ICA, Shriners Host Illinois High School Shrine Game

BLOOMINGTON, IL -- The Illinois Coaches Association and the Shriners of Illinois will host the 44th annual Illinois High School Shrine Game on June 16 at Tucci Stadium on the campus of Illinois Wesleyan University. Kick-off for the 44th annual game is scheduled for Saturday, June 16 at 1 p.m.

The pregame festivities will begin with a fun Walk for LOVE event held at the stadium starting at 9am.  Eighty-eight of the state’s best football players participate in this all-star game to raise money for Shriners Hospital for Children, the official philanthropy of Shriners International. More information about scheduled events, along with rosters for both the East and West teams, can be found at www.ilshrinegame.com.

Each year at the Shrine Game, two patients from the Shiners Hospital for Children are chosen to be the prince and princess. The princess is Ava Diehl from O’Fallon who is a patient at the Shriners Hospital in St Louis. The prince is Zack Strand from Bourbonnais who is a patient at the Shriners Hospital in Chicago. The prince and princess are honorary representatives from each hospital that will benefit from the money raised through the game. Last year’s event raised nearly $10,000 that went directly to providing outstanding medical care for children at the Shriners Hospitals for Children.

The goal is to create a fun and exciting environment for the players, families, Shrine kids, and Shriners and to make this a signature event for the Shriners of Illinois.   This year’ s game will be aired live on Cities 92.9 which is a part of the Great Plains Media Group.  The featured banquet speaker will be Hayden Schaumburg from Watseka.  Hayden suffered a spinal cord injury while playing football in high school and was a patient at the Shriners Hospital for Children in Chicago for his rehabilitation.