Sam Sampson named to Shrine Game; Shea, Polich picked as alternates

Butte High senior Sam Sampson still has one more high school football game to play.

The recent Montana Tech signee was named to the 78th Montana East-West Shrine Game. He will play receiver for the West Side when the game is played June 21 in Great Falls.

Rosters for the East and West were released on Christmas morning.

Sampson is the lone player from the Mining City selected for the state’s premier all-star football game. Butte High teammates Colton Shea and Brett Polich, though, could join him. Shea and Polich were named alternates for the West Side.

Sampson’s selection comes after he had a huge season for the Bulldogs in 2024. He caught 55 passes for 860 yards and eight touchdowns as Butte High made a playoff run. His 860 yards led the team, while his receptions and touchdowns both ranked second.

The 6-foot-3, 180-pound Sampson earned first-team All-State honors at receiver. He also took home a second-team All-State nod as long snapper.

Shea’s alternate selection comes after his impressive senior season, which was his first as Butte High’s starting quarterback. The 5-8, 180-pound Shea completed 60 percent of his passes for 2,652 yards and 23 touchdowns in 2024, including a 99-yard strike to Sampson. Shea took home second-team All-State honors.

The 5-10, 250-pound Polich is an alternate at defensive tackle for the West Side. That comes after Polich was a force on both sides of the line for Butte High in 2024. He received a second-team All-Conference mention at center.

Helena Capital coach Kyle Mihelish will serve as head coach of the West for the third time since 2018. The honor comes after his Bruins won another Class AA State title in November.

Five players from Mihelish’s Bruins were named to his roster, including his son Merek, a quarterback who was recently named the Montana Gatorade Player of the Year. Merek Mihelish will play football at Montana Tech. Capital had six more players who were named as alternates.

Kyle Mehelish has 26 years of coaching experience in Montana football, with eight years at Great Falls High, one year at Carroll College, and the last 17 years at Helena Capital. He has coached in six Shrine Games, serving as an assistant coach twice for the East and twice for the West, and as the West head coach in 2018 and 2022. Kyle is a 1990 graduate of Capital High School, and he played football at the University of Montana Western.

Nick Oxarart will coach the East Side. Oxarart has been coaching Malta Mustang Football for 18 seasons (nine as an assistant and nine as head coach). Oxarart is a 1999 graduate of Malta High School and was a member of Malta’s first state championship football team in 1996.

Oxarart graduated from Minot State University in 2004 and was a member of the football team. He was an assistant coach for the East in the 2021 Shrine Game.

The players for the 78^th Montana East-West Shrine Game were nominated by their schools and coaches around the state. They were finally selected as the “best of the best” and join an elite fraternity of players, many of whom have gone on to distinguished collegiate and professional careers.

The West Side will once again hold their training camp in the Mining City. Click the link below to see all the selections from the West and East.

The above photos of, from left, Sampson, Shea and Polich are courtesy of Alycia Holland Photography.