Mustangs to see All-Star action this week

If you were to make it down to Billings this Saturday for the 28th Annual Big Sky Class B All-Star Game, you may quickly find out that several Mustangs have been selected for the game. Those names include Antonio Lopez, Tyson Carney, Jase Galt and Allen Williamson. Jordan Pierce, Kalen Wiebe and Devon Raybon were all chosen as alternates for the game. Lopez and Carney were also selected to play in the 70th Annual Montana East-West Shrine Game on Saturday, July 16 in Butte.

Lopez has been selected to play linebacker in both games and he will get a chance to showcase the hard hitting that the Mustang faithful has seen him deliver in the last four seasons.

“It’s pretty cool,” Lopez said. “It’s an honor. I’m excited to go and be a part of that. It’s a big thing to be in the Shrine Game. Not too many people can say they played in that.”

Lopez doesn’t want to just go to the All-Star and Shrine Games; he wants to be the first Mustang MVP in the Badlands Bowl since Kyle Boos in 2012. The most recent Mustang MVP in the Big Sky game was kicker Dalton Brookie.

Lopez hasn’t just been sitting down waiting on the game to come around.

“I’ve been running a little bit,” Lopez said. “I’ve been working out every chance I get and when I’m not working, I’m working out.”

Lopez has also been working at Helena Sand and Gravel the company currently working on streets in Malta’s city limits.

After the summer Lopez plans to attend Montana Tech and walk-on to the football team. The school offered him a wrestling scholarship, which Lopez appreciated but he feels football is a better fit.

“I can see myself shining more in football,” he said.

He is thrilled that at least for this weekend he will play with at least three other Mustangs one more time.

“We’ve talked about it and stuff,” Lopez said. “We’re looking forward to it though. We’re going to make the best of it and hopefully come out with a win.”

He didn’t promise a win but he did promise one thing; to hit harder.

“Even harder,” he said. “Harder and harder every time.”

Carney will be playing wide receiver for the University of Mary in North Dakota this fall, but before he does, he will have a chance to play with his former teammates two more times this summer.

“It’s great,” Carney said. “Even though the season’s over we still get to play with each other and some of the best players in the state.”

A standout receiver and cornerback, Carney has shined on both sides of the ball as a Mustang, but has no idea what position he will play.

“They said I could be playing either on both teams so I’ll just have to see,” Carney said. “I was thinking I want to play offense because that’s what I’m going to play in college but then again I want to play defense because it could be my last time playing defense.”