Even without money and fame, semi-pro football players in Utah play their game with a passion not found at any other level of the sport.

"It's for the love of the game," said John Thornton, head coach of the Salt Lake County-based Muddogs. "Our guys have said they haven't been this excited to play since high school. It's just awesome to watch these guys."

The Muddogs play in the Rocky Mountain Football League, which features 22 teams from Utah, Idaho, Montana and Colorado. And although players actually have to pay to play, the league has almost 1,100 players.

"The league has been awesome," Thornton said. "A lot of people don't know about it. When they find out, they pick up that passion, too."

He said there is a real camaraderie among the players.

"I've not coached a team that has a love for each other like this team," Thornton said. "It's like a family. The players call it a brotherhood."

Jared Neumeier, the commissioner of the RMFL, said the skill of the players might surprise people.

"It's one level below arena football," he said. "The play is like the (Canadian Football League). We won't get NFL scouts at the games, but we do get college scouts. A lot of guys jump to the collegiate level."

Neumeier said many former collegiate players will join teams in the league. He said nearly all of the athletes played in high school.

"We get guys from the places like the winter indoor league (in Utah) and the Ricks College intramural program," Neumeier said. "What really feeds semi-pro is high school players."

Since the RMFL was founded in 1997, Neumeier said teams have come and gone, with each year seeing two or three new programs with at least one team moving or folding. Such was the case of the Wasatch Wildcats after last season. Their Web site said the team shut down due to team issues and the health of one of the owners.

In 2003, the RMFL merged with the Utah Football league, which introduced a dominating force to the league: The South Ogden Rhino-Raiders.

While the Muddogs are excited about their 8-0 finish to the regular season, the Rhino-Raiders are currently on a 78-game conference winning streak stretching back to the start of the 2000 season.

Head coach Dave Stireman said maintaining a winning streak that long gets tougher and tougher with each game.

"We're everybody's big game," Stireman said. "Each year, there's some new team trying to put something together to beat us. This year it was the Cache Valley Bears."

Stireman said the Bears had many former Utah State players in their lineup, but the Rhino-Raiders still won the showdown with their new rivals, 31-14, on May 6.