Becky Tyson didn't hesitate in reference to her reaction to being a participant in the third annual Football for a Cure Powder Puff Football game that is a fundraiser for breast cancer.

"Absolutely," boasted the Hokendauqua player, who has played all three years of the contests. "Heck, yeah, I love it! We all played hard and it is very intense. It is for a great cause and a terrific fundraiser.

"We all want to win, but we're really playing to help stop breast cancer."

Tyson, a former Catasauqua High School softball player who helped coordinate the event, was among more than 60 women who played in the four-team tournament that featured squads from Catasauqua, Emmaus, Hokendauqua and Northampton at Bob Warke fields in Hokendauqua on Oct. 20.

In the tournament, Northampton and Hokendauqua played to a 7-7, double overtime time tie before a coin flip gave the game to Northampton. Emmaus then defeated Catasauqua 7-0, and went on to down Northampton 7-0, to capture the championship. All of the teams practiced for a minimum of two weeks before the games.

Shelly Laudenslager, who coordinated the event, stated $2,500 have been raised from the initial returns toward the Susan G. Komen Foundation. Last year, mothers from Catasauqua raised over $1,000 for the cause.

This year, funds were raised through a Chinese auction, breast cancer awareness bracelets, local business sponsorships, memory balloons, 50/50 raffle, and food stands that dotted the scenery on a picture-perfect autumn afternoon.

"It was a great day and there were some pretty intense battles out there," said Laudenslager, who stated there were approximately 100 people present for each of the games. "Maybe we would have had more people, but we were going up against the NFL games. Still, everyone had a great time and we were well aware of the cause."

Northampton's Tonya Reph, whose maiden name was Snyder when she was a standout in softball and track and field at Nazareth, believed the competition could have been slightly tamed.

"As a team, I thought we did well," said Reph, who was playing in the game for the first time. "It was pretty intense and maybe it got carried away at times. There seemed to be different rules at times. But I would play again in it knowing it was for a good cause."

Catasauqua's Monica Mohnberger, whose maiden name was Ward when she was an all-state softball player at Allen, appreciated the opportunity.

"It was a good battle all the way," said Mohnberger, who played in her second game. "We all played hard and gave it our all. We worked hard in practice. It was for a great cause and I would come back next year."