There is a society of covert actors operating in our community. They call themselves "The Lancaster-Lebanon League Quarterback Club."

They meet regularly under the pretenses of victories, competitiveness and an exchange of game film. But the real nature of their mission is to promote a game they love, foster lasting friendships and aid student-athletes.

"It's an opportunity to be part of something bigger than yourself," said Kris Miller, the ringleader and president of the club. "I played in the Lancaster-Lebanon League, I was an assistant coach and now I'm a head coach. The group of guys and camaraderie we have is really cool, and it's special to be a part of that."

Miller is the head football coach at Ephrata Senior High School and one of more than 40 coaches - one representative from each of the Lancaster-Lebanon League's 37 member schools - actively involved with the club, a tradition-rich organization dedicated to growing the game of football and helping its players become better young men on and off the gridiron. During the regular scholastic fall season, the quarterback club meets at 7 p.m. on every Tuesday at the centrally located Ephrata American Legion Post 429, 300 Cocalico St., Ephrata.

The 90-minute meetings consist of supper, coaches' nominations for players of the week and players of the year, voting, discussion and the planning of upcoming events. Many of the meetings feature specific themes, like all-timers' night, officials' night, athletic directors' night, college night and media night.

"We all want to support each other," said Miller. "We played Cocalico in week two. It was a great game, and then on the following Tuesday I got an opportunity to sit down with Coach (Bryan) Strohl and have a conversation. We get to bounce ideas off each other, and everyone has always been willing to give feedback. It's a great resource to have. There are a lot more similarities between coaches than there are differences."

The quarterback club also recognizes individual accomplishments through its awards for players of the week, players of the year and its all-academic team, and those honors are released to local media outlets in a timely fashion. The latter of those awards are announced in early December following the club's year-end banquet at The Timbers Restaurant in Mount Gretna.

"Football participation numbers overall are going down, for whatever reasons," said Miller. "Football is a hard sport that requires a lot of time. You get 10 guaranteed opportunities (games) to play, and you've got to work 52 weeks a year to play. Recognizing players is important because you want to recognize the work they put in. It also gets their name out there. Anytime players see their names in the paper, they feel like the work has been worth it."

The quarterback club has been operating in its current capacity as an organization for 75 years. Not every football league across the state is supported by a group like the Lancaster-Lebanon League Quarterback Club.

"It originally started as a place where coaches could come together and do film exchange," said Miller. "But our purpose has always been to promote players and grow our sport. Because technology has changed, we've had to adjust how we do it. As fierce as competitors as we are on Friday nights as coaches, the other six days of the week we're here to grow the game and give kids an opportunity to play the sport. We care about our sport, and we care about kids."