LA GRANDE, Ore. – Vic Lease was happy to see that things are back to normal at Eastern Oregon University.
The Mazama head coach will be part of the East coaching staff at the 70th East-West Shrine All-Star Football Game on Saturday. It’s his third time coaching in the Shrine Game and first since 2021, when COVID-19 was running rampant across the country.
This time, with masks and other pandemic safety precautions no longer a factor, Lease was able to help come up with activities for the players to enjoy when they weren’t preparing for the game.
“For our team, I created the East Olympics,” Lease said. “We do cornhole and ladder ball and spikeball and all that stuff just to keep the boys busy in the evenings.”
That’s made for some full days for the East team, which has been practicing twice each day for most of this week. Players and coaches arrived at EOU on Sunday for orientation and initial team meetings before starting practice on Monday.
While many football players bristle at the mention of two-a-days, Lease said the Shrine Game practices have been exceptionally smooth.
“There’s not a lot of reps involved,” Lease said. “Most of our practices are about an hour and 15 minutes (or an) hour and a half because that’s how quickly these kids pick things up.”
Lease has three of his players from Mazama–Trevor Anderson, Brendon Monteith, and Keegan McDonald–on the East team as well as Henley’s Shaw Stork and Lakeview’s Wyatt Julian. Lost River’s Nathan Dalton will play on the West team.
Lease said that while being selected for a statewide all-star game is a great honor, participating in the Shrine Game carries a significance far beyond being recognized as one of the state’s top players. Proceeds from the game go to Shriners Children’s Portland, which treats children and families regardless of their ability to pay.
“They meet some of the kids that are being treated at Shriners Hospital at the game,” Lease said. “That’s really the impactful part.”
The East-West Shrine All-Star Football Game will kick off at 7 p.m. Saturday at Baker Bulldog Memorial Stadium.
