From left, Manhattan High’s Jaxon Vikander, head coach Joe Schartz and Keenan Schartz are presented their certificates to participate in the 50th annual Shrine Bowl, scheduled for July 15 in Hays, during a ceremony Wednesday, March 1, 2023.
From left, Manhattan High’s Jaxon Vikander, head coach Joe Schartz and Keenan Schartz are presented their certificates to participate in the 50th annual Shrine Bowl, scheduled for July 15 in Hays, during a ceremony Wednesday, March 1, 2023.
Representatives of the Shriners organization honored Manhattan High football’s three selections for the upcoming 2023 Kansas Shrine Bowl during a ceremony at the school’s West Campus Little Theater Wednesday morning.
After helping their team to a 13-0 record and the 6A state championship in 2022, Indians quarterback Keenan Schartz and linebacker Jaxon Vikander will play for the West Team in the annual high school all-star game. Meanwhile, head coach Joe Schartz will serve as an assistant coach for the West Team under Hays head coach Tony Crough.
Vikander and Keenan Schartz are the 62nd and 63d Manhattan players to be picked for the Shrine Bowl in the game’s 50-year existence. Joe Schartz — who played in the Shrine Bowl in 1993 after his senior season at Dodge City — is the Indians’ first coach to participate since former head coach Lew Lane did so in 1994.
“It’s just a great honor for a great cause,” Joe Schartz said. “It’s just further evidence of the type of season that we had here. We had 11 kids sign to play college football and a number of quality players on the team. For Keenan and Jaxon to be selected is a real honor for them. And for me to be able to coach in the 50th anniversary is very special.”
Keenan Schartz signed his national letter of intent last month to play football at Washburn, where his father, Joe Schartz, played. A part of The Mercury’s 2023 All-Flint Hills First Team and a KFBCA 6A All-State Team pick, he recorded 1,501 yards passing and 11 touchdowns passing during his senior season to go along with 1,231 yards rushing and 20 touchdowns rushing.
He said he’s familiar with the Shrine Bowl because his dad played in it and because he’s watched the game in previous years. Hearing his name selected brought “excitement,” particularly because he gets to play for Joe Schartz one more time.
“We love to play,” Keenan Schartz said. “Hanging out with the guys and going out there and playing for a big cause, a cause bigger than just the game — that, all together, is what excites me.”
After the Shrine Bowl in July, Vikander will head to St. Joseph, Missouri, to play at Missouri Western, Washburn’s MIAA rival. Vikander led the Indians with 103 total tackles (16 for loss) and two sacks during their state-title campaign, earning him All-Flint Hills First Team and KFBCA 6A All-State Team honors.
“I think it’ll be cool to be there with the kids in the Shriners Hospital and support them, and then also go out and play another high school football game with one of my buddies and my coach,” Vikander said. “That’s all cool to be able to do one more time.”
Manhattan has sent more players to the Shrine Bowl than any other school in the state, and for Joe Schartz, that’s indicative of the kind of sustained success the program has had over many years.
“There’s obviously a great football tradition here at Manhattan,” he said. “To be in this group is an extreme honor for all of us.”
The 2023 Kansas Shrine Bowl is scheduled for 7 p.m. on July 15 at Lewis Field Stadium on the campus of Fort Hays State University in Hays. All proceeds from the game support Shriners Children’s hospitals, which offer care for a variety of health concerns to children up to the age of 18, all regardless of the patient’s family’s ability to pay.
