Kelch selected for East-West Shrine Game

Whitefish senior Mason Kelch made the West Team roster for the 77th Annual Montana East-West Shrine Game. The game will be played on June 15 in Billings.

The Montana Shrine Game is the premier all-star game in Montana and has a long history of distinguished players and coaches.  It is also one of America's oldest high school all-star football games.

Kelch was selected as a safety for the West Team.  He has been a mainstay on the Bulldog varsity football team for three years. He plays wide receiver and safety and has entered the game as quarterback before. He was also selected as All-State this year and last year at receiver and safety.

Kelch is not the only one from the valley to be selected for the Shrine Game. Players from Glacier, Bigfork, Columbia Falls and Eureka are also on the West Team roster.

All the players were nominated by their schools and coaches across the state, and finally selected as the “best of the best” to participate in the 77th Montana Shrine Game. They join an elite fraternity of players, many of whom have gone on to distinguished collegiate and professional careers.    

Heading the West Team will be Pat Duchien of Florence-Carlton. Pat graduated from Canby Union High School (OR) and Montana Western.  He began coaching in 2012 as an assistant at Florence, becoming the Head Coach in 2017. The Florence Falcons have won State Championships in 2021, 2022, and 2023.

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 and burn care available at the Shriner’s Hospital for Children in Spokane, Washington.  Expert care is provided regardless of the family’s ability to pay. The Montana game is the top Shrine Game in the nation for hospital donations. In recent years, this game has contributed several million dollars to the Shriner's Hospital in Spokane, and the Montana Shrine Game is the top contributing game in the country.