Sullivan, Rohrbach help West to Shrine win
GREAT FALLS — Hamilton’s Tyson Rostad ran for three scores and passed for another, and the West won the 75th Montana Shrine Game 40-21 Saturday night at Memorial Stadium.
Rostad’s touchdown runs covered 3, 5 and 31 yards, the latter being the game’s final score.
Glacier High’s Patrick Rohrbach and Connor Sullivan helped the winners to an early lead via special teams.
After Rohrbach pinned East deep with a punt, its first possession lasted one play: A snap slipped through quarterback Isaiah Claunch’s hands and through the end zone for a safety.
That set up West with a short field and the first of Rostad’s TD runs.
In the second quarter East drove down for a field goal attempt, which was blocked by Sentinel’s Tanner Klumph and Helena Capital’s Forrest Suero. Sullivan scooped and scored from 63 yards out to make it 16-7.
East got two touchdown passes from Claunch, including an 80-yarder to Billings West teammate Taco Dowler to cut West’s lead to 16-14 with 2:38 left in the first half.
The East then tried an unsuccessful onside kick, and capitalized with a 12-yard scoring strike from Rostad to Missoula Hellgate’s Ian Finch just before halftime. That made it 23-14.
After Rohrbach hit a 34-yard field goal in the third quarter, an interception by Florence’s Luke Maki set up another Rostad TD run for a 33-14 lead.
Florence’s contingent of players — running back Tristan Pyette and receivers Blake Shoupe and Caden Zaluski — made hay in the second half. Statistics were not available, though 406mtsports.com reported that Dowler had 203 receiving yards. State champions Sentinel (AA), Hamilton (A) and Florence (B) fortified the West roster with 14 players.
In the fourth quarter Laurel’s Beau Dantic snared a deflected Kaden Huot pass and returned it 101 yards for the East’s third touchdown. That broke the Shrine Game record of 85 yards by Fairfield’s Lynn Schenk in 1969.
Rostad then put the capper on West’s 34th win in the series. He was the offensive MVP for the West, and became the sixth player to score three TDs in this game. The last was Missoula Big Sky’s Drew Owens in 2010; previously it was Libby’s Jody Farmer in 1986.
West’s defensive MVP was Suero, who had three sacks. Dantic and Dowler were the East MVPs.
West cheerleaders included Zerita McAtee of Columbia Falls; Kennedy Postovit, Maddy Fitzthum and Rylee Bernier of Flathead High; and Olivia Baker of Glacier High.
West 9 14 10 7 - 40
East 0 14 0 7 - 21
W — Safety, East snap goes through end zone.
W — Tyson Rostad 3 run (Patrick Rohrbach kick)
E — Tyler Nansel 70 pass from Isaiah Claunch (Trey Mans kick)
W — Connor Sullivan 63 blocked FG return (Rohrbach kick)
E — Taco Dowler 80 pass from Claunch (Mans kick)
W — Ian Finch 12 pass from Rostad (Rohrbach kick)
W — Rohrbach 34 FG
W — Rostad 5 run (Rohrbach kick)
E — Beau Dantic 101 interception return (Mans kick)
W — Rostad 31 run (Rohrbach kick)