Ell-Saline quarterback Nick Davenport has known Isaac Mitchell all of his life. The two never lost their bond despite Mitchell starring at Salina South.

Now, the duo gets to shine on Kansas’ biggest stage.

Davenport, Mitchell and three others from the area are teaming up for the West squad at the 46th Annual Kansas Shrine Bowl on Saturday, June 8 at Memorial Stadium in Dodge City. Joining Mitchell and Davenport are Salina Central’s Taylon Peters, Smoky Valley’s Ethan Wampler and Southeast of Saline’s Dylan Marks. Kickoff is slated for 7 pm.

At Ell-Saline, Davenport helped the Cardinals advance to the postseason in 2017 and 2018. After his play at quarterback in his final season, he was named as the Class 1A Offensive Player of the Year, in addition to being an all-state and all-league player. Davenport heads to Butler County Community College in the fall, but for one final time, he’s playing linebacker this weekend.

Mitchell has no intentions of switching his position at the next level. The defensive end racked up 150 tackles in his Salina South career. He’s a two-time All-AVCTL first team pick. Mitchell also earned a spot on the all-state first team on top of being a two-time honorable mention selection. Mitchell has signed a national letter of intent to play at Yale University.

Peters was a three-year captain for the football squad. In 2018, Peters was named the AVCTL-I Offensive Player of the Year and was an all-state running back. Peters averaged 8.1 yards per carry, rushing for 1,749 yards. He also had 347 receiving yards and 23 total touchdowns, landing him a spot in the 2019 Kansas Shrine Bowl game. In his career, Peters racked up 3,819 yards and 36 touchdowns. Peters travels to Topeka to play for Washburn University.

Wampler prepares for his final football tilt after a stellar career at Smoky Valley. The offensive lineman led the Vikings to a 10-1 mark in 2018. Wampler was crucial to the rushing attack, paving the way for two 1,000-yard rushers in Tim Lambert and Cort Elliott. The Vikings averaged 332 yards a game while racking up 6.2 yards a carry. On the defensive side, Wampler made 55 tackles, five tackles for loss and one sack.

Marks was a defensive nightmare for Southeast of Saline. The defensive lineman powered the Trojans to an 8-2 record. Marks was second on the team with 86 tackles. He led the team with 16 stops for loss and five sacks. Marks finished his career with 299 tackles, 49 tackles for loss, 19 sacks and 13 forced fumbles.