Central's Jake Schauer, Jack Simmers ready for 50th Shrine Bowl

Source: Yahoo Sports

Jun. 21 -- GRAND FORKS -- Grand Forks Central's Jack Simmers always wanted to play Division I football.

His plan was to walk on at UND, but when he realized the roster will likely be full heading into fall camp, leaving no spot for him, Simmers reopened his recruitment. He reached out to schools like Minnesota State Moorhead and Mayville State, which initially showed interest in him.

"Mayville offered me a really good opportunity over here," he said. "They seemed excited to have me come play, so that's the main reason why I chose to go there."

He'll get his first taste of a game at Jerome Berg Field Saturday when Simmers and Central teammates Leo Strandell, Tyler Whalen and Tray Kuntz play in the 50th North Dakota Shrine Bowl.

Grand Forks Red River seniors Zach Oehlke and Lawson Lotysz will also take part in the 11-man game at 7 p.m. Saturday. The 9-man game kicks off at 4 p.m.

"Only maybe 35, 40 guys get picked to play in it, so it's pretty special," Simmers said. "Shriners, everything they do for young children and how they impact our nation is pretty important, so I feel like that's pretty special and why I'm excited to be here playing.

"Everybody's going their separate ways this year. That's also just a reason why it's going to be a fun time. Getting to play one more game with those guys, enjoying the memories, just having fun."

The East team is coached by Jake Schauer, who led the Knights to the state championship game in his second season at Central.

"To coach four more of my guys one more time is a big deal to me," he said. "It's always an honor to be invited to coach an all-star game with the best of the best. It's one of those things that's been around since I played, my dad played and my grandpa played. It's been around for a long time, so to be a part of it again is pretty cool."

In the two years Schauer coached Simmers at Central, Simmers played three positions on offense, taking over as starting quarterback as a senior.

Schauer plans on giving Simmers, who was named to the National Football Foundation Team of Distinction Tuesday, a chance to play multiple positions again Saturday.

"Jack's really unique," Schauer said. "A kid like that ... Do you let him play a little bit of quarterback, like he did last year? Do you put him at running back, where he's maybe the most natural? Or do you split him out as a wide receiver, put him over the middle and let him be Jack? It'll be fun to see what our offensive coaches do with him."

And Mayville State may do the same in the future, too.

Simmers is slotted in as a receiver now, but the Comets and coach Rocky Larson "might throw me in at running back and maybe even safety at some point," Simmers said.

"(Mayville State) let him know how valuable they think he is and how important they think he is," Schauer said. "A really good recruiting job by their coaches, and it'll be fun to watch Jack at the next level."