The 49th Annual Kansas Shrine Bowl will be held this Saturday in Pittsburg and it will have a lot of local flavor on the West squad. From the KD Country 94 area schools, Beloit’s Brennan Walker and Smith Center’s Colton Haresnape will be playing in the game and Beloit coach Brad Gober is an assistant coach for the West. Also, from Concordia, Keyan Miller and Dalton Owen were selected as players and their coach Jordan Echer is also an assistant. Southeast of Saline’s Chase Poague and Matthew Rodriguez are also on the West squad.
From the immediate area, Brennan Walker of Beloit was a three-sport star for the Trojans. He was a state wrestling champion as a senior and also won a state championship in the javelin as a junior in track and field. Walker helped Beloit to a 9-4, 2A State Runner-up finish in football in 2021. He was a 1st team all-state and all-NCAA TE and LB. In his senior season, Walker had 95 tackles with 16 for loss and seven sacks. Walker, who is the 21st Beloit player picked to play in the Shrine Bowl, is excited to have a chance to represent Beloit one last time and share the sideline with Coach Gober.
Brad Gober has coached the Beloit Trojans for five seasons. In that time, he is 33-22, including the State Runner-up finish in 2021. Gober is the fifth coach to represent Beloit at the Shrine Bowl. Previous coach Greg Koenig was on the staff as an assistant in both 2014 and 2009. Other Beloit coaches to be assistants include: Wayne Olson (1997), Geary Labuary (1987) and Clayton Williams (1976). Gober said things have gone well this week and he’s looking forward to hitting the field on Saturday.
Smith Center’s Colton Haresnape is the 32nd Redmen player to be chosen to play in the Shrine Bowl. He’s also the second in his family, joining his cousin Dave Haresnape, who played in the game in 1989. Haresnape helped lead Smith Center to a 9-2 finish in 2021. As a 1st team all-state offensive lineman, he helped pave the way for a rushing attack that racked up over 3,300 yards. Haresnape was also first team all-MCL on the OL and DL, registering 61 tackles and three sacks. Haresnape is proud to represent Smith Center one last time.
All of the KD Country 94 area representatives are set for the 49th Annual Kansas Shrine Bowl on Saturday at Carnie Smith Stadium on the campus of Pittsburg State University. Kickoff is at 7:00 p.m. When talking with Haresnape and Walker, they both implored as many people as possible to come out and support the Shrine Bowl and their cause. For tickets to the game, full rosters and much more information, visit kansasshrinebowl.com.
