Bullets best Bloods in Keg Bowl

The Keg Bowl lives!

Given up for almost-dead last year when only a handful of players showed up, a rejuvenated Keg Bowl, featuring a welcome flock of younger players, many playing in Sanders County's most-famous bowl game for the first time, was played once more, for the 39th time overall, Saturday.

Although who wins the game is always important – the Silver Bullets held off the Young Bloods 59-41 in the latest iteration – the camaraderie and goodwill generated by the game are the main benefit of the Keg Bowl. And it appears that the flame for the famous football game has been rekindled

Played on a slightly muddy, slightly frozen, slightly bumpy Ainsworth Field, the game featured plenty of offensive fireworks from both sides.

Nate Pavlik (Young Bloods) and Kade VanElswyk (Silver Bullets) served as team captains and started things out by drafting their teams, of course, after the keg was already tapped and ready for the game.

The game went back and forth all day with VanElswyk doing most of the quarterbacking for the Bullets and Pavlik doing the same for the Bloods.

In the end, VanElswyk rifled eight touchdown passes to lead the Silver Bullets to the win, finding Tanner Laws with three of those scoring strikes and a two-point conversion pass.

Based on a vote of participating players immediately after the game, VanElswyk and Laws were named co-MVPs. Laws becomes the third member of his immediate family

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to win a Keg Bowl MVP honor, joining his dad Chadd and uncle Clint, who both earned that same title years ago for their fine play.

Thompson Falls High School star Trey Fisher, who joined the game in-progress during the second quarter, wound up on the receiving end of three of VanElswyk's scoring tosses, and Mark Yoder and Jase Sorenson caught the other two. Sorenson also scored a touchdown rushing for the Bullets.

On the other side of the line of scrimmage, Pavlik threw six touchdown passes for the Bloods, hitting Blake Boon with three, Spencer Nicholls with two and Jer Lyght and Ryne Sorenson one each.

The playing of the Keg Bowl for so many years on end is a tribute to the tenacity of the Willhite brothers – Doug and Roger – for keeping the game going for so many years. The 2020 bowl will be the 40th and special plans are being made for that game.

Doug, as usual, did all the advertising and most of the field prep for this year's latest greatest Keg Bowl, and then served as head referee for the game.

The only man to play in every Keg Bowl to date, Doug's older brother Roger was on the field only briefly Saturday, spending the whole game as the unofficial coach of the Silver Bullets otherwise.

Along with Doug Willhite, Michael T. Allen and Bob Brown were also part of the officiating crew for this year's game. Proceeds raised from the game were set to be donated to the Thompson Falls junior high football program.

For the second year running, Keg Bowl fan George Shopp bought the keg, donating it to the event once more.

Following are the rosters for the 2019 Keg Bowl:

SILVER BULLETS – Kade VanElswyk (captain), Tanner Laws, Jase Sorenson, Jason Helvey, Luke Chambers, Spencer Nicholls, Aaron Dally, Mark Yoder, Trey Fisher.

YOUNG BLOODS – Nate Pavlik (captain), Ryne Sorenson, Shane Barnes, Jer Lyght, Jake Helvey, Blake Boon, Tyler Egosque, Mike Sherwood.