40 points after the break.

Offensive coordinator Ricardo Altreche told the team after the game, “It was a shootout. We just ran out of bullets.”

“We’re certainly disappointed in the outcome of the game,” said Styer, “but we’re definitely building something here.”

The eight-man game follows all NFL rules with a few exceptions. Defensive blitzing is allowed only through the gaps on either side of the center. There are no field goals or extra point kicks. After touchdowns, teams can try for two points from the 5-yard line or one from the two. Four quarters are 12 minutes each.

The Savages practiced CDC guidelines. All players and staff were temperature-checked before the game and on the sideline, and were social distanced as much as possible during the heat of the game. Masks were available for the choosing.

The team and their coaches play for the love of the game and are not paid. The Rage drove their cars from the Jersey shore. The Savages come from as far as Lancaster, though a few reside in Carbon County. Most are former high school and college players and the average age is in the mid-20s. Their oldest player is 45.

Styer and Kline played in the league last year for the Monroe County Diamondbacks. They ran a flag football team before they originated the Carbon County franchise.

“We joked about putting together a new team,” said Styer. “With all there was that was necessary to think about doing this, the first things we talked seriously were about what the color of the jerseys would be and what to name the team.”

The red jerseys with gold numbers and red helmeted Savages play their next home game on Aug. 29 against the Hazelton Area Mustangs.