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Montgomery County police Officer Tom Dufek loves the game of football, but that's not why he joined the DC Generals.

Dufek started playing on the all-policemen-/firefighter football team for his family, who knows the risks he takes everyday as a policeman; for his fallen friend and fellow officer Sgt. Hector Ayala, who died in April in a car crash; and for every child that has lost a parent, so his community can be a safer place to live.

Dufek — an offensive lineman — said the itch to return to the game was strong, but it paled in comparison to the prospect of supporting a police charity. The Washington, D.C., chapter of Concerns of Police Survivors assists families of officers killed in the line of duty, a cause close to his heart.

"The opportunity to play the game again at a high level of competition is great, but obviously you put the work into it first and foremost for the charities," he said. "That's what brought me to it."

Dufek and dozens of officers from more than 13 police departments and fire agencies in Maryland, the District, and Virginia form the team, which plays in the National Public Safety Football League — a hard hitting group of men in uniform playing for a noble cause.

But it's not all fun and games.

Frank Quick, a U.S. Capitol Police officer and the team's general manager, said this season, the team's fourth, has been dedicated mainly to finding ways of covering the high cost of playing while helping to support two charities.

The team also supports the D.C. Firefighters Burn Foundation, which helps provide resources to wounded firemen and burn centers.

This year, he said, the team raised more than $6,500 for the charities while helping to fund several charity events for other community organizations. The team struggled to break even last year.

"We wanted that golf check, the huge check you give out," Quick said. "This year we're giving out two...and we're trying to be doing that more."

Getting there has been hard, he said. The team was in the red at the end of the 2008 season and had to settle for breaking even last year just to cover expenses.

Most of what the team collected this year came from the $500 each player raised at the start of the season, he said.

"We don't make a lot of money off ticket sales, it mostly comes from the players themselves and what they bring," Quick said. "We tell them to find sponsors, but when you come from such a big area, it isn't easy."

Fairfax County, Va. Firefighter Carlton Yancey, a second-year player, said he can attest to the team's struggles.

"We've struggled sometimes to raise money, but I still plan to come back out, start all over again," he said. "You get out of it what you put in."

Quick said even though this season was difficult — he had to take the field for a game this season when they were short players — the Generals are taking hold and garner more support as people begin take notice.

"Just come out and see how hard these guys play, they put everything on the line everyday," said Head Coach Mike Reynolds, a retired Metropolitan Police Officer. "That's something that really means something."

The Generals ended the 2010 season May 15 in typical fashion, Reynolds said, falling short of the Philadelphia Blue Flames 14-7 but playing like champions. The next season starts in February.

"We're getting better and better, and we controlled that entire football game," he said. "We just had a bad play that cost us, but they never quit."

"That's the greatest thing about them; they won't quit."

Washington D.C.-Concerns of Police Survivors network is a resource for families of officers killed in the line of duty. Visit www.dc-cops.org or mail to Washington, D.C. Chapter, Concerns of Police Survivors, Inc. P.O. Box 31549, Washington, D.C. 20030-1549.

The Washington D.C. Firefighters Burn Foundation provides resources for hospitals and burn centers as well as wounded firefighters. Visit www.dcffburnfoundation.org or mail to D.C. Firefighters Burn Foundation, P.O. Box 4565, Washington, D.C. 20017.