Shrine Bowl to cap Whirlwind Summer for Coach Diener
To say this has been a busy summer for head coach Marvin Diener of the Kansas Shrine Bowl West squad would be a major understatement. Since the end of the school year, the new coach of the Gardner-Edgerton Blazers, formerly head coach of the defending 5A state champion Salina Central Mustangs, has moved to Gardner, Kansas from his long-time home in Salina. He has also been setting up and running football camps, preparing for the upcoming high school season, and not so incidentally, getting ready for the July 29th Shrine Bowl in Pittsburg. He’ll be the first to admit it has been a hectic schedule. “I’m taking it a week at a time,” he says. “There are so many things to do at once. We’re in the middle of running 8 different football camps before the Shrine Bowl. We’ve also had to replace some Shrine Bowl players (because of injuries). It’s been very busy.” He says he’s been able to delegate some responsibility for Shrine Bowl preparation to his assistant coaches. “They’ll have a lot of things in place. We’ll be ready to when camp opens (on July 21).” His assistants include coaches with recent experience on a championship level. Near his former Saline County home is another 2005 state champion, the 3A Southeast of Saline Trojans, coached by Shrine Bowl assistant Pat Haxton. Jason Kenny, head coach of Ulysses High School, was also involved in championship play last year, narrowly losing to Holton in the 4A title game (28-27 in two overtimes).
Diener will also have one of his former players on the coaching staff, Alan Schuckman from Wichita Bishop Carroll. “I coached him at Bishop Carroll many moons ago,” he says. “We may be the only coach-player tandem that’s coached together in the Shrine Bowl.” Other West assistants will be coaching veteran Mike Smith of Garden City, who served as a Shrine Bowl assistant coach in 1996 while coaching at Valley Center, and John Petrie of Hoxie. The Shrine Bowl will be special to Diener for a very personal reason. He’ll have the opportunity to coach his son, David Diener, for the last time. The younger Diener, a consensus all-state linebacker (5’10”, 200 lbs) is headed for Emporia State. “I’m looking forward to coaching and watching him play,” he says. “For David, this may the only game he’ll get to play in this year. Like many college players, he expects to be red-shirted his first year in college, so it will give him and some others a chance to get a game under their belts. I’m glad he has this opportunity.” Diener will be coaching his third Shrine Bowl, his first as the head coach. He was a West assistant in the 2005 game (won by the East 17-10), and a West assistant in the 1990 game (won by the West 32-0). He leaves behind an enviable legacy in Salina. Diener’s Mustang teams won six 5A championships in his 19 years at the helm, including the 2005 5A title. Central won a whopping 80 percent of its games during his tenure (170-42), including last year’s undefeated 5A championship team that became the first 5A team to win 13 games. Busy as he is, Diener says it’s been a “fun summer.” “It’s been one of my most exciting summers, a chance to start over,” he says. “The Shrine Bowl will top it off.”
Proceeds from the game support the Shriner’s Hospitals for Children, a network of 22 hospitals that provide expert, no-cost orthopedic and burn care to children under 18. Advance reserved chairback tickets are $20.00 in advance, $21.00 on game night. Adult general admission tickets are $9.00 in advance, $10.00 on game night. Student tickets are $5.00 in advance, $6.00 on game night. Banquet tickets are $20.00, and must be purchased in advance. Advance game tickets and banquet tickets can be purchased through the Shrine Bowl office by calling 1-800-530-5524 Additional information and a link to Shriners Hospitals for Children can be found at http://www.ksshrine.com.
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