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Back for the 40th year, the Keg Bowl, organized by the Blue Hawk Gridiron Club, was a huge success. Fourteen guys of all ages showed up to play, and nearly 200 others showed up to watch the game last Friday. The game commenced with about a foot of snow and 14-degree temperatures. It was two-hand-touch rules, although a lot of the players still tackled. The game pitted the "Young Guns" against the "Silver Bullets" and the total score was 58 to 8, with the Silver Bullets coming out on top.

Mike Allen, Doug Willhite and Roger Willhite were some of the original players and still organize the event today. Allen, who has been participating since at least 1987, explained he played and used to referee the games. "Many of the guys on the list I had in junior high football," Allen said. He coached the Thompson Falls Junior High football team 1993 and 2001 and again from 2011 to 2017.

According to Allen, all the bars in the county had score boards set up for people to donate $2 into a pot to win the total, based on the final scores of the game. Each board, set up similar to bingo, had columns and rows numbered by random cards drawn. These numbers would represent the possible last number of the scores. The column chosen was represented by the winning score and the row chosen was represented by the losing score.

Players and spectators paid $5 to drink beer from the keg, but Allen explained that the donations are not "policed hard." He explained that most people donate whatever they have, often more than $5. All donations, and half of the pot, went to the Cancer Network of Sanders County.

After the game, the club held a banquet and silent auction at the Elks Lodge, where all the proceeds also went to the cancer network. The auction featured over 30 items and the dinner was $5, which included a meat loaf or chili meal. The burn barrels were donated by Ron Sorlie, and the state champions burn barrel was made by Aaron Brown and Jason Helvey, both of whom played in the game. The Elks Lodgehas Keg Bowl 40th Annual Game t-shirts for sale. For more information on those, contact Doug Willhite (406) 493-2842.

Doug Willhite, who is now president of the Blue Hawks Gridiron Club, has been involved since the beginning of the Keg Bowl. "A huge thank you to all who donated at the game and also to everyone's donations for the silent auction," he said after the game. "And biggest thank you to the Elks club, they made this all a big successful fundraiser."

Allen explained how they lost a good friend in 2018. His name was Randy Parker and since he passed from cancer, the group felt the donations should go to a local cancer group. All the donations over the years the game has been held have gone to local organizations and charities, including the school. The club started so they could give the donations, since they needed an official group name to donate a scholarship to the high school.

John Dowd

SNOW BALL - Blue Hawk Coach Jared Koskela (right) dives toward Nate Wilhite as he carries the ball down the snowy field.

According to Doug's brother Roger, who played for 39 years, the Keg Bowl started because the towns they played against were holding alumni games, and they thought it was a good idea. He explained that it was a way for the guys to get back out and reminisce. Roger said they used to draft for the game after Thanksgiving, "and it was a pretty big deal." Now, players come on the day of to sign up.

Doug expressed how happy he was to see the next generation out there playing. He explained this year they had been "trying to get older players to come hang out," saying that since it is the 40th year, this was a special event. Several of the guys who came out to watch and play came from out of town. "I'm excited to see the young guys stepping up," hoping they can one day pick up the torch and carry on the Keg Bowl tradition.