For Chad Szylvian, Friday night’s Maine Shrine Lobster Bowl Classic marks one final chance to pursue an athletic passion that’s been a big part of his life since the fifth grade.

“It’s nice to put the shoulder pads on for one more game,” said Szylvian, an offensive lineman from Brewer High School who will begin pre-med studies at Boston College in the fall.

“It’s different from playing with your teammates for a whole season, but it’s just awesome playing with the level of talent on this team. It’ll be a lot of fun.”

Szylvian joins 80 other elite members of Maine’s high school football Class of 2005 for the 16th annual edition of this East-West all-star game, which begins at 7:30 p.m. at Waterhouse Field in Biddeford.

The West has dominated the series, winning 13 of the first 15 games, including a come-from-behind 15-14 victory a year ago.

But the East appears well equipped to challenge for its second win in the last three years, with a talented cast of skill-position players to go with a big and agile front line.

The East is led by reigning Fitzpatrick Trophy winner Nick Tymoczko of Class C state champion Bucksport, a 2,741-yard rusher last fall who represents one of several speed threats in the East arsenal.

“Nick had great success last fall, and it was really team success, and because of the stats he put out he was able to win and deserved that award,” said East head coach Butch Richards of Belfast. “For him to come in here and play with 40 other special football players has got to be great for him, too.”

Josh Aldus of Belfast and Chris Molleur of Windham provide additional rushing talent, while Aaron Gallant of Bangor, Garren Horne of Belfast, Eric Lopez of Winslow, Mark Pullen of Dexter and Brian Tormollan of Waterville will be among the top receiving targets.

“They have a lot of speed, they’ve got a couple of kids who can run like heck,” said West coach Jim Thurston of Fryeburg Academy. “We’ve got to keep those guys contained. If we keep them inside and give the other 10 kids a chance to tackle them, we should be all right. We don’t want to get into a foot race with them.”

Sharing the East quarterbacking duties will be Joey Carmichael of Bucksport and Peter Cekutis of Windham.

“They’re two quality athletes, two great kids,” said Richards. “Being a Class B coach and not having seen those kids, getting a chance to know them and to work with them has been pretty special. Both have great arms and are very attentive in wanting to learn, and both are great leaders.”

The offensive line includes Bangor High teammates Andrew Trundy and Kyle Oliver, as well as Szylvian and Paul Curtis of Rockland.

The East defensive front features University of Maine recruit Jon Pirruccello of Leavitt of Turner Center, along with Tyler Eastman of Old Town and Arron Chaffin and Garrett Masse of Brunswick.

Other top defenders include ends Craig Toulouse of Gardiner, Matt Littlefield of Brewer and Devin Provencal of Skowhegan, along with linebackers Jordan Stevens of Mt. Blue of Farmington and Ryan Bouchard of Stearns of Millinocket.

While Fitzy finalist Bobby Gilbert of Foxcroft Academy, scheduled to play strong safety, is sidelined by a back injury, the East defensive backfield is well-stocked with the likes of Marty Quint of Maine Central Institute in Pittsfield and George Foisy of Lewiston.

The West is led by Fitzpatrick Trophy finalist Matt O’Donnell of Class A state champion of Bonny Eagle of Standish, who will share quarterbacking duties with Justin Wells of Jay.

With Colby Lamson of Marshwood of Eliot sidelined by an ankle injury, Al Axelson of Deering of Portland figures to spearhead the running game, according to Thurston.

Other offensive threats include speedy running back Tyson Nason of Gorham and wideouts Mike Joyce of Deering and Kyle McKague of Bonny Eagle.

While of much of the preparation for this game has focused on players from different schools learning common football terminology and a week of triple-sessions to improve both conditioning and execution, the real reason for the Lobster Bowl is not lost on the participants.

“The best thing about this is just knowing that we raised a lot of money for the kids,” said Bangor’s Oliver, who will attend Bates College in the fall.

“We’re here to help the Shriners raise money for kids who are less fortunate than we are, and that’s the goal we’ll always emphasize,” added Richards.

“Getting ready for a football game comes easy because once these kids put the pads on and become confident in what we’re doing and learn the terminology, then come Friday night it’s a football game for these guys, and at that point we’ll address wanting to win and doing what we can to win.”