Matt Ellis stands with Heppner’s Nacho Elguezabal (middle) and Echo’s Dustin Christensen (right) at the Shriner’s hospital Saturday, Aug. 26. Both teams spent the day at the hospital before heading to La Grande for a week of practice before the game. Contributed/Angie Ellis

It’s been a busy summer for Stanfield’s Matt Ellis, his time split between working, getting ready for college, and playing in one prep all-star game after another.

He’s already laced up for the state’s basketball and baseball games, and Saturday he’ll join Oregon’s most talented football players on the gridiron for the East-West Shrine Game at Bulldog Stadium in Baker City.

While he said each selection he’s received has been an honor and he’s enjoyed playing in the showcase matches throughout the summer, the Shrine game is the one he’s been waiting for.

“If I could play in only one (all-star) game, it would be the Shrine game,” he said. “Definitely.”

Ellis joins his father, Monte, on the list of 20 Stanfield football players who have made the Shrine team. It’s a game he’s been hearing about his whole life, and an experience he doubts he’ll ever forget.

In the tradition of the game, both teams began the week with a trip to the Shriner’s Hospital in Wilsonville Saturday. Monte prepared Matt for the experience by telling him it was the most memorable part of his own trip nearly three decades ago.

“The biggest thing was meeting those kids in the hospital, and that’s what I’ve told Matt,” he said. “Any time you think you’ve had a bad day you can go back and think of those kids and how bad they have it.”

It’s saying a lot that the hospital visit was the most memorable part for Monte, because the game he played in turned out to be a one-point nailbiter. Though the East wound up on the losing end, the elder Ellis said he came away from the week with nothing but fond memories.

After Saturday’s hospital trip, in which the all-star athletes played games and took photos with the kids, Ellis and the rest of players loaded up on buses for La Grande, where they spent the week at Eastern Oregon University preparing for the game.

It will be Ellis’ final football game, and his final outing as a Stanfield High School athlete. He’s designated as a defensive back, though for the Tigers he also played quarterback.

Monte Ellis was also the quarterback for Stanfield through 1979, and led the Tigers to their first playoff appearance in more than two decades in his senior season.

Along with an affinity for athletics and a similar disposition, father and son shared the experience of some tough times on the field.

In Monte’s junior season the team went 0-9 before finally breaking back into the postseason.

In each of Matt’s sophomore and junior years the team won only one game.

Both also suffered concussions in games, though Matt took a little more of a beating throughout his high school career.

“The worst part about football is when you’re not winning – it sucks,” Matt said. “When you’re winning you don’t notice it, but when you’re losing it hurts a lot worse.”

“When you’re up by 30 or so, the bruises aren’t so bad,” Monte added.

On the positive side, both father and son felt their senior seasons were their best. Though Matt said he wished his high school career could have ended in the playoffs – like his father – he was happy to be a part of the Stanfield program on its way up.

“There was a real change of atmosphere when (Jay) Zwiefelhofer came in last year,” he said about the new coach. “We talked about whether we wanted to start a new tradition or keep the old one, and that was easy. We all wanted to start a new one.”

Through all of his all-star appearances, Ellis’ favorite part is spending time with other athletes from around the state.

“You play against them all year and you hate them, and then you meet them and find out you have the same interests and you become good buds,” he explained.

The game will kick off at 3 p.m.