The Cape-Atlantic League on Wednesday voted to apply for membership in the West Jersey Football League.
League president Mike Gatley, the athletic director at Mainland, said the vote of league ADs was 13-5 in favor, with four abstentions.
The earliest that the Cape-Atlantic would join the WJFL would be for the 2014 season. The WJFL would become an 83-team league if it accepted the 18 football teams from the Cape-Atlantic.
Gatley said that Wednesday's move was largely procedural and that a "variety of factors" will determine whether the Cape-Atlantic teams join the WJFL.
"There's a mixed feeling," Gatley said. "A lot of people think we need to look at other options, but there's also a lot of tradition in this league."
Contact Phil Anastasia at 856-779-3223, panastasia@phillynews.com, or @PhilAnastasia on Twitter. Read his blog, "Jersey Side Sports," at www.philly.com/jerseysidesports
