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Damon Bryan (78), who has been clearing the way for Montezuma teammates for a
long while, did it against other college-bound players on Saturday. (File).

Bryan says Shrine Bowl experience was fun
July 25, 2010

AMES - Damon Bryan said that participating in the Shrine All-Star Football Game and accompanying activities was fun.

And, that's as it's supposed to be.

The players and cheerleaders also raised money for kids in Shriners Hospitals. That's as it's supposed to be, too.

The 38th annual Shine Bowl was played on Saturday, July 24 at Jack Trice Stadium, and Bryan said being on the field, "was awesome . . .a big rush!"

The game is for graduated seniors. The state is divided north and south, with U.S. 30 as the dividing line.

Bryan played for the heavily-favored South. But the North won, 24-0. "We came out flat," Bryan said.

Damon, who was a tackle for the Braves, played right guard in this game and was in during the first and fourth quarters. Although a strong punter in high school, he wasn't asked to kick during this game.

Bryan described playing at this level as "a lot harder than high school. It's really good competition. There were a lot of Division One players on both teams."

Damon talked about the activities, but said the main objective was to raise money for Shriner's Hospitals. "The football players raised $96,000 and the cheerleaders raised $40,000," he said.

The football players hosted a mini-clinic for some of the hospitalized children who were able to attend.

"We also went to Adventureland, and had a hog roast," he said.

Bryan said the football experience should be good preparation for college ball. He reports Aug. 10 to Ft. Dodge, where he'll be playing ball for Iowa Central. He got to meet some of his future teammates who also were part of this game.

Damon also learned during the week that he had been chosen to the Class 1A all-district baseball team for southeast Iowa as named by the Iowa Baseball Coaches Association.

Damon is the son of Craig and Gina Bryan of Montezuma.

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