Hunter Harrison could be described as a throwback high school football player, one of those rawboned linebackers who seemed to be in on every tackle for the Great Bend Panthers last fall.
A 5-foot-10, 184-pounder, Harrison will be playing for the West squad against the East in Saturday night’s 40th Annual Kansas Shrine Bowl at Yager Stadium on the Washburn University campus in Topeka. Kickoff is set for 7. Proceeds from benefit all-star game, featuring some of the state’s top graduated seniors, help provide medical care at the Shriners Hospital for Children in St. Louis, Mo.
“I’m really honored that I was selected to play,” Harrison said in a cellular phone interview on Saturday afternoon from the West training camp on the St. John’s Military School campus in Salina. “I’m proud to represent Great Bend, the City of Great Bend, all of the people of Great Bend, my coaches, my teammates, the high school, the program and everything it represents.”
Harrison recorded a Western Athletic Conference-best 133 tackles for the 5-4 Panthers last season, ranking him second on the Great Bend career single-season hit list behind Matt Patzner, who had 148 tackles during the 2006 campaign, the same year GBHS advanced to the Class 5A state championship game, losing to Blue Valley in their 13th game.
“I love the contact and I love hitting people,” said Harrison, who wore No. 19 at Great Bend, the same uniform number he’ll wear for the West. “That’s one of my favorite parts, but I never thought about the amount of tackles I was getting, I never counted them. I was doing it for the team.
“I was more worried about making a tackle, making sure (the opposing ball-carrier) doesn’t get more yards, more than anything else.”
The cerebral Harrison, who plans to attend Kansas State and major in business in the fall, was the fifth-leading tackler in the WAC with 69 stops during his junior campaign in 2011. He nearly doubled that output this past season for the Panthers, who won five of their first six games before falling in all three of their Class 5A district games — to Hays, Salina Central and Salina South — arguably the state’s toughest all-class slate.
“When I look back on the season, what stands out for me the most are the bonds and the friendships that I made through the years,” Harrison said. “When I think about football, I don’t think about my certain amount of tackles.
“It was the more about the experiences that I had with all of my friends, lifelong friends for sure.”
Harrison, it seems, has always had a knack for making hard knocks on the football field.
“I played flag football when I was younger and started playing full-contact football in the sixth grade,” Harrison said. “I love football itself. It’s my favorite sport, by far. I love everything about it.
“I think it’s an awesome sport. It builds awesome bonds between people, and I think it teaches great discipline. I think that’s crucial in success for the rest of your life.”
The West team currently has a seven-game winning streak over the East, something Harrison is aware of although its secondary on his list.
“There’s a bigger aspect to the game itself,” Harrison said. “The main reason we’re here is to raise money for the Shriners Hospital for Children.
“The kids that are being helped are the big winners in this game. I feel honored to be able to play the great game of football and play my last game for the kids and help for a good cause.”
The West squad departs Salina on Thursday for Topeka.