Local kids impact Shrine Game

BUTTE — Four area football stars helped lead the Treasure State’s western half to its fifth victory in six years in the 67th Annual Montana Shrine Game, played Saturday night at Butte High School.

Polson’s Will Davey, Riley Sampson, and Eric Williamson and Charlo’s Tra Ludeman represented their schools in Montana’s largest all-star football game, in which the West overcame a 28-0 deficit to win 31-28.

“It was a lot of fun. It was a great comeback game.” Williamson said. The Montana State-bound defensive end recorded two tackles, a sack and forced a fumble in the contest.

The game was a little more hotly contested than most Shrine Games of the past, due in part to some late hits and penalties that got both sides fired up.

“I didn’t think it would be that exciting of a game or [have] that much passion,” said Sampson, who started on the offensive line and recovered a fumble in the game. “It was like a full on high school playoff game.”

Things escalated to a near brawl when an East player socked a late hit onto West quarterback Quinn McQueary, knocking him into a brick wall. Nearly the entire West team stood up for their signal caller.

“Our team was a pretty tight knit team,” Davey said. “We did not like the East. The East did not like us.”

“That’s not a normal occurrence,” said Polson coach Scott Wilson, who played in a Shrine Game and has watched several others. “[But] it’s a rivalry, both teams want to win. There’s no doubt about that.”

Wilson enjoyed seeing his three gridiron stars back on the field for one last game.

“I think they all had a little bit, here and there, different things that they contributed,” Wilson said. “I thought they represented themselves pretty well.”

For Ludeman, who will walk on to the University of Montana’s football team in the fall, the game was an opportunity to get some experience playing 11-on-11 football again. It was the first time the Charlo grad had done so since his little league days.

“It wasn’t too much different,” Ludeman said. “… The only difference was that everyone was better, everyone was faster.”

Coming from a smaller school, Ludeman said he didn’t feel any extra pressure to prove himself.

“When I got there, kids knew me,” Ludeman said. “They’d heard my name before. If they hadn’t heard of me it would have been a bigger chip on my shoulder.”

Charlo head coach Mike Krahn didn’t seem surprised that his former player assimilated well, even playing the cornerback position, as Ludeman was generally lauded for his offensive abilities.

“I was pleased to see him on defense because I knew he was a great defender and I knew he’d do fine,” said Krahn, who runs the Vikings’ defense. “… It might be a different game, but it still comes down to tackling and running and playing.”

Ludeman is the second Charlo player in Krahn’s 10-year tenure to earn a bid to the Shrine Game, the other being 2011 graduate Chico Stipe, who happens to be Ludeman’s neighbor in Moiese.

“It’s always good for those kids to be able to go in and adapt and not be intimidated,” Krahn said.

The players reported to Butte last Saturday and participated in a weeklong camp, filled with three-a-day practices leading up to the game.

“[Butte High] coach [Arie] Gray made it really fun,” Williamson said. “He’s just a fun guy to be around and a good coach.”

By all accounts, the West was slow out of the gates.

“The whole first quarter we weren’t doing too well,” said Williamson, whose defensive unit allowed 21 first-quarter points. “Once we got going, the D-line had some big plays.”

One of those big plays was a third-down sack-fumble by Williamson, a defensive end, in the second quarter. Davey, a Montana Tech signee, joined Williamson and Ludeman on the defensive unit at strong safety.

Sampson and the West’s offense woke up in the second quarter and brought the score back to 28-23 at the halftime break. They scored again in the third quarter to take a 31-28 lead that they would not relinquish.

“That was a pretty amazing feat … to come back like that,” Wilson said. “That’s a tribute to the kids that they had and the coaches made some good adjustments.”

All three Pirates players said they tried to soak in all they could of their last high school football action.

“It was kind of special to be suited up with the Pirate helmets one last time,” Sampson said.

Williamson also pointed out the community benefits that the Shrine Game, a fundraiser for the Shriners Hospital for Children in Spokane, Wash. that has raised more than $1 million in the game’s 67 years of existence.

“It was good playing for the cause of the game,” he said. “It’s not for us to show how good we are. It’s more for the kids and Shriners.”