Searching for an excuse to get off the sofa and into the action? Or perhaps to relive your playing days?

The www.darainbow.com Hawai'i Flag Football 4-on-4 Fall Invitational League offers that every Sunday.

"I've always been a fan (of football)," Brian Hew said. "I just needed some exercise. I get to play football with my friends. You get something organized once a year to force you to get into shape."

Rick Mikami started the league 14 years ago "because I got tired of doing nothing on Sundays, (but) watching football and just being a couch potato."

Mikami, 50, a self-professed "football junkie," kept playing every year because it is something to look forward to.

Ernest Chuck Borden, a player/coach for the Titans, a team made up of players from Schofield, said he's been waiting for the start of the upcoming season, "since last year."

The season starts Aug. 20, with the deadline to register Aug. 16.

"There's good competition and good sportsmanship," Borden, a staff sergeant, said. "There's no whining or complaining. That makes the game more fun."

Last season was the first for Borden and the Titans in the league, which consists of a guaranteed 10 games in a season that ends with a champion decided in a playoff format.

"You think just because you play football you can just come out and play," Borden said. But with only four players per team on the field at once, strategies are different.

Games are played to 28 points or 30 minutes.

The field is 50 yards long by 25 yards wide, with 10-yard end zones.

Quarterbacks cannot run, and only direct handoffs are allowed. All players are eligible to receive passes. The quarterback has seven seconds to attempt a pass or the play is ruled dead.

The league will be coed for the first time this season, and Charlsea Ewing and Lisa Feller, both from Texas but living in Waikiki, took advantage.

Both played coed flag football at Texas A&M, and when they moved to Hawai'i a few months ago they began looking for a league to play in.

"I love football," Ewing said. "We just wanted to get back into the competition."

It will be easy for the duo to be introduced to the league, because the talent level of the flag footballers is "not pro, but there's a lot of good guys out here," according to Hew, 27.

Hew, a Ph.D. candidate working at the Cancer Research Center of Hawai'i, said the league is "pretty intense, with constant running. Conditioning plays a role," because teams can play more than one game a day.

Sometimes former University of Hawai'i football players join the league, improving the talent level.

Even with a higher level of competition, the action doesn't get out of control. Last season, the league fielded eight teams with seven-player rosters. Most get along on and off the field, with grimaces turning into grins once a play is over.

"This league is very good about keeping things friendly," Hew said. "It's fun. Not all the teams are that intense. Most of us are too old or not in shape."

Jacob Fernandes, 25, of Kaimuki, John Chinen-Zablan, 30, of Palolo, and Kaipo Onekea, 25, of 'Aiea, are teammates with Mikami.

"To me, this league is just for fun," said Chinen-Zablan, who has been playing for six years. He pointed out the importance of sportsmanship in the league, saying, "I haven't seen a fight since I've been out here."

To prevent fights, flagrant contact or fouls are not tolerated. Offending players are immediately ejected from the game and fined $25.

"It is a competitive league, but at the same time we see each other week in and week out, and it doesn't make any sense that we try to beat each other up," Mikami said. "(Players) come back because it's fun, and it's not intimidating. (There are) No bullies trying to relive high school days."

For those looking for a good workout, the league offers a chance to get in some disguised fitness in what is usually a hectic week.

"You cardio has to be better because it's quicker," Onekea said. "The pace is faster."

That doesn't mean a potential player needs to be all-star caliber to sign up.

"Anybody can play," Onekea said. "If you have basic skills and knowledge of the game, you can play."

Reach Leila Wai at lwai@honoluluadvertiser.com.