Those raucous backyard football games could exist in more than just the minds eye in years to come for a group of Vidalia teenagers, thanks to camcorders received as gifts on Christmas morning.

Bone crushing tackles and wobbly passes were captured for posterity Sunday, but fond future remembrance wasn’t really the reason, according to Vidalia High School student, Billy Rouse.

&uot;We are just doing it so we can watch it later to see who messes up,&uot; he said.

Rouse said that the received his camcorder Christmas morning and the football game, which took place on the playground of Vidalia Upper Elementary School, had been his first opportunity to use it.

&uot;I got it from my mom…um…I mean Santa Claus.&uot;

Kyle Craft, who took turns with Rouse filming the action, said that his friend wasn’t the only one who would get a chance to record his exploits on a new camcorder.

&uot;I got one too. I think three of us got them all together,&uot; he said.

Craft said that he planned to use his gift to capture images of some of the local wildlife that he encounters as he prepares for a future career.

&uot;I like to hunt snakes, I want to be a herpetologist. I want to get some of my friends to record me catching snakes. I already have a recording of me catching my first alligator on Lake St. John. It was four to four and a half feet. I caught it when I was about eleven or twelve,&uot; he said.

Some of the players said that they would like to watch the recording of the football game later, but wanted to make sure that it didn’t fall into the wrong hands.

&uot;I think that Coach Faircloth might be impressed, but it could make him mad at us if he saw us getting hurt,&uot; said Tony Godbold, who plays football at Vidalia High School.

Another teen said he had even a better reason to keep the recording secret.

&uot;I am grounded so I’m not really supposed to be here. My parents are out of town,&uot; said the teen, whom chose to remain anonymous.

The boys said that playing football was something that they did often on the playground or in one of the players’ yards and they were thankful that the weather had permitted them to play on the day after Christmas.

&uot;I’m glad that its warmed up a little bit do we could play today,&uot;

Godbold said.

The players admitted that the game wasn’t too structured, but it was the fun that really counted.

&uot;I think that orange thing is a goal,&uot; Craft said, pointing to a traffic cone on one end of the playground, &uot;and the swing set is the other one.&uot;

The game continued until some of the players had to leave, then the teams were reorganized and another game began.

&uot;We just play until we have to go home,&uot; Godbold said.