Glacier, Whitefish players fortify West Shrine roster

Five players from the State AA champion Glacier Wolfpack, plus two alternates, have been named to the West roster for the 79th Annual Montana East-West Shrine Game.

Glacier’s Grady Bennett will also coach the West in the game, which is set for June 20, 2026 in Butte. His roster is fortified with players from Whitefish, Columbia Falls, Bigfork, Polson and State A champion Frenchtown, among others. 

Wolfpack offensive linemen Will Astle and Maverick Diede, running back Asher Knopik, linebacker Jack Robinson and quarterback Jackson Presley are all part of the West roster. 

Running behind Astle and Diede, Knopik rushed for 1,512 yards and 23 touchdowns for the 12-0 Wolfpack; Presley completed 67 percent of his passes for 2,221 yards and 27 scores, with just two interceptions. He also ran for another seven TDs. 

Robinson had 110 tackles plus an interception, forced fumble and blocked kick to lead the Glacier defense. 

Wolfpack defensive end Wayne Cox and receiver Ethan Kastelitz are alternates for the West. 

The Northwest A is well-represented, starting with guard Sam Akey, running back Cole Moses and linebacker Aaron Anderson of Whitefish. Moses piled up 916 yards and eight touchdowns rushing for the Bulldogs, who fell to Frenchtown in the State A semifinals.  

Bigfork had two players selected: defensive tackle Holland Jantzen and linebacker Treker Hickey. Hickey, in addition to be the Vikings’ leading rusher, had 77 tackles on defense. 

Polson offensive tackle Brody Bulette is on the West squad along with receiver Easton Brooks of Columbia Falls. Brooks had 34 catches for 524 yards and six TDs for the 2025 Wildcats. 

Frenchtown is represented by offensive tackle Bryden Ricci, linebacker Konnor Klimpel and defensive end Henry Griffin.  

The West also includes one player from State B champion Manhattan, defensive tackle Brady Toner, though the Tigers’ Kyler Bailey is an alternate. 

Flathead’s Kyler Kossman is an alternate as well, along with Holden Emerson of Polson and Rogan Lytle of Eureka. 

On the East team, coached by sixth-year Gallatin coach Hunter Chandler, are three players and two alternates from Billings West and five players (plus two alternates) from Billings Central.  

Both the Golden Bears (AA) and Rams (A) advanced to their championship games. 

State 8-man champion Scobey saw defensive end Cooper Axtman selected for the East; two players from 6-man champion Chester-JI were named alternates. 

Bennett played in this game in 1986, was an assistant for the West in 1997 and 2007 and the head coach for the 2012 West team. His 22nd season as Glacier’s coach culminated in the Pack’s second state championship, to go with their 2014 title. 

Chandler’s Raptors reached the State AA semifinalist the last four seasons. Prior to taking over at Gallatin, Chandler served five years as the defensive coordinator and assistant coach at Bozeman High. He also coached at Havre High under Mark Samson. 

Every year since 1947 Montana high schools’ finest players are selected to compete in a game to raise money and to help make the public aware of the expert orthopedic care available at the Shriner’s Hospital for Children in Spokane. In recent years, the Montana game has become the top Shrine Game in the nation for hospital donations.  In the last 10 years this game has raised over $1 million. 

Forty of Montana’s finest are selected to compete on each team along with two players from Canada will join them, one for the East and one for the West. 

79th Montana Shrine Game rosters

WEST 

C William Astle     Glacier 

C Everett Stumpf     Hamilton 

G Sam Akey     Whitefish 

G Bode Templeton     Sentinel 

G Derek Opitz     Capital 

T Maverick Diede     Glacier 

T Brody Bulette     Polson 

T Brayden Ricci     Frenchtown 

TE Cooper Dighans     East Helena 

TE Kade Robinson     Sentinel 

WR Hudson Luedtke     Butte High 

WR Brody Duchien     Florence 

WR Brody Galle     Anaconda 

WR Easton Brooks     Columbia Falls 

WR Parker Link     Hellgate 

RB Asher Knopick     Glacier 

RB Cole Moses     Whitefish 

RB Peyton Lorenz     Helena High 

QB Jackson Presley     Glacier 

QB Ryan Peoples     Butte Central 

Athlete Vince Paffhausen     Hellgate 

Athlete McCoy Townsend     Darby 

DT Brady Toner     Manhattan 

DT Holland Jantzen     Bigfork 

DE Evan Pyron     Hellgate 

DE Henry Griffin     Frenchtown 

DE Bridger Alexander     Florence 

ILB Brit Linder     Capital 

ILB Aaron Anderson         Whitefish 

ILB Konnor Klimpel     Frenchtown 

OLB Jack Robinson     Glacier 

OLB Treker Hickey     Bigfork 

OLB Blake Williams     Big Sky 

OLB Cole McInnis     Calgary 

CB Brady Williams     Big Sky 

CB Cameron LeProwse     Sentinel 

CB Riley Shulte     Helena High 

S Rudy Hess     Sentinel 

S Mitch Verlanic     Butte High 

S Cormack Batt     Big Sky 

S Cal Marceau     Big Sky 

West Alternates 

Derek Brovold     Seeley Swan 

Noah Blom Capital 

Trenton Moreni     Dillon 

Nick Kantorowicz     Helena High 

Wyt Oliver     Three Forks 

Barrett Bessette     St. Regis 

Jace Wiseman     Three Forks 

Holden Emerson     Polson 

Bailey Corette     Frenchtown 

Owen Felton     Loyola 

Kyler Kossman     Flathead 

Wayne Cox     Glacier 

Carson Pesek     Big Sky 

Travis Dye     Anaconda 

Adam Guajardo     Big Sky 

Rogan Lytle     Eureka 

Joe Grunow     Loyola 

Kyler Bailey    Manhattan 

Hank Hagenbarth     Dillon 

Kolten Zurmuehlen     Seeley Swan 

Sam Cohea     Hellgate 

Drew Esponda     Helena High 

Ethan Kastelitz     Glacier 

Levi Winters     Florence 

Hagen Paddock     East Helena 

EAST 

C Max Spangler     Havre 

C Ty Steinmetz     Bozeman 

G Tommy Lewis     Havre 

G Kingston Oe     Laurel 

G Andrew Linder     Glasgow 

T Carson Ross     Gallatin 

T Tyton Larsen     Billings Central 

T Brandon Schoenen     Great Falls High 

T Bradon Healy Jr.     Havre 

TE Logan Humphrey     Bozeman 

TE Merrick Fisher     Skyview 

WR Wesley Ehret     Belgrade 

WR Elias Bonner     Billings West 

WR William Snell     Billings Central 

WR Drew Etcheberry     CMR 

WR Grady Neilson     Glasgow 

RB Curtis Fox     Laurel 

RB Aiden Salter     Billings Central 

QB Howie Martin     Billings Central 

DT Peyton Fenner     CMR 

DT Parker Warner     Billings Senior 

DT Darwin Spotted     Gallatin 

DE Colter Devoss     Great Falls High 

DE Jace Bantz     Grass Range 

DE Deisel Zallar     Gallatin 

DE Cooper Axtman     Scobey 

ILB Hunter Lee     CMR 

iLB Layne Alexander    Billings Central 

ILB Charles Beach     Calgary 

OLB Sam Talbot     Gallatin 

OLB Peyton Cicero     Billings West 

CB Evan Hughen     Bozeman 

CB Bobby Gutzman     Gallatin 

CB Gavin Schwend     Billings West 

CB Deagan Lehfeldt     Billings Senior 

S Dawson Hammond     Malta 

S Kougar Kappel     Red Lodge 

S Rylan Jennings     Billings Senior 

S Kyhe Gamas     Glasgow 

P McKay Shobe     Lewistown 

K Tanner Vick     Power-Dutton-Brady 

East Alternates 

Damen Furthmyre     Great Falls High 

Aiden Burke     Billings West 

Jace Pardee     Ekalaka 

Rhett Comes     Lewistown 

Fin Schultz     Gallatin 

Trey Daly     Lockwood 

Trapper Kinamon     Conrad 

Lane Bradley     Billings Senior 

Lincoln Senter     CMR 

Mason Swanson     Red Lodge 

Corey Polkowske     Absarokee 

Cooper Streit     Chester-JI 

Jet Lafontaine     Billings Central 

Nate Davis IV     Lockwood 

Wyatt Sugg     Glasgow 

Keegan Skjogas     Fairview 

Layne Wallace     Fort Benton 

Braedden Matthews     Gallatin 

Trey St. John     Great Falls High 

Nolan Kammerman     Melstone 

Ryland St. John     Chester-JI 

Travis Cartwright     Fairfield 

Isaiah Burt     Laurel 

Jake Phalen     Miles City 

Duke Williamson     Circle 

Pierce Caton     Red Lodge 

Truman Giese     Fort Benton 

Reed Von Stein     Fairfield 

Kooper Beard     Huntley Project 

Bladen Madel     Great Falls High 

Kael Adrich     Billings Central 

Krew Hunter     Laurel 

Colt Johnson     Billings West 

Caleb Taylor     CMR