Playing alongside some of the top defensive talent in Kansas, former Hutchinson linebacker Nate Dreiling concluded his high school football career with yet one more dominating performance.
Dreiling collected 12 tackles and intercepted a pass in earning Most Valuable Player honors for the West team in Saturday’s 14-7 win over the East at the 36th annual Kansas Shrine Bowl Classic football game at Wichita State’s Cessna Stadium.
Saturday’s seven-point triumph marked the first time that either side has managed to win a fourth straight contest. The West now leads the series 22-13-1.
“We knew we had a ton of speed coming in and it showed Saturday,” Dreiling said of shutting down the East’s offensive firepower. “Really, it was the coaches that did a great job of teaching and putting everything together in a short period of time. We became a pretty sound unit all the way around.
“Each position was stacked with great athletes. These guys were the best players from their high schools. They were the best from their own corners of the state. Every one of them came into the game and controlled what he could.”
As well as Dreiling played on defense, it was his key block offensively that sealed the deal for the West.
Dreiling’s interference allowed scrambling Derby signal caller Jake Snodgrass to get up the field for a 20-yard gain late in the contest, securing the final first down. The West then ran out the clock.
“That was the best feeling,” Dreiling said of throwing the final blow to the East’s chances of rallying and breaking its three game slide. "It proved to be the deciding factor. The whole sideline just went crazy.
“It made the whole week worth it. All of the practicing, everything…I got to play in front of a great crowd and I got to play with a great group of guys.”
Photo by Dean Backes
Nate Davis (Liberal) makes his way up the field behind the blocking of Taylor Counts (Salina Central) and Ty Zimmerman (Junction City).
Junction City’s Ty Zimmerman played well enough to earn recognition as the West team’s MVP. The former Bluejay signal caller scored the winning team’s first touchdown on a 1-yard plunge that capped a 12-play, 53-yard drive early in the opening quarter.
Zimmerman also aided the West defense by bottling up the East offense with a 49.3-yard average on six punts. Two of his punts went for 61 yards each.
The East actually set up Zimmerman’s opening score when an East return man mishandled the opening kick, bottling his team up at it’s own 1-yard line. Four plays later the West took over at it’s own 47 following an East punt.
Zimmerman rammed the ball over the goal line from an inch out to put the West up 7-0, before the East mishandled yet another kickoff. This time, however, Lyndon coach Rod Stallbaumer’s squad was able to return the ball out beyond its own 30-yard line.
Then former Topeka Hayden quarterback T. J. McGreevy, the East’s MVP, found former Gardner-Edgerton receiver Isaac Mallory wide open down the right sideline for a 61-yard score to tie the game at 7-7.
“That kind of surprised me,” Mallory said of the moment when he realized there was nobody within 30 yards of him. “I’m not sure if it was a mix up in their defensive play calling, or if the safety and the corner just fell for the fake.
“I was just focusing on not over running the ball or under running the ball. I knew we were down by seven so I concentrated on catching the ball and getting the points.”
Following a 15-yard punt by McGreevy, late in the opening quarter, the West took possession at the East 37, setting up the game’s winning points on former Liberal running back Nate Davis’ 4-yard run.
The West kept the ball on the ground on 6 of the 7 plays in the drive to take a 14-7 advantage.
The East did threaten to even the score in the second half when former Centralia linebacker Ben Steinlage intercepted a Snodgrass pass and returned it to the West 49.
But former Garden Plain linebacker Daniel Capul halted the threat when he recovered former Perry-Lecompton quarterback Shane Gimzo’s fumble at the West 37.
Despite Mallory’s 61-yard scoring reception in the first quarter, the East squad managed just 131 yards of total offense. East running backs rushed for only 71 yards on 32 carries collectively.
Bo Black’s (Great Bend) West squad, on the other hand, ran the ball for 142 yards on 41 carries and connected on 13 of 23 passes for 82 yards in producing 224 yards of total offense.
Davis led all rushers with 67 yards and a touchdown on 16 carries, while former Shawnee Heights running back Austin Flohrschutz led the East squad with 23 yards on six carries.
Snodgrass completed 9 of 16 passes for 62 yards to lead all passers, while McGreevy completed 3 of 5 aerials for 60 yards and a score for the East.
Mallory's one catch single handedly made him the game’s top receiver in terms of yardage, while former Wichita Bishop Carroll tight end Joe Brown led all West receivers with 3 catches for 31 yards.
Dave Roberts (Mulvane) edged out Tom O’Connell (Andover) for the championship of the second annual Kansas Shrine Bowl Senior All-Star Boys Cross Country Race.
Former Wamego star Breanna Briggs held off a strong kick by Iowa seventh grader Rebekkah Topham to win the girls race.