After finishing with a 9-3 record and winning the first playoff game in school history, Glacier High School’s football team has three players on the roster for the 66th annual Montana East-West Shrine Game, which will be played on July 21 in Great Falls. The rosters for both the West and East teams are announced at Christmastime each year.
Further testament to Glacier’s accomplishments this fall is the selection of Grady Bennett as head coach of the West team. It’s the first time Bennett has been head coach at the Shrine Game, though he was an assistant to Bob Applegate in 1997 and to Terry Thomas in 2007. As a player, he was the quarterback in a West victory in 1986.
Joining Glacier’s three players on the West roster are 11 other athletes from Northwest Montana, including three from Polson, two from Flathead, two from Whitefish, two from Bigfork, one from Libby and one from Columbia Falls. A number of other local players have been selected as alternates.
Northwest Montana’s roster selections are Luke Halliburton (defensive lineman), Anthony Gugliuzza (return specialist) and Caleb Harris (defensive end) of Glacier; Josiah Clairmont (guard), Vince DiGiallonardo (quarterback) and Paul McClurg (outside linebacker) of Polson; George Sherwood (wide receiver) and Nick Reilly (guard) of Flathead; Cody Dopps (running back) and Dillon Fraley (defensive end) of Bigfork; Maximillian Smith (defensive lineman) and Gage Vasquez (wide receiver) of Whitefish; Austin Barth (outside linebacker) of Columbia Falls and Sawyer Zimmerman (defensive lineman) of Libby.
The local alternates are Austin Cantrell (defensive lineman) and Connor Coleman (defensive end) of Bigfork; Matt Iavicoli (inside linebacker) and Mack Sutherland (guard) of Glacier; Travis Oakason (tackle) of Flathead and Jack Humphreys (cornerback) of Ronan.
Montana’s Shrine Game is one of the oldest high school all-star football contests in the nation. It has been played every year since 1947 to raise money for the Shriner’s Hospital for Children in Spokane.