It seems strange to the football-loving masses of the South. Scores are rare and the the rules seem unclear. The players appear tireless, running the length of the field back and again, back and again.

And people in other parts of the world have the audacity to commit the unforgivable sin of calling this sport football.

But here it’s called soccer, and its popularity is growing. Just ask players at Cathedral and Natchez High School, as both schools this year have separate boys and girls soccer teams for the first time.

Or better yet, ask the 300 or so youth playing the sport Sunday afternoons at Morgantown Elementary School, most of them eager to continue playing soccer in high school and beyond.

For the last 10 years, the Natchez Youth Soccer Organization, a member of the Mississippi Youth Soccer Association, has provided area children and teens a chance to learn and play a sport that has had slow but steady growth recently in Natchez and the surrounding communities.

&uot;We’ve had about 300 kids for the last couple years,&uot; said Dr. Ken Stubbs, a soccer enthusiast whose son, Julian, plays for the Key Rehab-sponsored team. &uot;With flag football, contact football and now fall baseball in Vidalia, it’s great that we’ve held those numbers.&uot;

The 28 area teams in the organization are sponsored by businesses and divided into five age groups — Under-6, Under-8, Under-10, Under-13 and High School.

&uot;We lose a lot of the older kids when they get to high school,&uot; Stubbs said.

Only Cathedral and Natchez have soccer programs, and Natchez’s is in only its second year of existence. Consequently, he said, the majority of the high school players in the organization are Cathedral students, while a handful attend Natchez.

&uot;If Trinity or ACCS would start a team, I think you’d see a lot more interest in this,&uot; said Byron Zerby, a 16-year-old Cathedral student who plays Sundays for Brookwater Energy in addition to playing soccer and football in high school. &uot;I think there’d be a lot more people interested in playing.&uot;

A great deal of interest — especially for girls — was generated by last year’s U.S. women’s team World Cup victory.

Ten-year-old Ashleigh Aldrigde, of Vidalia, La., watched the World Cup series with her mother, she said.

Ashleigh plays for Heard Music Company and her 6-year-old brother, Josh, plays for Knights of Columbus. About half of the players in the organization are girls, Stubbs said, but&160;Ashleigh, one of five girls on a 13-person team, has no problem playing with boys.

&uot;It’s just fun,&uot; Ashleigh said of soccer. &uot;I like running around and kicking the ball. I just have fun.&uot;

Eric Leurinda, 8, from Natchez and Jered Anderson, 9, from Jonesville, La., agreed.

&uot;It’s fun,&uot; Jered said. &uot;Except that you can’t touch the ball with your hands.&uot;

&uot;I really can’t explain it. It’s fun to kick the ball around, fun to try to score,&uot; Zerby said, echoing a common theme among soccer players.

&uot;It’s basically just fun.&uot;