DEMOPOLIS &8212; High school teams are heading into the post season this week, looking to ride football as far as they can until next year. As they wrap up, another group of gridiron faithful are also ending their season. Not looking at championships and glory, the 7-12-year-olds who took the field for the first time are ending knowing they have ridden out their first season and there are more to come.

Mark McVay, the lead organizer of the league and another coach, said he, too, thought the league&8217;s first year, which ends with the final game Monday, was a success. He started Demopolis&8217; Pop Warner league to give children interested in the game, but too young to play at school, a chance to learn about the game.

Pearson agreed about the improvement in the young athletes&8217; skills over the course of the season. He said the players also learned about safety in the contact sport they will take with them for the rest of their careers.

With the Demopolis High School football program in mind, McVay said he and others within the league will sit down with the Tigers&8217; head football coach and athletic director Tom Causey to get input on the direction the league needs to take after a successful first run.