Busy All-Star weekend in Kansas
Shrine Bowl, Eight-Man and new Six-Man All-Star games all take place this Saturday
From left to right: Derby's Isaac Keener (Kansas Shrine Bowl), Rock Hills' Zane Colson (8-Man All-Star Game), and Pawnee Heights' Kade Scott (6-Man All-Star Game) are just three of the players who will participate in the three different All-Star football games scheduled Saturday. (Photos by Jared Weinman, Derek Livingston, and Kellan Shafer)
For the first time in its 46-year history, the Kansas Shrine Bowl will take place at Memorial Stadium in Dodge City.
The Shrine Bowl, scheduled for 7 p.m. on June 8th, pits the best high school football players in Kansas on the West side of the state against the best from the East side.
Not only is the game an opportunity to showcase the talent here in Kansas, but it is also a chance to raise funds and awareness for the Shriners Hospital for Children — a hospital that treats children with orthopaedic conditions, burns, spinal cord injuries, and cleft lip and palate injuries.
The athletes meet with some of the children treated by the Shriners Hospital the Thursday before the game, and since the inception of the Shrine Bowl, the game has raised over 2.5 million dollars for the Shriners Hospital.
The day of the game is filled with festivities. At 8 a.m. there is a 5K with all proceeds going to the Shriners Hospital.
The Kansas Shrine Bowl Parade takes place after the 5K, followed by the high school combine and high school cheer combine. The last event before the game is the Jr. All-Star challenge which allows kids age 6-14 to participate in skill testing.
The West leads the all-time series 27-16-1, but the East has won four of the last six, including last year’s 21-14 East victory.
As for the game itself, the East team will be coached by Topeka’s Walt Alexander, who led the Trojans to a 9-2 record last year. Alexander will be coaching his standout running back Jacqez Barksdale, along with two-way star Grant Cooney.
The East team practices in Ottawa.
The West team will be coached by Hesston's Tyson Bauerle, who led the Swathers to a 6-4 record last year. Just a few players to keep an eye out for include Phillipsburg’s Trey Sides, Pratt’s Travis Theis, and Maize’s Caleb Grill. Sides and Grill will be playing their last football game as both will play Division I college basketball. Sides at Jacksonville University in Florida and Grill at Iowa State University. Theis has more football ahead as he plans to play at the University of South Dakota this fall.
The West team practices at Salina Stadium.
Complete rosters for the East and West teams can be found here.
Find complete coverage details in the Kansas Shrine Bowl tweet below, or watch the game online at https://www.kansasshrinebowl.com/?bfplayvid=125656.
For 33 years the 8-Man All-Star Game has been an annual tradition, and since 2001 both divisions have had their own game.
Last year, fans were treated to two blowouts. In the 8-Man Division I game, the East defeated the West, 58-6. It was a similar story in the Division II game as once again the East handled the West, 50-12.
The games are scheduled for June 8th in Beloit. The Division II game will kickoff at 10 a.m. followed by the Division I game at 1:30.
Division I defending state champion Central Plains has three representatives on the West team: Mason Doll, Brett Liebl, and Myles Menges.
The East counters with three representatives from state runner-up Solomon: Logan Krause, Eli Basvic, and Jobe Fowles.
Complete rosters for the East and West teams can be found here.
In the Division II game, defending state champions Hanover will be represented by Thomas Atkins, Cade Cohorst, and Daiken Stallbaumer. Hanover’s Matt Heuer is also the head coach of the East.
Osborne, the runner-up in Division II last year, also have three on the West roster: Darnell Holloway, Kade Miller, and Jordan Wherry.
Complete rosters for the East and West teams can be found here.
The games will be broadcast on several radio stations including Beloit area stations KDNS 94.1 and KVSV 1190 AM. The two stations also offer extensive coverage, including complete player profiles, on their websites at the following links: https://sunflowerstateradio.com/radionetwork/, http://www.kvsvradio.com/?page=content&id=12
The inaugural 6-Man All-Star Game features the top 16 players across 11 teams that play 6-Man football in Kansas.
The game will take place on June 8th at 7 p.m. on the campus of Bethel College in North Newton, and will feature the North All-Stars against the South All-Stars.
Weskan went 7-2 last year en route to its second 6-Man Championship in three years. Nearly one-third of all the all-stars are from Weskan: Dallas Langdell, Austin Stewart, Tracer Vincent, Caleb Schemm, and Zack Box.
Weskan head coach Brett Clow is a coach for the North team.
Golden Plains, who went 0-2 against Weskan and 8-0 against everyone else, has four players on the North team: Dylan Spresser, Jacob Ritter, Nolan Ritter, and Caleb Korte.
Pawnee Heights, who put up 118 points in a playoff win back in October, features Dalton Hamby, Trace Baker, and Kade Scott on the South team. Pawnee Heights head coach Jeff Chambers is also a coach for the South team.
The game will be broadcasted live at OpenSpacesSports.com.
Gallagher Martin is a sportswriter for Kansas Pregame and the McPherson Sentinel.