Senior Ellsworth football standout Cooper McGowan was selected to play in the 53rd Annual Kansas Shrine Bowl.

The Shrine Bowl is an annual all-star football game for Kansas high school seniors that benefits Shriners Hospitals for Children. According to the Kansas Shrine Bowl website, the Kansas Shrine Bowl has raised $3.36 million for the hospitals.

“The Shrine Bowl is the top honor in Kansas high school football awards, in my opinion,” Ellsworth head football coach Josh Homolka said.

In order to be selected, McGowan was first nominated by his high school coaching staff, then voted on by various Kansas media outlets before being selected by the Shrine Bowl coaching staff.

“Cooper McGowan is a great football player, which is a huge reason why he was selected, but when I think of what the Shrine Bowl represents, there is no better person to represent the Bearcats and the Ellsworth community than Cooper,” Homolka said. “He embodies all the attributes that the Shrine Bowl represents.”

The game is only part of the experience, however. The athletes will also experience the biggest reason they are there, and that is the children. They will be able to visit children who are in the hospital and learn about some of the things the children are experiencing through various activities at the hospital.

McGowan, who was selected for his play on the defensive line, is a four-year letterman for the Bearcats and has played in various positions for Homolka. Offensively, he has covered the fullback, tight end and split end positions, carrying the ball eight times for 95 yards and a touchdown his senior year, plus amassing 27 catches for 289 yards and three touchdowns for a team-leading 32.1 yards per reception.

Defensively, he gathered 35 tackles, including five tackles for loss and a quarterback sack, plus an interception in the nine-game season.

Over his high school career, McGowan earned numerous postseason honors, including Honorable Mention All-League Defensive Lineman his sophomore year, 1st Team All-League Defensive End and Tight End and All-State Non-Senior his junior year, plus 1st Team All-League Tight End and Defensive End, Class 2A All-State Tight End and he was named to the All-State Small School Team his senior year.

Starting with flag football then little league tackle football, McGowan realized when he was young that not only do you need a strong work ethic, you also need great mentors and a great support system.

“I’ve always looked up to the high schoolers,” McGowan said. “Even throughout my career, I’ve always looked to the upperclassmen. Even a couple of years ago, we had a great senior class and players like Will Cravens and Cole Webber took me under their wings and helped me improve my skills.

“(The high school coaching staff ) is strongwilled. If they want something done, they’re going to find a way to rally the team and accomplish that goal.”

McGowan not only exhibits a strong work ethic, great athleticism and highly-respectable personal qualities on the football field, but also on the basketball court during the winter and the golf course during the spring.

And his talents and respectability don’t stop there.

When he’s not competing in a Bearcat uniform, he maintains a 3.82 GPA and gives back to the community by being a member of the Ellsworth Jr./Sr. High School National Honor Society and the First Presbyterian Church youth group, plus he helps coach third and fourth grade boys’ recreation basketball teams.

McGowan, the son of Shawn and Gina McGowan, will graduate from EJSHS in May and has committed to Emporia State University to play football and to continue his studies this fall, majoring in exercise science with the goal of becoming a trainer and coach.