Pick-6 leads West to Shrine Game win
Daily Inter Lake
BILLINGS — Manhattan’s Tony Veltkamp returned an interception 49 yards for the go-ahead score and the West All-Stars snapped a Montana Shrine Game skid with a 21-12 win over the East Saturday at Daylis Stadium.
Veltkamp’s big play flipped the game to the West, which had lost three straight in the 74-year-old series. No game was played in 2020 because of the pandemic.
The East, which leads the series 41-33, was in excellent shape in the first quarter: After Billings Senior’s Jacksen Burckley hit a 38-yard field goal, Glasgow’s Mayson Phipps blocked a punt by the West’s Dexter Tedesco, resulting in a safety.
After a West fumble Billings West’s Jaymn Medlock scored from 3 yards out and it was 12-0, East, with 40 seconds left in the opening period.
West answered with a 14-play, 78-yard drive, ending with an 11-yard scoring pass from Missoula Sentinel’s Dayton Bay to Butte’s Jake Olson. Olson then hauled in an option pass from Bigfork’s Cormac Benn for the 2-point PAT.
On the ensuing drive Veltkamp picked off a pass intended for Billings Central’s Brock Ping and took it to the barn. Hamilton’s Jaiden Klemundt hit the PAT kick and the West led, 15-12.
An 11-play, 62-yard drive to open the second half gave West its final TD: Missoula Big Sky’s Colter Janacaro called his own number seven times, including a 3-yard scoring run.
Janacaro, who ran 13 times for a game-high 53 yards, was named Player of the Game; the West MVPs were Olson, who caught four passes for 48 yards, on offense and Veltkamp on D. The East MVPs were Medlock on offense and Billings West teammate Paul Brott (6 tackles, 4 unassisted) on defense.
Dillon’s Jace Fitzgerald also had an interception for the West.
Libby’s Ryker McElmurry was credited with two unassisted tackles, including a tackle for loss, for the West.
Eureka’s Gunnar Smith had five carries for 8 yards on offense and caught a 13-yard pass.
Benn had two carries and caught one pass for 27 yards. He and Luke Benson represented Bigfork in the game, and Benson was credited with one tackle..
Glacier’s Rocco Beccari and Columbia Falls’ Lucas Thacker also suited up for the West.
West 0 15 6 0 - 21
East 12 0 0 0 - 12
East—Jacksen Burckley 38 FG, 8:03-1Q
East—Safety, Mayson Phipps blocked punt, 3:16-1Q
East—Jaymn Medlock 3 run (Burckley kick), :04-1Q
West—Jake Olson 11 pass from Dayton Bay (Olson pass from Cormac Benn), 10:11-2Q
West—Toby Veltkamp 49 interception return (Jaiden Klemundt kick), 9:00-2Q
West—Colter Janacaro 3 run (pass field), 5:00-3Q
Individual Statistics
Rushing: West (30-108) — Janacaro 13-53, Donovan South 5-17, Bay 3-12, Dexter Tedesco 1-11, Gunnar Smith 5-8, Jace Klucewich 1-5, Benn 2-2. East (36-99) — Marcus Wittman 5-26, Medlock 8-19, Ping 5-16, Carson Hunter 6-14, Jayden Venable 3-12, Jay Jetmorev 4-6, Junior Beren 2-4, JaQuawhann Booth 3-2.
Passing: West — Bay 20-31-1 for 141 yards; Janacaro 3-4-0 for 8 yards; Tedesco 0-1-0 for 0 yards. East — Witmman 13-24-1 for 79 yards; Hunter 5-9-1 for 15 yards.
Receiving: West — Olson 4-48, Cole Truman 4-30, TJ Rausch 3-28, Benn 1-27, Flint
Smith 1-13, Klucewich 4-12, Smith 2-7, Jonny Reiser 1-6, Zach Evans 1-0, Klemundt 1-minus 8, Carter Lake 1-minus 14. East — Bergen 8-42, Medlock 4-29, Jack Waddell 1-11, Sloan McPherson 1-6, Burckley 1-2, Jetmorev 1-1, Venable 1-minus 3, Team 1-6.