CEDAR CITY - The mothers of players in two local youth football leagues went head to head in a game of full-contact football Saturday evening, but they shared the goal of raising money for the Sandra L. Maxwell Huntsman-Intermountain Cancer Center in Cedar City.
Mothers of players in the Southern Utah Youth Football Association, calling themselves the Breast Warriors, competed against mothers of Youth Football USA players at the Cedar High School stadium. Both teams wore black jerseys with their team names emblazoned in bright pink.
The money raised in ticket sales is going directly to breast cancer awareness efforts and equipment at the local cancer center, said Amy Bleak, a nursing manager for infusion and cancer services at the cancer center.
Bleak, who played on the YFUSA team Saturday, said her mother battled and beat breast cancer.
"I've seen it up close," Bleak said, adding that as the center's treatment options improve, the survival rate is increasing.
The cancer center is in the midst of an expansion project, and when that is completed, she said chemotherapy and radiation treatments will be performed in the same building. She said some of the proceeds from the game will be funding the project.
Lauren Nelson was playing with the SUYFA Breast Warriors. She said her mother beat breast cancer twice and has also received treatment for melanoma.
"My mom is my best friend, so to see her go through that pain was just absolute torture," Nelson said.
Nelson said she learned about Saturday's game through a friend whose son plays youth football, and she wanted to sign up for it immediately.
Ginny Shortt, whose great grandmother and mother both went through breast cancer, played on the YFUSA team. She said her mother is a 12-year breast cancer survivor.
Jay Ziegler, who runs the SUYFA league, served as the head coach for the Breast Warriors. Although his league is a rival of YFUSA, he said he appreciated seeing the leagues get together to play football for a good cause.
Jesse Hirschi, head coach for the YFUSA team, said not only were the women playing for a good cause, but their participation in the game would give them a chance to experience some of what their sons go through while playing football.
