CASPER — Two Bridger Valley football players were tapped for the South team and will done the brown and gold for the 2023 Shrine Bowl.

The team will be under the tutelage of McKay Young of Star Valley who was selected as the head coach for the South. He will be assisted by Cody Peacock, a Lyman High School coach who will be one of seven assistant coaches.

The two players from the Valley include one from Lyman and one from Mountain View, both powerhouses for their respective teams. Both McKoy Smith of Lyman, 5’9” and 160 pounds, and Braden Walker, a 6’2”, 210, player earned their selection by being tough on the gridiron and a force for their team.

The Shrine Bowl is an annual all-star high school football game dedicated to raising money and awareness for the Shriner Hospitals. Graduating seniors are tapped to field the North and South teams as coaches pick the best-of-the-best to field their teams.

The Shriners’ Hospital in Salt Lake City is the one supported by the Wyoming Shrine Bowl game. The annual Wyoming Shrine Bowl has raised more than $450,000 since the game began in 1974.

This year’s game will be Saturday, June 10, 2023, at Casper’s Harry Geldien Stadium Kelly Walsh High School in Casper.

The selection to the teams includes a week of activities for the players and a trip to the Salt Lake City Shriner’s Hospital for the players to interact with the children at the hospital.

With the first Shrine Bowl game played in Laramie in 1974, the 2023 game will mark the 50th edition of the game in Wyoming. The North leads the all-time series 26-19-3 and won last year’s game 37-3.

Frank Selby, the Shrine Bowl’s executive chairman, also extended an invitation to all former Shrine Bowl alumni — including coaches, players, trainers, officials and more — to help celebrate the Shrine Bowl’s 50th anniversary. Former participants can email wyshrinebowlalumni@gmail.com for more information.