Canadian presence extends contest's reach
Steve Schreck, sschreck@greatfallstribune.com9:59 p.m. MDT July 15, 2015
(Photo: TRIBUNE FILE PHOTO/RION SANDERS)
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BILLINGS Brendan Barnes stands 6 feet, 6 inches tall. He weighs 320 pounds.
"Oh my God, he's massive," said Montana Tech commit Reid Nelson of Great Falls Central. "I don't know what they feed him up there, but I tell ya what, maybe hunting rules are different, and he can just use his bare hands, I don't know."
"His face is like bigger than my chest," said Montana State signee Brayden Konkol of Belgrade.
The 69th annual Montana East-West Shrine Game on Saturday marks the second consecutive year that two players from Canada will be on the field. When the football is kicked into the air inside Memorial Stadium at 7 p.m., Barnes, on the East Team, will be one of them. Colton Hunchak, a wide receiver, is the other. They are both from Calgary.
Which begs the question: Why are players from Canada in this game?
"I'm not sure why the Canadians are being brought into it," Barnes said. "I mean, it's great. It's good for exposure. It's good to see that the Canadians can have a play in the game, too, and their football is not at like a lower level or anything."
Paul Lechner, the East's Coordinator this week, had the answer.
"We are just trying to generate more money from that temple up there in Calgary, the Al Azhar temple," said Lechner. "And they've had interest in the game, coming down here to play."
They also donate to the same hospital in Spokane, the Shriners Hospital for Children, said Lechner. Many surrounding states have inquired about bringing their athletes to the Shrine Game, but it is unlikely that will come to fruition because of numbers, he said.
Lechner says those who put the Shrine Game together would like to continue a relationship with Calgary and keep bringing in players every year.
As for Barnes, he has 25 pounds on the East's next biggest offensive lineman, Kyle Reitler of Billings Skyview, and is 40 pounds heavier than Mitch Brott of Billings West, who weighs in at 280.
"He and Mitch are big dudes," said Montana signee Holden Ryan of Billings Central, who will run behind them on Saturday. "Obviously, he weighs a little more than Mitch, but still, when you've got those two on your offensive line in an All-Star game, things are going to work out pretty well."
Barnes, who went to Centennial High School, will play college football at University of Calgary.
"I would like to have him on our football team," said Gary Lowry, the C.M. Russell High head coach who is leading the East Team this week. "I'm surprised he's not coming down to play somewhere in the states because he is a good-looking kid."
So, Barnes was asked, what is football like up there in Canada?
"We do three downs up North," Barnes said. "There is a yard in between the O-line and D-line. We have 12 players, which is the biggest difference. The field is wider and shorter. The goal post is at the front of the end zone, not the back."
Barnes' roommate this week in Billings is former CMR lineman Bryan Wilkes, who will play football at Montana State. Wilkes calls Barnes a "monster."
"It's a big learning curve for him real quick but he's catching on," said Wilkes.
The transition has not been overly difficult, Barnes said.
"The only thing I'd say I'm adjusting to is, the plays and the offensive playbook that's been put in. In terms of the change from Canadian to American ball, it's not really different for me as I am an (offensive) lineman," he said. "I mean, I'm not a receiver having to deal with the wider field and all. I'm just out there to make blocks."
Barnes and Hunchak are really good friends. They have played in All-Star games together before, but, surprisingly, they haven't exchanged text messages this week to check-in on each other.
Barnes appears to have formed some additional friendships in the meantime.
"You know, the lineman, they kind of all stick together," Nelson said. "It's like an unknown bond that they have before they even set eyes on each other. But he's fitting in all right. You always think of linemen as big, goofy guys. But he's a friendly dude, and he looks mean out there."
He made the lengthy drive down with his mom and his sister. His dad rode with Hunchak and will be at the game. So too will his high school coach.
At 6-foot-6, 320 pounds, Barnes won't be hard to find.
"It's definitely an honor," he said. "I'm really proud to be selected to this team."
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Bingham, Cech, Hill, Kauffman lead West to Great Falls
Updated: July 15, 2015 at 9:30 pm
The West captains pose for photo outside Metals Sports Bar and Grill Wednesday. They are, from left, Josh Hill, Isaiah Cech, Harrison Kauffman and Colin Bingham.
The West team selected four captains Wednesday for the 69th Montana East-West Shrine Game.
Harrison Kauffman and Colin Bingham will serve as offensive captains for the West team in the game, which kicks off at 7 p.m. Saturday in Great Falls. Josh Hill and Isaiah Cech will captain the defense.
The four captains were selected by a team vote. Their selection was announced on the sports radio show KBOW Overtime at the Metals Sports Bar and Grill.
Kauffman is a 6-foot-2, 235-pound guard from Kalispell Glacier. He will play college football at Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.
Bingham is a 6-3, 240-pound tight end from Missoula Big Sky. He will play football at the University of Montana.
Hill is a 6-1, 200-pound inside linebacker from Kalispell Glacier. His next stop for football is at Montana State.
Cech is a 6-foot, 205-pound inside linebacker from Helena High. Cech signed to play football at Carroll College.
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Dawgs land another Ferris, roll Shrine tally to 15
DILLON — Montana Western football coach B.J. Robertson completed the Ferris hat trick Tuesday.
Robertson confirmed to ButteSports.com that Justin Ferris, a cornerback and receiver from Beaverhead County High School in Dillon, committed to playing football at Western.
Ferris was an all-conference receiver and an All-State cornerback last season for the State champion Beavers.
Ferris joins his cousins Jason Ferris and J.D. Ferris as a Bulldog recruit. The other two signed with Western early in the recruiting season. All three will represent Dillon on the West roster in Saturday’s 69th Montana East-West Shrine Game in Great Falls.
The addition of Justin Ferris to the Western recruiting class means 15 future Bulldogs will play in Saturday’s Shrine Game. Nine of those players will play for the West team.
Justin Ferris will play cornerback for the West team, while J.D. Ferris will play cornerback and Jason Ferris will play safety.
Other future Bulldogs on the West roster are Zach Brown, a center from Hamilton; Joe Caicedo, a linebacker from Darby; Chad Peterson and Kaemen Richards, linebackers from Butte Central; Cory Diaz, a running back from Missoula Big Sky; and Spencer Rainser-Ross, a defensive lineman from Columbia Falls.
Future Bulldogs on the East roster are Liam Breen, a running back from Choteau; Bryce Cuchine, a specialist from Great Falls Russell; Casey Klaboe, a quarterback from Billings West; Kessler Leonard, a receiver from Great Falls High; Jake Malek, a specialist from Geraldine/Highwood; and Dalton Palmer, a quarterback from Fairfield.
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East defense looks sharp early on
Steve Schreck, sschreck@greatfallstribune.com7:44 p.m. MDT July 14, 2015
(Photo: Tribune File Photo/Rion Sanders)
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BILLINGS – With the East Team concluding its fourth day of practice here at Rocky Mountain College on Tuesday ahead of the 69th annual East-West Shrine Game, head coach Gary Lowry says his defense is ahead of his offense.
“And that’s good,” the C.M. Russell head coach says, “(because) defense can keep you in a lot of games and keep things close.”
The defensive unit — which will be the Rustler 3-4 scheme this week — has impressed Lowry as the East Team practiced under warm conditions Tuesday.
“It’s fun working with all of these different athletes,” said former Great Falls High linebacker and running back Randy Keesler, who will play inside backer when the football is kicked Saturday night at 7 at Memorial Stadium.
“The best in the East. It’s a lot different than just working with a single team, especially just Great Falls High. I’m impressed with every athlete. They are all outstanding at their position, and I guess that’s why they are here.”
Brayden Konkol, the former safety at Belgrade who will play the same position at Montana State, says it has been somewhat of an adjustment moving to outside linebacker this week as he played safety at the Badlands Bowl last month and in high school.
“We are doing pretty well,” Konkol said. “We are communicating a lot, everyone is getting along and the CMR guys are really just trying to help as many people as they can. The more everyone knows, the more everyone can rotate and the better off we will be.”
A different look
The quarterbacks for the East are Casey Klaboe and Dalton Palmer.
They each possess different strengths, said former Great Falls Central star Reid Nelson, who will be catching balls this week and is familiar with the Rustler offense, having played in it as a freshman and sophomore before transferring to become a Mustang.
“Dalton is definitely kind of a Wildcat guy,” Nelson said. “The offense they ran at Fairfield, I’m sure he was carrying the ball maybe 20 times a game. And then Klaboe’s (Billings West) got a cannon. He can throw the ball all over the field when he wants to. Of course, it helps being 6-5 with lanky arms. Both impressive players, just kind of in different aspects of the game, I guess.”
Lowry hasn’t been using them any differently in practice, however.
“They have both been doing the same thing,” he said. “But there are certain things that one does better than the other, and we know that. But they are both doing the same thing during practice, and when they get in the game, we are just going to go with what the defense gives us. If one has to throw it that’s a runner, and one has to run it that’s a thrower, we are going to do that. They are both working on everything, but they are both definitely different quarterbacks.”
Palmer, who will play college football at Montana Western, has an idea of what things may look like.
“I know their (the West Team) ends are big,” Palmer said, “so I’m just hoping I can get outside on them and then open up the field a little more, and then Casey can kind of pick them apart from inside (the pocket).
A good balance
Lowry likes the mix of guys he has on offense.
In the backfield, he has former Billings Central star and Montana Grizzly commit Holden Ryan and Liam Breen of Choteau. Lowry says Breen has been battling a separated shoulder, suffered playing baseball. You’d never know about it, the head coach said.
“He’s an instinctive-type tailback,” Lowry said of the 6-foot, 195-pounder. “He’s patient and makes some good cuts. He’s not the big, athletic kid that Holden is, but he’s a very capable running back. He’s got good quicks, and he’s a tough kid.”
Lowry has a wide range of athletes to work from at wide receiver, which includes Montana Western commit Bryce Cuchine of CMR, former Laurel standout Brandon Kubitz, Carroll College signee Chase Fossum of Glasgow, and two inside receivers, Connor Leach from Wibaux and Miles City’s Brett Keith.
And then there’s Nelson.
“I think we can be explosive for sure, but we also have a good line, so I think we can pound the ball if we want to,” said the future Montana Tech Oredigger. “And obviously, that’s what you want to do. If you can run the ball, you are going to be successful. But yeah, if we do want to throw the ball, I think we have guys who can spread the field and not let balls hit the ground and maybe put some points up.”
‘They like to get nasty’
That is what Ryan said of the men that will be blocking for him on Saturday.
It is an offensive line that includes the likes of Kyle Reitler (Billings Skyview), Mitch Brott (Billings West), Bryan Wilkes (CMR) and Brendan Barnes. That is nearly 1,150 pounds between them. Barnes, one of the two Canadian players selected to play in the Shrine game, comes in at 6-foot-6, 320 pounds.
The tailback is not complaining.
“Obviously they are going against a stacked defense in the West side but we’ll see what happens, and if they can open holes, I’m going to try to make the best of it,” said Ryan, who will play wide receiver in Missoula. “It’s just about them making me look good and me making them look good. And if you just look at them, they already look good, so I mean pressure is on me. It’ll be fun.”
Tough task
When asked about their opponent on Saturday, several of the East players smirked.
As if to say, the West roster is loaded without having to say it.
Ryan said it anyway.
“I wouldn’t say it’s unfair or anything because we’ve got good guys, too,” Ryan said. “And I don’t want to take shots at anybody because you can’t take shots at anybody when we are all here and we are all good. We are all going to play college football. But they definitely have a lot more of the meat of the state, I guess, you could say.”
To name a few: Colin Bingham, Daulton Daum, Brady McChesney, Logan Jones and Josh Sandry.
“I think they have a lot of good players, pretty much everyone at the MonDak is on the West,” Konkol said. “Especially their offensive weapons, they just have so many. If they are not fast, they are big. If they are not big, they have really good hands. They just have so many weapons.”
The West Team defeated the East 34-10 last season, but the East leads the all-time series 37-31.
Last hurrah
For a select few, this Saturday’s game is the last competitive football game they will ever play in.
The majority are slated to take college football fields in a matter of weeks, but some are not.
Keesler will wrestle at University of Great Falls. Former CMR linebacker Jed Engebretsen is headed to Montana State for academics. Rustler lineman Ryan Millhollin, a Tribune Super-State selection, will not play college football.
That means one thing: all business.
“This is my last football game,” Keesler said. “I want to win. I hope everyone feels the same way. Of course, there are other kids on this team going off playing college football, but I want to make this like a big bang for me, even though I couldn’t get it done in the season.”
It’s a bittersweet moment for some, to be sure.
"Yeah, because it's our coaches,” said CMR’s Wilkes, who will attend Montana State in Bozeman. “ I love them to death. But it's all right. I'm ready to move on to bigger and better things. I'm looking forward to it."
Palmer will play college football, but this is the last time he will play with his friend and Fairfield teammate, Dru Oveson. The emotions are similar to that of Keesler.
“It’s a little different knowing that this is the last time that I’m going to strap up as a highschooler,” Palmer said. “I mean, Dru, I’ve played with him since fourth grade, and it’ll be the last time that I play with him. So it’s kind of tough, but it’ll be fun to move on.”
Nelson hasn’t given it much thought.
'“Not really,” he said. “I guess it is kind of depressing. You know, high school football is a blast, no matter where you play, you seem to seem to have a ball. But, I don’t know, it’s fun to end it at the Shrine. It’s a big game and hopefully Great Falls will have a lot of fans there. It’s just an honor to be in the game, and to play with these guys, it’s been a really fun week and hopefully it will continue.”
Steve Schreck covers high school sports for the Tribune and can be reached at 791-1492. Follow him on Twitter @GFTribSSchreck
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Shrine Game hits home for former Maroon Chad Peterson
Butte Central graduate Chad Peterson will play outside linebacker for the West side in Saturday's Montana East-West Shrine Game.
Nobody had to explain the meaning of the Montana East-West Shrine Game to Chad Peterson.
He already knows all to well.
The Butte Central graduate lives with a patient of the Shriners Hospital for Children in Spokane, where the money raised by the all-star football game is sent.
Chad’s sister, Sloan, who will be 8 next month, makes frequent trips to the hospital because she has a significant curve in her spine. That curve will likely require surgery when she’s in high school.
“I’m not sure how many years she’s been going, but she’s been going a long time,” Peterson said after a practice Tuesday at Montana Tech. “That’s why my dad (Tom) joined the Shriners just recently. He was going down to the hospital with my sister and he got really interested in how they work. He really became attached to it, and he wanted to be a part in it.”
Sloan Peterson, a frequent patient of the Shriners Hospital for Children in Spokane, hangs on her big brother Chad. (Courtesy photo)
When Chad Peterson represents the Mining City on the West in Saturday’s 69th Montana East-West Shrine Game in Great Falls, it won’t be his first Shrine Game.
Peterson’s father is Butte Central’s defensive coordinator. He played in the Shrine Game in 1988. The elder Peterson also coached in the game a couple of times.
Chad Peterson’s uncle Pat Ogrin played in the game in 1976 — well before Chad was born and six and a half years before Ogrin won a Super Bowl ring with the Washington Redskins.
“I’ve been to a few of them on the sidelines,” Peterson said. “I got to meet a whole bunch of people throughout the Shrine game. I was a ball boy a few times. It’s kind of awesome playing in it.”
Peterson earned his way on the West team roster with a stellar career at Butte Central. He started three years at outside linebacker — the position he will play in the Shrine Game — and two years as a receiver.
Last season he earned first-team all-conference accolades on both sides of the ball. He was an All-State linebacker.
Peterson will play receiver at Montana Western. At least that is what he would prefer to play for the Dillon school.
When Peterson signed with the Bulldogs in December, Western coach B.J. Robertson said he would give Peterson a look at receiver because that’s where he wants to play. The coach, though, pointed out that the former Maroon can also play linebacker in the Frontier Conference.
Either position will be fine with Peterson.
“Wherever they have me I’ll play,” Peterson said. “I just want to play football, that’s the main thing.”
As a Maroon, Peterson ranks eighth in school history with 61 career receptions. That includes three catches for 96 yards and a touchdown in the Class A State championship game.
He caught a 56-yard touchdown pass from Danny Peoples to put the Maroons up 28-14 over Dillon with 10 minutes, 45 seconds left in the championship game.
Unfortunately for the Maroons, the Beavers scored the last 15 points and won 29-28.
Peterson shakes off the notion that he has an uncanny knack for making offensive plays on the football field.
“I just try to do my best and hopefully something good will happen for me,” he said.
Playing on offense is just more fun for Peterson. That might have something to do with him being a part of BC’s versatile, high-octane offense that include big-time play makers like Kyle Harrington, Kaemen Richards, Dalton Sessions, Cole Harper and the quarterback, Peoples.
“It was awesome,” Peterson said of playing with that collection of stars. “We could do anything, honestly. We could move a lot of kids around because a lot of kids could play any position.
“Harper, he was like an extra quarterback if we needed him. Then they had me playing running back a couple of games when Kaemen hurt his ankle.”
Peterson, who has added about 15 pounds since last season and is about 6-foot, 200 pounds heading into the Shrine Game, said he could probably play every position but quarterback.
“Oh, probably not,” he said of lining up behind center. “Maybe in the wildcat formation running the ball, but I couldn’t throw it. I can’t throw it very far.”
On Saturday, Peterson will once again be surrounded by some serious talent on a salty West side defensive unit.
We’ve got a good linebacking crew and the defensive line is just huge,” Peterson said. “The linebackers, we’re fast, we’re strong. We should be able to handle anyone out there.”
Scott Evans from Helena High is coordinating the West defense.
“He’s awesome,” Peterson said. “He’s great. He helps a ton, and he knows exactly what he’s doing. The Central defense is kind of the same. They’re pretty close. It was really easy to pick up.”
Of course, Peterson knows a thing or two about studying a defense since he grew up with a defensive coordinator as his father.
“Living with him I would study the defense,” Peterson said of his dad. “I would learn the defense ahead of time and then focus on the offense because that’s what I was going for. I had the defense down really well for the Maroons.”
Peterson also has the meaning of the game down. Over the last two seasons, the Montana East-West Shrine raised about $200,000 to send to the hospital to take special care of patients like Peterson’s sister Sloan.
While he doesn’t need to watch the presentations and videos the Shriners show the team leading up to the game, Peterson still does. And he pays close attention.
“We watched them,” Peterson said. “They’re touching. It’s like wow. All of us here are lucky that we get this chance here to play football and go to college to play football.”
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Nine future Orediggers will play in Shrine Game
Nine members of the Montana Tech 2015 recruiting class will play in Saturday’s 69th Montana East-West Shrine Game in Great Falls.
Six of the future Orediggers will play for the West team, which is training at Montana Tech throughout the week.
Safety Clay Dean of Butte High will play for the West side alongside future teammates Matt Murphy, an offensive lineman from Missoula Big Sky; Lane Kokoruda, a running back from Helena High; Ty Morgan, and offensive tackle from Columbia Falls; Ike Schweikert, a defensive end from Columbia Falls; and Danny Mannix, a running back from Drummond.
Oredigger signees on the East side are Hunter Berg, a defensive lineman from Billings Skyview; Reid Nelson, a safety from Great Falls Central; and Jake Clark, a linebacker from Billings Senior.
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Shrine Game will be Danny Peoples’ last behind center
Updated: July 13, 2015 at 7:26 pm
Danny Peoples will play his last game at quarterback Saturday at the Montana East-West Shrine Game.
Even though it was only a Sunday morning practice for the Montana East-West Shrine Game, Danny Peoples wasn’t a fan of wearing a jersey with No. 77 on it.
“No pictures of me today,” Peoples said with a laugh between practice reps. “Wait until tomorrow when I get a new jersey.”
Danny Peoples, you see, was born a quarterback, and 77 is the number of a lineman.
“Ever since I can remember it’s what I did,” Peoples said of playing quarterback after a West team scrimmage Monday on Montana Tech’s Bob Green Field.
Saturday’s 69th Montana East-West Shrine Game in Great Falls will mark the last time he will likely play the position, however. Next month Peoples will report to camp with the Montana Grizzlies as a kicker.
“This will be my last game as a quarterback, so I’m going to make the most of it and have fun with it,” Peoples said Monday, while wearing a more quarterback-like number 12. “It’s what I did for the longest time.”
By the time Peoples, who wore No. 1 at BC, was born, his father was already an established head coach at Butte Central Catholic High School. Don Peoples Jr. was also a quarterback for the Maroons. He wore No. 10.
So, from the day he could first walk, Danny Peoples was all about football and all about being a quarterback.
“I would show up to their practice when I was anywhere over 3 years old and throw the ball around,” he said.
BC quarterback Danny Peoples rolls out looking for a receiver during the season-opening game last season in Belgrade.
On Saturday, Peoples will switch off behind center with former Kalispell Glacier star Brady McChesney, who will walk on at Montana State and get a shot he can play quarterback.
Peoples will walk on at UM and will not get that chance.
“It will definitely be a lot different,” Peoples said. “At the Mon-Dak Game a few weeks ago I was just a kicker. It was weird getting used to hanging out on the sideline the whole game and not having as much to do with the outcome of the game.
“I like the opportunity I’ve been given in Missoula, and I’m excited for it.”
Back at quarterback, Peoples has looked sharp at quarterback through the first three days of the Shrine camp.
During Monday’s scrimmage threw a nice deep pass to Columbia Falls receiver Ty Morgan, who made an acrobatic catch. Another favorite target of Peoples is Butte High superstar Dalton Daum.
“I get to throw to the other Butte guy for a change,” Peoples said. “I don’t have any of my receivers, so that will be different. It’s good to get to know these guys. As the week goes on our chemistry is building up and it’s getting more comfortable with our receivers.”
Peoples helped lead the Maroons to within an eyelash of the Class AA State championship last season.
He ranks first in school history with 310 career completions, 4,840 career yards and 46 touchdowns. His 5,893 total yards trail only Matt Ritter, who racked up 5,993.
As much as he impressed as a quarterback, though, his kicking was off the charts.
Peoples set a state record with 113 career extra points, breaking the mark set by Tanner Roderick, who had 110 in Bozeman. He also ranks No. 1 in the school record book with eight field goals in a season and 14 in his career.
Those marks, though, don’t even tell half the story of the kicking of peoples, who has kicked a 56-yard field goal in practice.
His kickoffs went into the end zone almost every time he kicked the ball. That meant the Maroons always had an edge when it came to field position.
“I worked on that all year because we realized how much of a difference it would make to put teams at the 20 all the time,” he said.
Those kickoffs were also had to be a big reason why new Griz coach Bob Stitt talked Peoples out of taking scholarship offers that came with a chance to play quarterback to kick with the Grizzlies.
Presumably the chance to following in the footsteps of former Grizzly kickers like Dan Carpenter, who has kicked in the NFL since 2008, played a role as well. Carpenter is currently the kicker for the Buffalo Bills.
Peoples, though, downplays the idea of playing in the NFL.
“It should be every college player’s goal to play at the next level,” the future business major said. “I’m just going to get as good as I can be, work hard, see where it takes me and have a lot of success down in Missoula.”
Danny Peoples won’t be the first Peoples to play in the Montana East-West Shrine game. His grandfather Don Peoples Sr. and his great-uncle Jim Peoples played in the game. His uncles Doug and Kevin Peoples also played in the game.
“He’s the third generation in our family,” Don Peoples Jr. said. “I wasn’t on the roster.”
However, Peoples Jr., who has been the head coach at BC since 1989, is no stranger to the game. He is the head coach of the West team this year, a position he held in 2002 as well. He was a Shrine assistant in 1992.
“It’s a big honor,” Danny Peoples said. “I remember coming up here and hanging out for a week when my dad was coaching and I was just a little guy. I got to stay in the dorms and I had a lot of fun up here. Since then it’s been a dream of mine to make this team and be the quarterback.
“It means a lot to be picked for it, and I’m honored to be able to represent western Montana.”
The meaning of the game, which raises money for the Shriners Hospital for Children in Spokane, isn’t lost on Peoples either.
“Jeff showed a presentation of a few kids who had to have legs amputated, and they’re going through the Shriners Hospital now and getting treatment,” Peoples said, referring to West Team Coordinator Jeff Hartwick. “Now they’re playing sports and everything. Seeing those guys, it means a lot to be part of it to help.”
It also means a lot for Peoples to get one last chance to play quarterback.
“It will be a lot different not playing quarterback because I have since I was in fourth grade,” Peoples said. “All my family is sad about it. But they’re excited about seeing me play down in Missoula, too.”
Note: ButteSports.com will profile all six players representing the Mining City in the July 18 Montana East-West Shrine Game in Great Falls. Other players from Butte are Kaemen Richards, Chad Peterson and Marcus Ferriter of Butte Central and Dalton Daum and Clay Dean of Butte High.
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Shrine children, loss in title game fuel Kaemen Richards
Updated: July 11, 2015 at 8:33 pm
Kamen Richards takes a break from practice Saturday on the Bob Green Field.
Kaemen Richards is haunted by one play.
After the first West side practice for the Montana East-West Shrine Game Saturday afternoon on Montana Tech’s Bob Green Field, the former Butte Central Maroon pointed to the exact spot where the Dillon Beavers converted a 2-pont conversion to win the Class A State Championship Game 29-28 last November.
“Marcus (Ferriter) had the quarterback right here,” Richards says of his Maroon teammate. “Satch thought he sacked him. He tackled him, but J.D. (Ferris) just threw it up in the air. Our corner just barely missed, and that kid (Nate Simkins) caught it.”
There was still 2 minutes, 30 seconds left for the Maroons, and BC quarterback Danny Peoples completed a pass across midfield as the Maroons looked to set up a game-winning score.
Simkins, though, punched the ball out of the BC receiver’s hands and up into the air. It fell right into the waiting arms of Dillon’s Justin Ferris to end the game.
“Everything went right for them and wrong for us,” Richards says. “That’s just how it goes.”
Unfortunately for Richards, he really can’t let it go that easily. Nearly eight months later, that loss still stings. A lot.
“Sometimes I will be sitting in the shower and it will be like, ‘God, I wish we would have got that,’” Richards says. “I’m sure I’ll maybe get over it in a while, but maybe I might not. I’ve got to put it aside at some point. But I want win the rest of my games from now on.”
That’s where the Shine Game comes in. Richards is one of four Butte Central players – Peoples, Ferriter and Chad Peterson are the others – playing in the Shrine Game. Butte High’s Dalton Daum and Clay Dean will also represent the Mining City in the game, which is next Saturday in Great Falls.
“I want to win the rest of my games after that one loss,” says Richards, who was practicing with a Dillon “Beavs” sticker on his helmet Saturday. “It was a little hard putting it on, but I just want to get over it. Maybe it will help me.”
Richards will play inside linebacker for the West team.
“I’ve always played that my whole life,” he says. “I always liked being right in the middle of things.”
Playing in the middle, Richards earned All-State honors as a linebacker last season. He was also a first-team All-Conference full back. He was a bruising runner who got a lot-of goal line and short-yardage carries for the Maroons.
“I tried as hard as I could when I got the ball,” Richards says of his hard-nosed style.
He’d like to show off that running style next week in Great Falls.
Richards pucks up yardage in the semifinals last season in Whitefish.
“Danny was telling me that Don (head coach Don Peoples Jr.) might have me play because they need a cruiser on some plays,” Richards says. “I play cruiser for us and he’s just going to let me do that.”
If easing a painful memory wasn’t enough to inspire Richards in the Shrine Game, enter Tucker Thatcher and Sudha Davis.
The two young Butte athletes are patients at the Shriners Hospital for Children. They addressed the West team to reinforce to the players what the game is all about – raising money for the hospital.
“Tucker and Sudah came and talked to us earlier today,” Richards says. “It’s really emotional. People don’t realize it at first, but once you realize what you’re playing for all you want to do is help those people out.”
If nothing else, it made the thought of giving up more than a week of the summer for a football game well worth it.
“It’s totally fine to work hard for those people and raise money for them,” Richards says. “I’d take more than nine days if I had to.”
Next month, Richards will go back to work when he reports to preseason camp for the Montana Western Bulldogs.
In December, the 6-foot-1, 220-pound Richards signed with Coach B.J. Robertson’s Bulldogs after he received little attention from the bigger schools.
Of course, if he was tall as his 6-7 brother Aschan, who signed with the Montana Grizzlies after his BC career, it would be a different story. Kaemen Richards, though, doesn’t seem to mind. He’s happy with where he signed.
“I think Western is a perfect fit for me,” Richards says. “I love everything about it. The coaches are great. And just all the kids, I really liked them.”
Richards will likely play linebacker for the Bulldogs. He is also hoping for a chance to carry the ball on offense occasionally, too.
“He said we’ll see how it goes,” Richards says. “(Coach Robertson) is leaning more toward linebacker, but if I can run the ball I’ll do that, too.
“I love offense,” Richards adds. “But defense always just seems like that’s the No. 1 thing I’m all about.”
Richards says the pieces appear to be in place for the Bulldogs to make a run at the national championship during his career. One of those pieces is the quarterback in the play that has haunted Richards for the last eight months.
Ferris will battle for the starting spot for the Bulldogs as a true freshman.
“I really think we could (win a national title) down there,” Richards says.
That would certainly ease Richards’ pain from the loss in the championship game. It won’t make him forget it, however. He doesn’t want to.
“That was the best experience I ever had,” Richards says of the title game. “It was amazing. I will never forget that game.”
Note: ButteSports.com will profile all six players representing the Mining City in the July 18 Montana East-West Shrine Game in Great Falls. Other players from Butte are Danny Peoples, Chad Peterson and Marcus Ferriter of Butte Central and Dalton Daum and Clay Dean of Butte High.
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Dalton Daum appreciates meaning behind Shrine Game
Updated: July 12, 2015 at 4:52 pm
Butte High graduate Dalton Daum practices with the West team Sunday morning at Montana Tech.
Two weeks in a wheelchair might not seem like a long time.
For Dalton Daum, however, those two weeks were more than enough for him to have a firm understanding of what next Saturday’s Montana East-West Shrine Game is all about.
“It’s an honor to be able to play in it and help all those kids who have it a lot rougher than we do,” Daum said of playing in the game that raises money for the Shriners Hospital for Children in Spokane. “It’s special.”
Daum is one of six players representing the Mining City on the West team, which opened camp Saturday at Montana Tech. This year’s football game is in Great Falls.
Fellow former Butte High Bulldog Clay Dean is also on the West roster, as are Butte Central graduates Kaemen Richards, Marcus Ferriter, Danny Peoples and Chad Peterson. Butte Central coach Don Peoples Jr. is the head coach. BC’s assistant Stephan Burns is on the coaching staff.
A future Montana Grizzly, Daum will go down in history as one of the greatest athletes in Butte High history.
He has four State titles in track and field and a State title in football on his résumé. He won the Gatorade Montana Boys Track and Field Athlete of the Year award the last two springs.
He was recruited heavily for football and track by schools around the country, including Harvard.
For a couple of weeks after helping the Bulldogs win the Class AA State football title, though, Daum didn’t feel much like an athlete. Instead, he was slowly going from class to class at Butte High in a wheelchair.
Daum, who had to take several cortisone shots to get him through his sophomore season, had surgery on both of his feet following that season. He had bone spurs removed from both feet. He also had a torn capsule repaired in his right foot.
“I didn’t know before the surgery that I was getting both of them,” Daum said after practice Sunday morning. “(The doctor) said if the right one looks really bad then he’ll go into the left. I woke up with two wrappings on both feet. He threw me in a wheelchair. It wasn’t the best time.”
Daum went into the surgery thinking he’d leave in a walking boot.
“If they only would have had to do one I would have been in a boot,” he said. “I wouldn’t have needed crutches. He said he couldn’t put me in two boots. I’d be walking around like Frankenstein.”
Going to school wasn’t easy after the surgery.
“It wasn’t that fun of a two weeks,” Daum said. “It was tough getting in and out of class. I just mainly sat up front. I didn’t even have a desk. I just sat there in my wheelchair. It was pretty tough. I got a little fat from not moving.”
Daum returned to action for the basketball team six weeks after the surgery. He was full strength in time for the track season, and he placed third in the 100- and 200-meter races at the Class AA State meet as a sophomore
He placed second in those races at State as a freshmen. He won them as a junior and senior.
Daum closed his Butte High football career with 196 receptions for 2,997 yards and 32 touchdowns. He holds single-season school records for TD catches (16 in 2013), receiving yards (1,217 in 2013) and receptions (76 in 2013).
Even with a cast on his right hand, Daum was still a weapon for the Bulldogs on both sides of the ball.
Unofficially, Daum also holds the school record for most receptions (5), yards (84) and receiving touchdowns (1) while playing with a huge cast on his right hand. He played the last two games of his career with a broken hand.
“When it first happened I thought I was done for the year,” Daum said. “I thought I’d just get a club. I didn’t think they’d put me on offense. I thought I’d be stuck on defense.”
Daum played on both sides of the ball, however. He caught a touchdown against Missoula Big Sky and drew still constant attention from opposing defenses.
After he broke on the scene with a remarkable sophomore season, Daum drew constant attention from opposing defenses the rest of his Bulldog career. It’s been said that when Daum went to his locker between classes he had three defensive backs covering him.
That attention, he said, was bittersweet.
“I guess it benefitted us because guys got open,” Daum said. “It kind of sucked, but it helped the team out. If there’s three guys on me, two guys on me then someone’s got one-on-one coverage. Of all the years I was at Butte High one thing we always had was good receivers every year.
“When you had someone double team you, you could always count on another receiver to come through.”
Daum committed to play football for Montana State University on Nov. 30. On Jan. 11 he announced he was changing his commitment to play for the Grizzlies. That move came after new coach Bob Stitt offered the speedy receiver a full scholarship.
That full scholarship wasn’t on the table from the Grizzlies before that.
Heading into the 2015 season, Daum isn’t sure if he will redshirt or contribute for the Grizzlies this season.
“He said he wanted to try to keep our freshman class together,” Daum said of Stitt. “I’d like to play, but if I redshirt it’s another year. I don’t want to redshirt and not play that much, and waste a year.
“It would be nice to have a year to get settled in and used to everything, lifting and get stronger,” Daum said. “If I redshirt I do, but if I don’t I’ll be excited to play.”
So, there’s a good chance that Saturday’s Shrine Game will be the last time Daum will play in a game that counts until late August or September of 2016.
At least it is a game that Daum knows really does count for children who spend a lot more than two weeks in a wheelchair.
“We’re just athletes who come out here and just play a football game,” Daum said. “But it’s really special to know how much money we help raise for those people who need it.”
Note: ButteSports.com will profile all six players representing the Mining City in the July 18 Montana East-West Shrine Game in Great Falls. Other players from Butte are Kaemen Richards, Danny Peoples, Chad Peterson and Marcus Ferriter of Butte Central and Clay Dean of Butte High.
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Defense leads the way at West team scrimmage
Updated: July 13, 2015 at 5:13 pm
West quarterback Brady McChesney of Kalispell Glacier delivers a pass during a scrimmage Monday on the Bob Green Field. (Bill Foley photo)
That the roster of players knows how to play football really well might simply be the strength of this year’s West team that is practicing through the week on the Montana Tech campus.
The team held its first scrimmage Monday morning before a sparse crowd on the Bob Green Field artificial turf. Only one scoring play developed, little big yardage was gained and the defense, as could be expected at this point of the workouts, held the edge, noted head coach Don Peoples Jr., who has is the longtime man-in-charge of the Butte Central gridiron fortunes.
The West squad is preparing to play a similar team of East All-Stars Saturday in the 69th Montana East-West Shrine Game in Great Falls. Top players from their senior seasons the preceding fall annually fill the rosters for the contest.
“I think we just have a lot of really good players,” Peoples said, assessing the team’s strengths that came out in the scrimmage, held on a sunny, quickly warming morning. “That makes it fun to be a part of the game. A lot of these kids are going to college football.”
The big strike, one of the few haymakers the offense was able to land, was a 60-yard touchdown pass to recent Butte High speedster Dalton Daum from Brady McChesney, who quarterbacked Kalispell Glacier to the state Class AA championship last fall.
Another spectacular play was a deep pass thrown by Butte Central grad Danny Peoples to Ty Morgan of Columbia Falls. Morgan made an acrobatic, tumbling grab to latch onto the ball and foil the tight coverage.
Running back Lane Kokoruda of Helena High showed quickness and speed on several carries for good gains. He will be continuing his career at Montana Tech.
“The defense stood out,” coach Peoples said. “They’re definitely ahead of (the offense) after two days of practice. But our offense executed and had some bright spots.
“The defense was fast and aggressive. The offense takes a little longer (to gel) because of the timing and the pass-blocking.”
The coach was happy with the read-zone operation of the quarterbacks, McChesney, who is headed for Montana State, and Peoples, who will be a kicking and punting candidate for Montana. Coach Peoples also lauded the running of Kokoruda and Missoula Big Sky alum Cory Diaz. He added that Glacier product Logan Jones brings some more prowess to the position, but was held out of Tuesday’s action because of a “minor injury.”
“There are a lot of challenges but these are all good kids with high football IQs,” Don Peoples said about putting the team together for a game in a week’s time.
The East holds a 37-31 lead in the series that started in 1947. The West won last year’s game, 34-10, played in Laurel. Next year’s game will be held in Butte.
Second-time West team head coach Don Peoples Jr. is being assisted on this year’s staff by Stephan Burns of Butte Central, Scott Evans of Helena High, T Artis of Glacier, Gary Ferris of Dillon and Clint Layng of Boulder.
The East head coach is Gary Lowry of C.M. Russell in Great Falls. Assistants include Mike Henneberg of CMR, Matt Krahe of Great Falls High, Jeff Graham of Belt, Charlie Brown of Fairfield and Butte native Paul Klaboe, recently retired Billings West head coach.
The game benefits the Shrine Children’s Hospital in Spokane and has raised more than $200,000 for it the past two years.
“This game — it’s all good,” coach Peoples said, “the game, the cause, the players and the coaches.”
Practices are scheduled Tuesday for 9 a.m. and 3 and 7 p.m.
The updated West roster follows:
Quarterbacks — Danny Peoples, Butte Central, 6-1, 185; Brady McChesney, Kalispell Glacier, 6-0. 170.
Wide receivers — Paul Hart, Helena High, 6-3, 175; Colton Hunchak, Calgary Notre Dame, 6-0, 195; Ty Morgan, Columbia Falls, 5-11, 175; Dalton Daum, Butte High, 6-1, 175; Logan Jones, Kalispell Glacier, 5-8, 160; Sean Mulcahy, Helena Capital, 6-2, 175.
Running backs — Danny Mannix, Flint Creek, 6-1, 180; Lane Kokoruda, Helena High, 5-10, 175.
Offensive linemen — Harrison Kauffman, Kalispell Glacier, 6-2, 235; Marcus Ferriter, Butte Central, 6-4, 220; Michael Curtiss, Libby, 6-4, 240; Michael Monaco, Anaconda, 6-2, 230; Devinn Ragen, Townsend, 6-3, 215; Matt Murphy, Missoula Big Sky, 6-2, 245; Clay Tamcke, Helena High, 6-1, 225; Zach Brown, Hamilton, 6-3, 240.
Tight end — Colin Bingham, Missoula Big Sky, 6-3, 240.
Defensive linemen — Aaron Siderius, Kalispell Flathead, 6-0, 215; Cory Diaz, Missoula Big Sky, 6-0, 190; Spencer Ransier-Ross, Columbia Falls, 6-5, 285; Byron Rollins, Missoula Sentinel, 6-3, 230; Philip Whitney, Hamilton, 6-1, 210.
Defensive ends — Ike Schweikert, Columbia Falls, 6-3, 205; Jayce Gilder, Corvallis, 6-5, 225.
Andrew Harris, Kalispell Glacier, 6-4, 195.
Safeties — J.D. Ferris, Dillon, 5-11, 170; Clay Dean, Butte High, 5-10, 175; Josh Sandry, Bigfork, 6-1, 195.
Cornerbacks — Justin Ferris, Dillon, 5-10, 140; Nick Wrigg, Helena Capital, 6-0, 165; Danner Lindhart, Missoula Loyola, 6-0, 180.
Outside linebackers — Joe Caicedo, Darby, 6-1, 200; Chad Peterson, Butte Central, 6-0 190; Jason Ferris, Dillon, 6-2, 175.
Inside linebackers — Kaemen Richards, Butte Central, 6-2, 220; Parker Tezak, Dillon, 6-0, 205; Isaiah Cech, Helena High, 6-0, 205; Josh Hill, Kalispell Glacier, 6-1, 200.
Specialist — Tanner Hoff, Hot Springs, 6-1, 215.
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Montana Shrine Game is No. 1 in the nation
The Montana East-West Shrine Game was the No. 1-ranked Shine Game for raising money, and it isn’t even close.
Local Shriner Ryan Jonart announced Montana’s No. 1 ranking Tuesday night on its Montana East-West Shrine Game Facebook page. Jonart is attending a Shriners Imperial Session in Houston.
The latest figures are from the 2013 game, which was played at Naranche Stadium in Butte. The Butte Shriners presented the Shriners Hospital for Children in Spokane $146,000 from that game last May.
That figure beat the second-ranked game by $56,000. The Iowa Shrine Game was ranked No. 2 with $90,000. Kansas was third at $77,778, followed by North Dakota $56,041.
Last year’s Montana game, which was played in Laurel, raised about $70,000.
The 69th Montana East-West Shrine Game will be played July 18 in Great Falls. Players from the West will report to Montana Tech for practice on Saturday.
The game returns to Butte in 2016.
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