Hidden in plain view, ironman football — minus the leather helmets and black-and-white video — is alive in Central Florida.

The schools that usually require their players to go both ways, as if there is a choice, are small but not insignificant. For teams in the Sunshine State Athletic Conference, they play at a level a rung or two or three below the media and recruiting hype bestowed upon larger schools.

It's a different world but the same game.

"We have 23 players,'' Orlando Christian Prep coach Guerschom Demosthenes said. "We don't have anyone who specializes in one position.

"Practice is very difficult. We use trash cans a lot, dummies, guys in different positions just to give us a different look.''

While some teams in the SSAC, which has 26 members statewide and 10 in Central Florida, continue with their regular seasons, the quarterfinal round of playoffs will conclude Friday with three games: Naples Community at Windermere Prep (7-0) at 2:30 p.m., Central Florida Christian (7-1) at Mount Dora Bible (8-0) at 7 and First Academy-Leesburg (6-2) at OCP (8-0) at 7.

Those area schools likely would not get to feel that postseason pulse if they were confined to the district format utilized by the Florida High School Athletic Conference. The schools belong to the FHSAA but play an independent football schedule.

A school in Class 8A, the largest in the FHSAA, might have a football roster whose size approaches the 79 ninth- through 12th-grade students who attend CFCA.

"A lot of people may look down on it because it's a lower level,'' said CFCA coach Michael Bonneville, whose team includes 20 players. "I don't even have a second string. If a coach says I am running up the score, I don't have anyone else to put in.'' Said CFCA linebacker-wide receiver Luke Noah: "It's just like a bigger school, just toned down a little. Our coaches get us crazy conditioned. It makes you better for it.''

A lack of depth is the biggest issue facing teams in the SSAC, which was formed in 2008. An injury's impact can reverberate much deeper on a smaller roster.

For fans, though, their enthusiasm is not minimized by a tweaked hamstring here or a sprained knee there.

"We don't have thousands, but I love our fan base,'' OCP player Chrishon Frazier said.

Windermere Prep recently played to a "packed house'' at Disney's ESPN Wide World of Sports, coach Jacob Doss said. At Mount Dora Bible, fans can watch their favorite team from a hillside. That piece of picturesque landscape serves another purpose. Bulldogs coach Dennis Cardoso calls it the "Hill of Correction,'' which is a useful conditioning tool.

"You have a ton of school spirit,'' Cardoso said. "You have the same type of enthusiasm. I don't think there is much of a difference [between the SSAC and larger schools], except for the size and numbers.''

It usually does come back to the size and numbers.

The players are usually not as large — CFCA has a lineman who is 5 feet 9 and weighs 157 pounds, Bonneville said — and the numbers they put out on the field often are overlooked by big-time college recruiters. Yes, there is recruiting interest, but it comes from schools whose games have no chance of being broadcast by Chris Fowler and Kirk Herbstreit. Still, the SSAC has good players.

TFA-Leesburg's Sandy Edwards and Ojay Cummings, and CFCA's Bradley Dos Santos know their way to the end zone. QBs Grayson Jones of Faith Christian, Colton Liddell of Legacy Charter and Parker Davis of Windermere Prep are among area leaders in passing yards. Cummings ranks third in Central Florida with 1,332 rushing yards. Mount Dora Rible relies on players such as QB Matt Conod, wide receiver L.J. Smith and running back-linebacker Chad Simmons "We want to put a product on the field that people want to come out and watch,'' Doss said.

Next year, SSAC President Stuart Weiss said the league plans to grow by 10 schools to give it 36 members.

For the next couple of weeks, though, the focus will be on the field. As it should, because players in the SSAC seldom come off it.

" I pretty much go to bed as soon as I get home after a game,'' said OCP's Stephen Marinas, who plays quarterback (among other positions). "Sometimes I wish I could have played more, but I am pretty content.''

And contentment is a pretty good place to be