Football: Topeka-area players help East secure first Kansas Shrine Bowl victory in 6 years

EMPORIA — It’s been years since Hayden’s Carter Charvat played the center position.

He’s a linebacker that recently graduated and is headed to Benedictine College to play on the defensive side of the ball.

Charvat didn’t mind his cameo on the offensive line. He played nearly every snap in Saturday’s 51st Kansas Shrine Bowl game inside Emporia State's Welch Stadium.

The Wildcat alum was on the winning side helping the East team claim a 36-23  victory over the West. This was the first win for the East since 2018.

“They told me on the first day, ‘center’ and I said, ‘fair enough,’” Charvat laughed. “It was fun playing alongside the best in the state, it was a lot of fun. Even through I am not playing offensive line, I learned a lot.”

The future college football player described playing center as "scary." Charvat shared that it was hard to fire off the line of scrimmage especially when he’s the one snapping the ball. He did incredibly well as Charvat did not have a single bad snap in Saturday’s game.

“Surprisingly,” he grinned.

Charvat was one of six players from the Topeka-area to play in the bowl game.

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Seaman’s Callen Barta expected to play wide receiver. Earlier in the week, the coaching staff — which consisted of Shawnee Heights’ Jason Swift and Washburn Rural’s Steve Buhler — came to Barta and asked him to switch to corner.

Barta cheerfully obliged.

“We were a little short on corners,” Barta said. “I am happy wherever I play.”

The Seaman alum has been with Kansas State for the entirety of the spring season preparing himself for college football. He thoroughly enjoyed his time this week with the East squad.

His enjoyment was evident when he snagged an interception at the West goal line. He wheeled off in celebration to cap off the play in the fourth quarter.

“It did feel good, but I did pick it off on fourth down. I probably should have batted it down, but we are in an all-star game,” Barta smiled.

Barta finished with five total tackles, one shy of a team-high.

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Hayden graduate Finn Dunshee also played for the East team. He was primarily used as a kick return specialist and made a few snaps at running back for the team.

On defense, JC Heim played linebacker and ended with three tackles. Heim will be playing college football with Washburn. Shawnee Heights’ Christian Gonzales will also play for the Ichabods this fall. He came away with two tackles in the East victory, too.

Rossville’s Barrett Lietz came away with a solo tackle in his final game as a football player. Lietz will be going on to Kansas State to study finalizing an incredible high school career.

A Most Valuable Player award was handed out to each team following the game. Clay Center’s Brody Hayes was given the award for the West. Hayes, who signed to Washburn, scored a touchdown on a blocked punt. He scooped the ball on the near sideline and ran it for a big momentum play. Hayes also collected a game-high 12 tackles.

Blue Valley Southwest's Dylan Dunn was named the MVP for the East team. Dunn will be joining BYU as a preferred walk-on this fall. The quarterback launched a Shrine Bowl record four touchdowns in the win. Dunn threw for 307 yards on 25-for-33 passing.

“We threw the ball a lot tonight, we did. I knew we were going to throw it, but that much?” Dunn laughed. “It is great to be around all of these people this entire week and to be around a bunch of all-stars.”

Liam Keating covers high school sports for The Topeka Capital-Journal. Send stats or information to him at Lkeating@ g annett.com

This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Football: Topeka-area players help East secure first Kansas Shrine Bowl victory in 6 years