Three locals selected for East-West Shrine football game
Hey savvy news reader! Thanks for choosing local.
You are now reading
2 of 3 free articles.
POLSON — Polson Pirates Quarterback Vince DiGiallonardo, guard Josiah Clairmont and linebacker Paul McClurg were selected for the 66th annual East-West Shrine football game slated to take place July 21 in Great Falls.
The Shrine game is one of the oldest prep all-star games in the country. Started in 1947 to help raise money for the Shriner’s Hospital for Children in Spokane, Wash., it has been played every year since by some of the best seniors in high school football.
This year, those best include DiGiallonardo, Clairmont and McClurg along with 16 other players from Western Montana on the 40-man roster for the West team.
Joining the Polson players from Western Montana are Missoula Sentinel wide receiver Alec Bray, Missoula Hellgate defensive end Zach Peevey and Loyola Sacred Heart lineman Johnny Medeiros.
Kalispell had five players picked, including three from Class AA semifinalist Glacier.
There were eight players from area Class A teams selected for the all-star game, including the three from Northwestern A champ Polson. Class A state champion Dillon, Helena High and Helena Capital led the way with four players each being named to the West squad.
Glacier’s Grady Bennett will be the West’s head coach. Bennet coached the Shrine game as an assistant to Bob Applegate in 1997 and Terry Thomas in 2007. He was the quarterback for the West team in 1986, helping his team win that year.
Head coach Mark Sulser of Billings Senior will lead the East team. Sulser led the East in 2004 and also played in the East-West Shrine game as a senior.
The West has won for the past three years. In Laurel last year, the West defeated the East, 24-3, but still lags behind the East 36-29 in the overall series.
