Alex Harvey will be continuing his football career at Washington University in St. Louis this coming year, but the Rochelle Township High School standout had one final chance to wear the purple and white when he joined some of the best prep players in the state at the 44^th Annual Illinois High School Shrine Game at Tucci Stadium on the campus of Illinois Wesleyan University this past weekend.

Harvey was selected to compete in the Shrine Game earlier this year, and the senior graduate suited up for the West All-Stars, who battled hard but lost a close game against the East All-Stars by a score of 26-20 on Saturday. Rochelle has sent one player to the Shrine Game over the last several years, and past participants include Matt Albers, James Porter and Evan White.

“I was really excited and honored to be selected,” Harvey said. “It was a great experience and I was excited to get back on the football field… I was excited to represent Rochelle one more time on the football field and I hope I brought a little bit of Rochelle football to the game. I’ll never forget the experience of playing for Rochelle.”

While the action culminated with Saturday’s All-Star contest, players on both sides joined together for many events throughout the week. Players arrived on Tuesday for Media Day and the first day of team practices, and both teams visited the Shriners Hospitals for Children in Chicago on Wednesday to spend times with children at the hospital.

For Harvey, who plans to study biomedical engineering at Washington University in order to pursue a career in medicine, visiting the hospital was one of his favorite moments throughout the week.

“Seeing the Shriners hospital and getting to see how they help make lives better for the children was a really cool experience,” Harvey said. “I was really excited to see what can be done and what’s already been done. Seeing the machinery that helps the kids live better lives gets me excited for my future and how I can help others.”

Players joined the Shriners of Illinois for a cookout on Thursday before participating in the Central Illinois Miracle League Baseball Game, which provided an opportunity for players to work alongside children with mental or physical challenges. This year’s event banquet at the Memorial Center took place on Friday, with the Walk for LOVE taking place Saturday morning. The Walk for LOVE helps raise money for the Shriners Hospitals for Children.

“Meeting everybody on each team was really cool,” Harvey said. “It was good to see other football player and it was awesome to make memories with them. Seeing other coaches during practices and getting a taste of what college football will be like was a lot of fun.”

The Shrine Game was the final contest of Harvey’s high school career, and in less than two months, Harvey will be heading down to Washington University and beginning practices with his college team. It may have been an All-Star game, but Harvey said the lessons and schemes he picked up on during practices with the West squad will help him as he prepares to transition into college.

“College is going to be a melting pot of kids from all over the place and from all walks of life,” Harvey said. “Meeting new people and making friends at the Shrine Game will help prepare me to do that in college, and it was amazing how well all of us worked together… I’ll have to learn something new in college so I think the Shrine Game experience is really going to help me out.”