No Clowning Around, Another Shriner Success in St. Pete

Saint Petersburg, Fla. — The longest-running College All-Star Game was played Saturday afternoon at Tropicana Field in Saint Petersburg with the East All-Stars defeating the West All Stars 31-27 in the Shriners Game.

This year marked the 9th consecutive year that Tropicana Field has been the host. From the inception of the East West Shrine Game in 1925 through 2005 the game was played in the San Francisco Bay area before making its way east through way of Texas. In 2006 the game was in San Antonio then Houston for three years. Moving to the Sunshine State in 2010 and 2011 in Orlando before moving to the present host St. Petersburg. Which makes a whole lot of sense since Shriner’s International HQ is in Tampa.

Since 1925, the East-West Shrine Bowl has benefited Shriners Hospitals for Children® and its mission to provide compassionate, high-quality care for children with specialized medical needs. Locations in the United States, Canada and Mexico provide care for children with orthopedic conditions, burns, spinal cord injuries, and cleft lip and palate, regardless of the families’ ability to pay.

University of Central Florida’s Adrian Killins Jr. did not disappoint the crowd at Tropicana Field, which is just 120 miles east on I4 from the UCF campus. Killins Jr. had 7 receptions for 192 yards. University of South Florida’s Mitch Wilcox had 1 reception for 6 yards. Wilcox played his high school football in the Tampa Bay area for the Tarpon Springs Spongers. The Spongers were broadcast on WTAN by Rocket Sports & Entertainment during Wilcox career at Tarpon Springs.

Benny LeMay from Charlotte was the offensive MVP with 15 carries 86 yards and 2 TDs while the defensive MVP was safety Luther Kirk from Illinois State.