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West edges East in Shrine game
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The 56th Annual Shrine East-West All-Star game featured big plays, hits and turnovers. But in the end the West walked away with a 28-26 win Saturday. However, the winner is always the children at the Shriners Children’s Hospital. Brody Wilkins made his mark on the game. The quick quarterback and defensive back made his mark with his foot. The Mohawk graduate picked up his third consecutive win that left players and fans from the east willing to pay his fare to any destination.Wilkins led his team to a state title over Imbler. Then picked up a win at the 8-man All-Star game at Eastern Oregon University. At Baker he wrapped up the trifecta. His three PAT kicks made the difference in the game. “It’s a great way to end the summer and my high school career,” Wilkins said. “Of course I didn’t do it all myself, there were a lot of great athletes on (the West) team.” “I didn’t expect to make a difference by kicking. It’s just something that I do pretty well. Whatever it takes to win.” It just took a few minutes and a wake up call for those West team athletes to wake up. East quarterback Jarred Hasskamp, of Sisters, hooked up with Larry Ragsdale, of Illinois Valley on a 34 yard pass that ended in the end zone. The quick strike left everyone thinking about another East route. Those hopes of nightmares were dismissed when the West marched 78 yards on six plays to take the lead. La Salle’s Chris Nagel took his second carry of the drive into the end zone to tie the game. Wilkins drilled the PAT to put the East ahead. “(The West) didn’t surprise us,” East coach Kevin Swift said. “We knew there were some great athletes over there. This game wasn’t going to be easy.” After the collective offenses scored 19 point in the opening six and half minutes, the defenses showed up. “We won the game with defense,” East coach Laric Cook said. “We had a few bad plays sprinkled in the game, but as a whole it wasn’t too bad.” The West reeled of two more scores in the first half. Yamhill-Carlton’s Kyle Bansen plowed in for two-yard touchdown run. Regis Robert Keudell jumped on a mishandled exchange on the ensuing East drive. Wilkins took advantage of the miscue, firing a 17-yard strike to Darrell Fields, of Gladstone, to cap the first half scoring. The East filed into the locker room stunned with a 21-12 deficit. Not only was the two-game winning streak on the line, but Hasskamp’s return after tweaking his knee appeared unlikely. Those fears were confirmed after trying to loosen up for the second half. Trainers treated the knee with ice, and he spent the rest of the game on crutches. “It would’ve been nice to have him in the game,” Swift said. “But we weren’t going to take any chances. The decision was up to him, but we discouraged him coming back. “(Logan) Garner came in and did a great job. He’s willing to do anything to get on the field.” The West continued its assault with Wilkins finding Andrew Young, of Oakland, on a 43 yard touchdown pass. Three consecutive East possessions failed to end with points on the board. However, the West handed over two points on a botched punt attempt. The snap forced Wilkins into the air, and a few steps later out of the end zone. Oregon’s all-time high school rushing leader Cory McCaffrey broke out of the East rut. McCaffrey scampered 28 yards to the end zone — cutting the lead to 28-20. For the third straight attempt Ragsdale failed on the PAT. Penalties continued to mar the East’s offensive attack. Eight penalties aided in stalled drives. None bigger than an unsportsmanlike penalty with 10 minutes left in the fourth quarter. The West ran five minutes off the clock on its next possession. Wilkins misses a 34-yard field goal attempt that would have iced the game. Instead, Ragsdale took a reverse 59 yards down the field stopping in the end zone, making the score 28-26. “I just tried to use my speed,” Ragsdale said. “My goal is to not to take too many hits. I’m not a big guy. The blocking gave me just enough time to turn the corner, and I made it.” Suislaw’s Drew Rainwater picked off the two-point conversion pass. With one timeout left, the game looked all but over for the East. But the players for the East team learned a thing or two from their Shrine experience. “We learned not to give up,” Ragsdale said. “Seeing the kids in the hospital reinforces that thought. So we didn’t” The West ran the ball three straight time, bringing up a 4-and-1. An audible gasp sucked most of the air out of Bulldog Stadium when the West lined to go for the first down. “The players kind of talked us into it,” Cook said. “We shouldn’t have done it, but we just went with what the players wanted to do.” Wilkins took the handoff, and had the yardage for the first down. What they hadn’t accounted for was Ben Garnett of Joseph never giving up. Garnett drilled Wilkins to pop the ball loose, and then snatched it up. “(Ben) is a great player,” Swift said. “He’s the type of kid who would go down to the park in his jersey and pads looking for a game. His motor never stops.” Wilkins, however, wasn’t going to let that be the way his high school career ended. He picked off the final passing attempt of the game. “I love playing defense,” Wilkins said. “Now I’m just going to try to rest up before college starts.” That rest will last one day. Wilkins will report to the University of Oregon where he will try to walk on. “It was an honor to end the season this way,” Wilkins said. “You make a lot of friends at this game, and you play for a great cause.”
West 7 14 7 0 – 28 East 12 0 8 6 – 26
E - Ragsdale 37 yard pass from Hasskamp. (kick failed), 13:19 W - Nagel 11 yard rush. (Wilkins kick), 11:24 E - Ellis 10 yard pass from Hasskamp (kick failed), 8:33 Second Quarter W - Bansen 1 yard run (Wilkins kick), 13:11 W - Fields 13 yard pass from Wilkins (Wilkins kick), 12:18 Third Quarter W - Young 43 yard pass from Wilkins (Wilkins kick), 10:23 E - Safety, 2:50 E - McCaffrey 26 yard run (kick failed), 2:01 Fourth Quarter E - Ragsdale 59 yard run (pass failed), 2:05
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