Northern Iowa butted heads with southern Iowa in the 33rd annual Shrine Bowl at Jack Trice Stadium on Saturday night. The game featured an all-star class of seniors from Iowa’s high schools in one final game in high school jerseys before moving on to a college team in the fall. All the players gave solid efforts and left with a positive experience under their belts.

The game featured a who’s who of Iowa high school football, many of whom will be moving on to play college football at Iowa State, the University of Iowa and the University of Northern Iowa, among others.

“It was gratifying to see the stars of various teams leave their egos behind to put together a solid team effort,” said Steve Owens, head coach at Treynor High School and assistant coach for the South team.

Running the ball for the South in the first and third quarters was James Smith of Council Bluffs Thomas Jefferson High School, who has been recruited to play for the Cyclones this fall. Although Smith enjoyed considerable success in high school as a runner, head coach Dan McCarney has said he plans to move Smith to defensive back, a position he also played at Jefferson.

The first score of the game came from the South on a long pass play of 29 yards from quarterback D.P. Eyman of Iowa City High School to tight end Levi Kanwischer of Urbandale High School. Eyman will be attending UNI this fall and Kanwischer will join the Cyclones.

“We were glad to get on the board first,” Owens said.

The North team answered back in the second quarter when Travis Rhone of Cedar Rapids Washington made a couple nifty moves on his way to a nine-yard touchdown run. During the drive, the North team’s offensive line looked to be overpowering the Southern defensive line, which pleased head coach Koy Goodchild of West Bend-Mallard High School.

“It was really gratifying; we were significantly outweighed in this game, and to see the kids perform the way they did was great,” he said.

The North continued to control most of the second quarter, adding another Rhone touchdown run with 1:42 remaining in the first half.

“We need to play harder, and move the ball better,” said South head coach Tom Kopatich of Ottumwa at halftime, his team down 14-7.

One of the highlights of the game came with 12:13 remaining in the third quarter, when North kicker Nathan Rausa of Waterloo’s Columbus Catholic kicked a 50-yard field goal to lengthen the North’s lead 17-7.

“Nathan was great,” Goodchild said. “Nobody on the coaching staff knew how to coach kickers, and he did a wonderful job and did whatever we asked of him.”

Kicking was strong on both sides, as South kicker Alex Hanson of Ankeny kicked a 33-yard field goal to draw the South within seven. Hanson will attend the University of Kansas next fall while Rausa heads north to play for UNI.

The fourth quarter saw more of the same, with Rhone pounding in another one-yard score, giving him three touchdowns on the day. Rhone is undecided as to where he will go attend school this fall.

The South added a late touchdown to make the game close, but ultimately, the North held on for a 24-17 win.