Family Tradition

The Montana Shrine Game is becoming a rite of passage into manhood for two Polson families.

Riley Sampson and Eric Williamson, both recent graduates of Polson High School, are two of four Lake County football stars—the others being Polson’s Will Davey and Charlo’s Tra Lundeman—who have been selected to play in the 2013 edition of annual all-star football game.

Sampson’s father, Jay, played in the 1983 edition of the classic representing Polson, and Williamson’s grandfather, Don, represented Butte High in the 1954 Shrine Game. Both patriarchs are extremely proud that the family’s legacy in the game will be continued in the 2013 contest.

“It’s neat to see [Riley] go through it and sad to see this is his last game, but I’m excited,” Jay Sampson said.

The Montana Shrine Game pits the east half of the state against the west, with the most talented high school football athletes, selected by a committee of coaches, filling out the rosters. This year marks the 67th annual Shrine Game. It will be played on Saturday, July 20 at Butte High School, the same field on which Don Williamson played in high school.

The younger Sampson and Williamson have a storied history of their own. They’ve been playing football alongside each other since they were 10 years old, and both earned first-team all-state accolades in both their junior and senior years.

“Watching them both play through little guy football, it’s cool to see them end their high school career together,” Jay Sampson said.

The two will continue into their freshman year at Montana State University in the fall, where they will room together. Riley has a scholarship offer to throw shot put for the Bobcats’ track and field team, and Williamson plans to walk on to the football team.

Both players started on both the offensive and defensive line for the Pirates, the area that Polson head coach Scott Wilson considers his team’s biggest strength.

“Our success the past couple years has been because we were so good on our offensive line and defensive line,” Wilson said.

Riley stood tallest on the offensive line, where he was an all-state guard two years in a row. Eric lined up next to him at tackle.

The duo bookended the defensive line at the end position on the other side of the ball. Eric led the team in sacks each of the past two seasons and was one of the leading tacklers and tacklers-for-loss in the region as well.

“Eric’s biggest strength is that he’s real quick off the ball,” Wilson said. “… He’s got that mentality that he’s going to have to prove himself by walking on. I think he’s going to do that. Once he gets his mind to it, he’ll do just fine.”

Wilson commended Riley’s work ethic and effort on the field.

“He was one of the better linemen in the state this year,” said Wilson.

With the two starting on the lines, the Pirates have posted a 17-2 record and back-to-back state tournament appearances.

“It’s just one of those things that those kids worked hard and were a great part of our program,” Wilson said. “It’s something that they’ll remember for the rest of their lives. I’m real happy for those kids.”

Wilson said that the three players going to the Shrine Game ties for the record number of players sent. Vince DiGiallonardo, Paul McClurg, and Josiah Clairmont represented the Pirates at the game last July. Wilson represented Polson in the Shrine Game as a player himself in 1987.

Riley and Eric, along with the rest of their teams, left for Butte on Saturday to attend the weeklong camp that precedes the game. They will practice thrice each day during the week.

One thing they will have to get used to is playing alongside old opponents.

“It will be fun [to play with rivals],” Riley said.

His dad appreciated that part of the game as well.

“I do remember that being neat because Ronan was our rivalry, and you played in the Shrine Game with kids that were your rivals and now they’re you’re teammates,” said Jay Sampson. “It’s neat to get to know them.”

Riley, who was forced to sit out last year’s state semifinal loss against Dillon with a dislocated shoulder, is going to try to soak in his last high school football experience as much as he can.

“I have nothing left to prove,” he said. “I left it all on [Polson’s] field. It’s an honor and it will be a lot of fun.”

Williamson, a walk on trying to make Montana State’s roster in August, might have a little more pressure on him.

“I kind of see it as a closing of high school, but also, these are the best players in the state so I’ll see where I’m at,” Eric said. “These will be kids that will be playing for colleges around here that we’ll be playing against.”

Don Williamson has watched a lot of football in his day, and he thinks the two Pirates will be just fine.

“These guys will find out Saturday that the other guys put their pants on one leg at a time,” he said. “They’ll find that they’re as good or better. No doubt in my mind.”

If the generation gap wasn’t obvious without pads on, it most certainly would be on the gridiron.

When Don Williamson played his high school games in Butte in the 1950s, the playing surface was entirely dirt.

“We thought it was normal until we went out of town for a game and they had a grass field,” Williamson said.

When Jay Sampson played in the Shrine Game in 1983, he played offensive tackle weighing 185 pounds. The heaviest player in the game was 220 pounds. Riley weighs 280.

Jay Sampson said that everything about the game of football is different today from his playing days. From the size of the players to the speed of the game, it’s all improved exponentially.

“They’re just a lot better athletes than back in my day,” he said.

Williamson agrees.

“The only way we could get in the Shrine Game [as players] today is the way we’re going to do it: buy a ticket.”