On June 20, 2026, the Montana East-West Shrine Game takes place in Naranche Stadium in Butte. On that day, all of the greatest senior football athletes from across the state will represent the West and East divisions in a game designed to fundraise and promote the care offered by Shriner’s Children’s Hospital in Spokane, Washington.
It’s an honor for these athletes, as all of their hard work and dedication to their sport leads to well-deserved recognition. This year, for the first year in recorded history for the Shrine Game, three, potentially four, Hellgate High School athletes are on the roster for the West division.
Players Parker Link, Evan Pyron and Vince Paffhausen have joined the 40-man roster to compete this year, with Sam Cohea as an alternate if another player is unable to participate in the game.
“It means a lot to the community,” said Paffhausen, Hellgate’s quarterback who committed to Montana Tech this fall. “In the time that I’ve been following Hellgate, which is my whole life, I can’t remember a time where there were three Hellgate football players in it … to have three people in it and one alternate, I think that means a lot and just gives a lot of younger kids coming up into the Hellgate football community some hope that ‘yeah, we haven’t been great in these past years, but we have some people that are capable as long as you stick with the grind and follow coaching.”
The last time that Hellgate football was represented at the Shrine Game was in 2022, with two athletes, Ian Finch and Tommy Nilson. Using the archive on the game’s website shows the participants from every high school going back almost 30 years. The highest number of participants from Hellgate since 2000 has never been above two in the past, showing the distinction that Hellgate’s group of athletes this year have set a new precedent.
“It’s really good representation,” said Pyron, who, with fellow Shrine Game participant Parker Link, will be playing for Griz this fall. “Paul Capp (Hellgate’s athletic trainer) was telling me the other day that he’s only had two Knights in there in his eight years here prior to this year, so it’s really important to putting Hellgate on the map and showing that there can be really successful football athletes that come out of this program and school.”
Link had similar views about the importance of the game. “The Shrine Game has been around longer in Montana than in any other state in the country (…) Knowing that I have the opportunity to play in that, and knowing how big of a deal it is for fundraising for Shriner’s, but also going out and competing with the state is a wonderful idea,” said Link.
Hellgate Football has been on a journey as a program for a long time, going through long losing streaks with only one or two sparse wins a season being the story for decades. However, this year, the Knights made the playoffs for the first time since 1994. The inclusion of Link, Paffhausen, Pyron and potentially Cohea on the Shrine Game roster is another important marker of the progress the team has made through years of hard work and dedication.
This honor is not just a success for the program, however. It is a deeply personal achievement for the participating Knights. “It’s a great feeling knowing that we’re putting Hellgate on the map more, and showing Missoula and the rest of the kids that, even though your school might not have the greatest football team, there’s still the capability of making it into the big moments and games,” said Link.
“It’s crazy to think that I get to play one last game with Parker and Evan, I mean, we’ve been playing with each other our whole lives. Just getting another game with them will mean a lot,” said Paffhausen. “Emotions are high, and it’s just a great feeling to play with some of the best athletes around Montana.”
