As many as five players from the Mining City could represent the West Team when the 72nd Montana East-West Shrine Game is played in Great Falls.
The “best-of-the best” All-Star football game is set for July 21 at Memorial Stadium. Dennis McSweeney, player selection chairman for the Shrine Game, officially released the East and West rosters on Christmas Day. (Rosters)
Ryan Moodry and Hunter Hartwick of Butte Central and Greyson Mandic of Butte High were named to the West Team roster. BC’s Zeb Antonioli and Butte High’s Corbin Walker were named West Team alternates.
The 5-foot-11, 200-pound Moodry will play linebacker for the West Side. That’s one of three positions the BC star earned postseason honors for this past season. He was named All-State at linebacker as a junior. He was an All-State fullback as a senior.
Hartwick took home first-team all-conference honors at defensive end for the Maroons. The 5-11, 185-pound Hartwick also unselfishly moved to offensive line to play a position of need for the Maroons.
Mandic, a 6-2, 225-pounder who recently signed to play football at Montana Tech, will play offensive tackle in the Shrine Game. That’s a position in which Mandic was named second-team all-conference and second-team All-State in 2017.
Mandic will play defensive end for the Orediggers.
Walker was named an alternate for the West defensive line. In 2017, the 5-10, 215-pound Walker was named first-team all-conference and second-team All-State.
The 6-3, 280-pound Antonioli made the West alternate list as a guard. This past season, Antonioli received a second-team all-conference nod at guard. He was a first-team all-conference defensive lineman.
Kyle Mihelish of Helena Capital will be the head coach of the West Team. Mihelish played for Montana Western, helping the Bulldogs advance to the national semifinals twice.
His first coaching opportunity came in 1996 as an assistant coach to Dale Pohle at Great Falls High. Mihelish returned to his alma mater in Helena as an assistant coach. He has served as head coach at Capital the last three seasons, leading them to three consecutive state semifinal appearances. This will be the fifth time Mihelish has coached in the Shrine Game. It will be his first as head coach.
He will be coaching a roster that includes Capital stars Connor Quick, Justin Jenks, Trevor Welnel, Seth Schneider and Carson Shuman. Capital’s Connor McCarvel and Mark Northey made the West alternate list.
Southwest Montana players to make the roster include Wyatt Alexander and Dawson Hoerauf of Whitehall; Clay Allison and Brett Tezak of Dillon; Corbin and Tanner Wood of Ennis; Karson Wheat of Deer Lodge; and Colton Grange of Philipsburg (Flint Creek).
Boulder’s Nate Brunett and Hayden Guisti made the alternate list along with Coby King of Dillon and Braden Smith of Whitehall.
Levi Wesche of Bozeman will coach the East Team. Wesche played his high school football for Choteau and graduated from Dutton High School in 2001.
Wesche played football at MSU-Northern and started his high school coaching career in Bozeman in 2007. He’s been head coach of the Hawks the last two years. Wesche will be coaching in his third Shrine game, this being the first at the helm.
Wesche will coach Bozeman’s Jory Choate, Tyler Dobe and Logan Kleinhans. Bozeman’s Brandon Cooper and Latrell McCutcheon were named alternates.
