After just one day of Shrine Bowl practice late last week, the 34 players on the East squad were left wondering if there was much left to go over.
They were ready for a football game.
“After the first practice, we were wondering what we were going to do all week,” said Matt Coursen, a running back from Waverly on the East squad, “because we were feeling like we had already meshed so well that we didn’t need that many practices. We were looking pretty good.”
If that’s the case, then the East squad should be purring position a fine-tuned machine when it meets the West squad for the 34th Kansas Shrine Bowl at 7 tonight at Lewis Field in Hays.
The will be no shortage of local starpower on the field when the East meets the West, as the area landed five players on Shrine Bowl rosters this year.
Along with Coursen, Dillon Cox of Emporia, Jake Miller of Olpe and Andrew Wiederholt of Hartford all will suit up for the East squad, which practiced at Welch Stadium in Emporia this week. Madison’s Jordan Stout was named to the West team, which held camp in Salina all week.
Cox, Coursen, Miller and Wiederholt help make up an East team that has drawn the praise of its head coach, Blake Pierce of Seaman High School.
“We’ve got good-sized linemen to go with very quick, athletic, specialized guys,” Pierce said. “We’ve got a couple different types of quarterbacks. We’ve got a lot of different things that we can do with the people we have. Defensively, we have some big hitters and guys that can run to the football.
“That’s how we want to play in the Shrine Bowl.”
Of the four local talents on the East squad, all are expected to play significant roles during the game.
Coursen, a first-team All-State pick from the 8-Man ranks, will line up in the backfield as a running back and fullback. Pierce called Coursen “a star” from the beginning of camp, and the two-time All-Area player of the year said he hoped he wouldn’t disappoint come gametime.
“I just want to go out there and not fumble the ball and make mistakes,” Coursen said. “I want to go out there and play my game, and hopefully everybody else does theirs, and hopefully we’ll come together and win it.”
Cox, a first-team Class 6A selection after his 107-tackle season in 2006, likely will see extensive action at his outside linebacker spot after getting rave reviews from Pierce earlier in the week.
“I’m just focused on stopping the outside — the strong side — and not letting anything get out past me, so other people can make plays,” he said.
Miller, an All-Area first-team selection, practiced at defensive end, defensive tackle and center during camp this past week, making it seem as if his contributions during the game could come from a variety of spots on the field.
“It’s been almost 6 months or something like that since I played last,” Miller said. “It’s been pretty tough, but the team’s coming together pretty good.”
As for Wiederholt, another first-team All-Area pick, he will be used as a wing back. Judging by his use in practice, it would appear the East coaches will look to use his big frame to catch passes across the middle of the field and out in the flats.
Wiederholt said with so much talent on hand for one game, he likely will have to take a moment before the game begins to calm himself down.
“I’ll probably be a little bit nervous, but it’s really hard to be nervous when you have such great coaches and great players with you,” Wiederholt said. “It’s going to be a big crowd, and I think it’s going to be a lot of fun. I’m really looking forward to it.”
As for their predictions for the battle with the West all-stars, there was a consensus across the board: An East victory.
“I think we’re pretty good,” Miller said.
Added Coursen: “I hope our offense makes big plays, because I have no doubt our defense will shut them down. We should win.”