Four Butte players selected to represent the West in the 76th Shrine Game
The 76th Annual Montana East-West Shrine Game rosters were announced on Christmas morning, and 4 Butte players awoke to great news. Butte High’s Jace Stenson, Cameron Gurnsey, and Zach Tierney will be joined on the West roster by Butte Central Maroon Kyle Holter.
The other part of the Christmas gift was remembering the game will be played here in Butte Montana, on June 17th.
The Montana Shrine Game is the premier all-star game in Montana and is historically one of the country's top high school Shrine Games. Because of families, fans, and sponsors over the last 10 years the Montana game has raised over 1 million dollars for the Shriners Hospital and the incredible work they do daily.
The players are nominated by their coaches, and those lists are gathered and presented to a selection committee. (One each for the East and West) The committees are then tasked with whittling all those lists down to a roster of 40 players. Not an easy task.
This will be the 4th time the game will be played in Butte, and it will return to Narnache Stadium. The three Bulldogs will get one last game at Naranche, to put an exclamation point on their fantastic careers.
Jace Stenson made the West roster as an athlete and looking back at his career that is 100% accurate. Jace threw for 4,616 yards and 43 touchdowns in 2 seasons. He also ran for 1070 yards and 12 rushing touchdowns. To add to that, he first saw time on the varsity field as a Sophomore Defensive Back. Could Jace see snaps at quarterback? Yea. That will all be decided by Head Coach Kyle Mihelish and his assistants.
Cameron Gurnsey will play wide receiver for the West All-Stars. Gurnsey who recently signed to play for the Grizzlies of Montana, finished his Butte High career as one of the all-time great Bulldog receivers. In three seasons he amassed 1,977 receiving yards on 140 catches and 16 touchdowns. According to my numbers his 1,977 yards in #2 in Butte High history, his 140 receptions are #3 all-time, and his 16 receiving touchdowns are #3 all-time.
To the trenches and Zach Tierney. Tierney has battled in the offensive and defensive lines, for what feels like an eternity. He is a guy that made an immediate impact for Butte High. Zach was selected to play offensive guard for the West All-Stars. Anchoring the O-front, Tierney and the Bulldogs averaged well over 400 yards of offense a game. As a sophomore, Zach was 2nd Team all-conference and Honorable Mention at Tackle. In his junior and senior seasons, he was voted 1st Team All-State at guard.
Also representing the Mining City on the West All-Star team will be Butte Central cornerback Kyle Holter. Holter was chosen All-State at cornerback, he was also selected All-conference at receiver. Holter is an incredibly hard-working player that belongs on this roster.
The full rosters can be found HERE.
I would like to thank Brianna O'Mara/ BnO photography for the use of her great photos. You can view her work HERE.
Once again the 76th annual Montana East-West Shrine Game will be played in Butte on June 17th, at Naranche Stadium.
