Illinois Wesleyan University’s Tucci Stadium will be the site for the 47th annual Illinois High School Football Shrine Game. The event is hosted by the Peoria, Illinois chapter of Shriners International, the Mohammed Shriners along with the other Illinois chapters Ainad, Ansar, Medinah, and Tebala. Shriners Hospitals for Children is a health care system of 22 hospitals dedicated to improving the lives of children by providing pediatric specialty care, innovative research, and outstanding teaching programs for medical professionals. According to the ilshrinegame.com, Shriners Hospitals for Children® have been Changing the World through Caring for Kids since 1922. Their motto, “Strong Legs Run so That Weak Legs May Walk” rings true to several families across the country.
The annual All-Star football game provides athletes the opportunity to play the game they love, while also raising funds and spreading awareness for the Shriners Hospitals for Children. Last year’s game raised over $26,000 that went directly to providing outstanding medical care for children at the Shriners Hospitals for Children. Players for the game are chosen from nominations by their high school coach and then selected by the Illinois Football Coaches Association.
Local players that were chosen for this year’s game include Monmouth-Roseville’s Derek Chandler, West Central’s Dexter Ricketts, Abingdon-Avon’s Easten Schisler, Farmington’s Chris Haggard, Kewanee’s Niko Powe and United’s Cormaic Flynn. Those young men will play on the Red team in Saturday’s game. Rockridge’s Nate Henry and Ridgewood’s Lucas Kessinger will play for the Blue squad.
Two of those local players, Derek Chandler and Dexter Ricketts, visited the AM 1330 WRAM Morning Show on Monday to express how proud they were to be selected. The last Monmouth-Roseville Titan player to play in the Shrine Game was Jamonny Skinner in 2019. Chandler will play football for Monmouth College head coach Chad Braun in the fall. He said he’s looking forward to putting his talent up against some of the best high school football players in the state from class 1A-8A.
The Ricketts name has been synonymous with high school football around the Monmouth/Galesburg area for a number of years. Galesburg’s Matt Ricketts was chosen to play in the 2017 summer game and former Yorkwood High School and Augustana College’s Mike Ricketts played in the 1984 game. Dexter Ricketts made the switch from 11-man football to 8-man football during his junior year at West Central, playing on both offensive and defensive lines. Dexter will also be headed to college, but not to play football. He will be attending Black Hawk East to study agriculture. He’s proud of being chosen and looking forward to getting back on the field one more time.
The 2022 Illinois High School Football Shrine Game is scheduled for Saturday, with kickoff set for 11am. Tickets are $8 and can be bought on game day or by going to ilshrinegame.com
For the entire interview with Chandler and Ricketts, go to the SPORTS PODCAST section.
