Through the years, the Shrine Bowl, which features 68 of the top high school football players in the state, has showcased many of Kansas’ all-time greats, including several who have gone on to enjoy great success at the collegiate and professional levels. Listed below is one man’s list of the top 25 players in the first 25 years of the Shrine Bowl. The list is based not only on what players did in the Shrine Bowl, but also takes into consideration what they did after moving on to the collegiate, and in some cases, the pro level. The Top 25 are listed in alphabetical order:

BROOKS BARTA, Smith Center (1988) – Barta, now the head coach at Holton, became an all-conference linebacker at Kansas State.

MIKE BELL, Wichita Carroll (1975) – Bell starred at Colorado State and was a standout defensive end for the Kansas City Chiefs for many seasons.

LAMAR CHAPMAN, Liberal (1995) – Chapman led Liberal to a state championship as a quarterback/defensive back and has gone on to establish himself as one of the nation’s premier defensive backs at Kansas State.

TONY CHERICO, S. M. Northwest (1983) – Cherico went on to star at Arkansas as an offensive lineman.

PAUL COFFMAN, Chase (1974) – Coffman starred at tiny Chase before going on to a standout career at K-State and a long career in the NFL with Green Bay and the Chiefs.

MICHAEL COSEY, Lawrence (1992) – One of the top running backs in state history, Cosey was a part of three class 6A championship teams at Lawrence. He went on to be a standout at Fort Scott Community College and Southwest Missouri State.

KEITH DeLONG, Lawrence (1985) – After graduating from Lawrence, DeLong went on to become an All-American at Tennessee and was a first round draft pick of the San Francisco 49ers.

TOM DINKEL, Shawnee Heights (1974) – Dinkel was a standout linebacker at Kansas and went on to play in the Super Bowl for the Cincinnati Bengals.

ROY FOSTER, S. M. West (1978) – Agile enough to play fullback at S.M. West, Foster went on to star at USC and was an all-Pro guard for the Miami Dolphins.

MATT GEE, Arkansas City (1988) – After leaving Ark City, Gee, also a state champion in track, went on to a productive career as a linebacker at USC.

CURTIS HUGHES, KC-Wyandotte (1983) – The trio of Hughes, Less Miller and Grady Newton combined for one of the Shrine Bowl’s all-time great defensive games in ’83. Hughes went on to play for a time at K-State and later became a professional wrestler.

GREG KOLENDA, KC-Ward (1976) – The star lineman went on to become an All-American offensive lineman at Arkansas.

KYLE McNORTON, Seaman (1978) – McNorton went on to be a standout linebacker at KU and played briefly for the Chiefs.

LES MILLER – Arkansas City (1983) – Miller had an outstanding Shrine game in ’83 and played collegially at K-State and Fort Hays State before embarking on a still-active NFL career as a defensive lineman.

JIM MOORE, Garden City (1992) – A two-time All-State pick at Garden City, Moore was a multi-year starter at tight end for KU. Moore has had NFL looks with the Tennessee Oilers and Chiefs.

GRADY NEWTON, Bonner Springs (1983) – After starring in the ’83 game, Newton went on to a productive career at K-State.

PAUL OSWALD, Hayden (1982) – Oswald went on to become a solid offensive lineman at KU and had a short career with the Pittsburg Steelers.

MIKE RINGGENBERG, Manhattan (1988) – After starring at Manhattan, Ringgenberg was a solid performer at linebacker for Missouri.

BARRY SANDERS, Wichita North (1986) – Without a doubt the top performer in the history of the Shrine game. Sanders set a single-game Shrine Bowl rushing record, won the Heisman Trophy at Oklahoma State and is now on his way to the NFL Hall of Fame as a running back for Detroit Lions.

BRIAN SHAY, Paola (1995) – Since leading Paola to a Class 4A championship, Shay has gone on to become a record-setting All-American running back at Emporia State.

MARK SIMONEAU, Smith Center (1995) – After starring at Smith Center as both a running back and linebacker, Simoneau has become one of the Big 12’s premier linebackers at K-State.

JEFF SMITH, Wichita Southeast (1980) – Smith became a star I-back at Nebraska and had a short NFL career.

GARY SPANI, Manhattan (1974) – Spani was a standout linebacker at K-State and then played nine seasons, eight as a starter, for the Chiefs.

KENDALL TRAINOR, Fredonia (1985) – The Fredonia star went on to become an All-American kicker at Arkansas.

NYLE WIREN, Wichita Northwest (1992) – Wiren was a virtual unknown when he played in the Shrine Bowl, but had a good game and went on to become an all-conference defensive lineman at K-State.

The Demons will return on November 6th to Dodge City’s Memorial Stadium to host a first round Regional Playoff game versus an opponent to be determined after the end of District play on Friday Night.

Game Night Details
Location: Memorial Stadium – Garden City
Game Time: 7:00 p.m.
Admission: $5 Adults, $3 Students [Staff passes will be accepted]

Series History
Friday night will mark the 107th time these teams have met in this storied rivalry. The Red Demons have faced the Buffaloes (106) times, dating back to the 1903 season. The series is led by the Demons (68-34-4). The Demons wrestled the “Hatchet” away from the Buffaloes last season ending the Buffs long winning streak in the rivalry. Watch video of the 2008 Hatchet Game.

In 1938 the series was livened by the addition of the hatchet. The winner takes the hatchet as evidence of supremacy on the field of play. Dodge City leads in Hatchet games 45-25-1.

Team Info

Dodge City		Garden City
Mascot:  		Red Demons  		Buffaloes
Classification:		6A			6A
2009 Record:		6-2			4-4
Conference Record:	1-2			2-1
District Record:	2-0			0-2
Website: 		dchssports.org  	gckschools.com

Give the football to Banner, and it’s gravy.

Banner, a senior tailback, had another huge game Friday night, leading the Red Demons to a 35-14 victory over Maize in Class 6A District 8 action.

“Our main goal is to win football games,” said Banner, whose rushing total grew to 1,119 yards on the season. “But the line and myself before every game, we have a goal of getting 200 yards and if we get that, then we met our goal.”

Banner and Co. barely missed their rushing goal, yet they were dominating nonetheless.

“That’s the main thing, getting physical and playing smash-mouth football. That’s what it’s about, getting in there and making yourself known.”

With the convincing victory, the Demons (6-2 overall) have assured themselves a state playoff berth. Dodge City, the only team still undefeated in its four-team district at 2-0, now has the maximum +26 in the points system.

Maize, 2-6, including 1-1 in district play, sits at minus-9 in the points system. Goddard, which beat Garden City 21-14 Friday night, moves to 1-1 in the district and sits at minus-6 in the points system. Garden (0-2) now sits at minus-11.

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In a first-round Class 6A district football game, the Red Demons hammered out a 31-7 victory at the Goddard District Sports Complex.

Senior tailback Jace Banner was the catalyst, accumulating a career-high 202 yards in 30 carries and scoring three touchdowns to lead the Red Demons’ offensive assault.

“I had a great push from the offensive line, it was the best of the year,” said Banner, who now has 938 rushing yards on the season. “They did their job up front, which allowed me to get to the linebackers and the secondary and make my cuts.”

When push came to shove, the Demons hit the Lions in the mouth and never let up. So much for Goddard’s blitz package, which never was a factor.

Instead, Dodge ran the ball down the Lions’ throat, with Banner assuming the starring role.

“I thought (Banner) did a good job of following some blocks,” Dodge City coach Justin Burke said. “I thought the line did a pretty good job in the run game.

“In the passing game, we struggled early and then we were able to adjust. Jace did what he was supposed to do. He ran hard and was able to do some things that only he can do.”

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The Demons return home for Senior Night next Friday Night as they host the Maize “Eagles”. Maize travels to Garden City for Friday night’s other District contest. Garden City will host Goddard in week #2 of District play.

Game Night Details
Location: Goddard District Sports Complex
Game Time: 7:00
Admission: $5 Adults, $3 Students [Staff passes will be accepted]

Series History
The Demons and Lions have met only three times on the football field, with Goddard winning the last two contests. Last season, the “Lions” entered District play without a win, only to run the table in the District with three straight wins. The Red Demons are looking to return to the playoffs, as their only 2008 District loss came at the hands of the “Lions”, in overtime, at Memorial Stadium.

Goddard enters the contest after playing a brutal non-District schedule that included some of the top teams in the State at the 5A and 6A levels.

Team Info

			Dodge City		Goddard
Mascot:  		Red Demons  		Lions
Classification:		6A			6A
2009 Record:		4-2			0-6
Conference Record:	1-2			0-5
District Record:	0-0			0-0
Website: 		www.dchssports.org  	www.goddardusd.com

Hays quarterback Bryant Bombardier threw a pair of touchdown bombs in the first half and then added a short scoring toss early in the fourth quarter, propelling the unbeaten Indians to a 28-17 victory over Dodge City before a disappointed Homecoming crowd.

While Dodge City (4-2, 1-2) saw its WAC championship hopes dissolve in suffering its second straight WAC loss, Hays (6-0) is in the driver’s seat in conference standings at 3-0.

“We’re not playing together,” deadpanned Dodge City coach Justin Burke. “We got caught against Great Bend (in a 28-27 road loss last Friday) and we didn’t fix some things. I thought we had those things fixed, but we didn’t.

“Guys weren’t communicating, and we just didn’t get it done. We’ve got too much attitude now. We read the paper too much when things were going right. Now we have to dig down through adversity and it’s hard.”

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The Red Demons open District play at Goddard next Friday Night.

Game Night Details
Location: Dodge City – Memorial Stadium
Game Time: 7:00 p.m.
Admission: $5 Adults, $3 Students [Staff passes will be accepted]

Series History
The Red Demons have faced the Indians 66 times, dating back to the 1932 season. The series is led by the Demons 47-17-2. The Demons won last year’s contest, 34-27 in triple overtime at Lewis Field in Hays.

This is the last contest before District play for both teams. Dodge City will host Goddard to begin the quest for the two available playoff spots in District 8.

Team Info

			Dodge City		Hays
Mascot:  		Red Demons  		Indians
Classification:		6A			5A
2009 Record:		4-1			5-0
Conference Record:	1-1			2-0
District Record:	0-0			0-0
Website: 		dchssports.org  	hayshighindians.com

The Panthers rallied from a 27-7 halftime deficit, keyed by a pair of second-half punt blocks for touchdowns, to stun the previously unbeaten Red Demons 28-27 Friday night at Memorial Stadium in Great Bend.

“It was just two big plays,” said Great Bend coach Bo Black, who has never lost to Dodge City in the previous nine seasons. ‘(Special teams) is some thing we work on and spend a lot of time on. It was definitely the game-breaker tonight.”

More than anything, Dodge City has a very, very good football team.’ Class 6A Dodge City (4 1 overall, 1-1 WAC), which hasn’t beaten the 5A Panthers (3-2, 1-1) since 1999, appeared to be on the brink of finally snap ping the losing skid against its longtime nemesis. But the Demons’ for tunes turned sour after they were shut out in the second half, yielding 21 unanswered points.

Great Bend cut its deficit to 27-14 midway through the third quarter, when wide receiver Allan Holt caught a 26-yard touch down pass from junior quarterback Greg Hildebrand at the 7:05 mark.

Then things got wild late in the third quarter, when Dodge punter Landon Head had his punt blocked by Jordan Basye and recov ered by Brett McManaman in the end zone. The play slashed the margin to 27- 21 with 16.2 seconds left in the third quarter.

Both teams canceled each other out in the final period before Dakota Ellis came up with the Panthers’ second punt block. Basye scooped up the ball and ran into the end zone from 25 yards out with 4:02 left in regulation, tying the game at 27.

Angel Gutierrez, who made all four of his extra-point kicks and also had four kickoffs land out of the end zone for touch backs, nailed the game-winning extra point.

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If it’s not, then perhaps it should be.

Flip back the calendar almost a decade. The last time Dodge City beat Great Bend was 1999.
Ever since, Great Bend has basked in WAC supremacy.

If the unbeaten Red Demons (4-0 overall, 1-0 WAC) can pull out a road victory over the Panthers (2-2, 1-1) Friday night, it would go a long ways in yanking the conference crown from their longtime grasp.

With playmakers all over the field, there’s no time like the present for the Demons to, well, exorcise the demons of yesteryear.

“We’ve got to do something this year,” Dodge City head coach Justin Burke said. “As far as turning (the corner), you want to see something special and this would be a big win.
“Great Bend would be the opportunity to turn the corner, I guess, and start going upfield. Great Bend has won or had a share of the title for nine years now. Liberal had a share of it one year and Garden City, I think, had a share one year. This is the greatest opportunity we’ve had.”

Meanwhile, Dodge City has been playing second fiddle to the Panthers, at best, during the last nine years.

Dodge City is currently ranked No. 5 in the latest Class 6A poll, showcasing a high-octane spread offense and a punishing defense that have steadily progressed every game. The Demons, who have averaged 47 points and 417 yards during their hot start, rattled off points in bunches last Friday night in belting Liberal 55-17 to open conference play.

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