When North Bend High School football coach Rick Taylor walks the sidelines as the West Coach in the East-West Shrine Game today in Baker City, at least he’ll know his captains. North Bend all-star lineman Trae Collins and Siuslaw standout quarterback Jacob Mitchell were voted captains of the squad earlier this week.

“On all fronts, it’s been a really great experience for the players and coaches as well.” Taylor said of coaching the Shrine team. “Trae’s real excited, and he’s been doing real well and stepped into a leadership role. He’s a real viable part of the offense and the defense.”

The West will tackle the East, a team that features Myrtle Point running back Sean Andy and Gold Beach fullback Travis Moore, who was named the Class 3A offensive player of the year in 2008.

The teams have been practicing at Eastern Oregon University and staying in the dorms, in between visiting children’s hospitals and doing other good deeds. The East-West Shrine game is a successful annual fundraiser for the Shriners Hospitals for Children, now in its 57th year. It’s raised more than $2.5 million for Shriners hospitals.

Taylor said it’s been wonderful to see kids from around the state come together for an important cause.

“It’s going good, it’s going really well. This is a great group of kids on this team,” he said. “It’s a really positive experience. The hospital visit and all the things we’ve done has been really enlightening. What the Shriners hospitals does is one of the great charity efforts out there.”

Kickoff today is set for 1:06 p.m. The game will be televised on Fox Sports Net.