‘With the first pick, Steve Pyne selects …’ Les Schwab Bowl returns for 74th year with a fun new wrinkle: a player draft
By Bob Lundeberg | Photos by Ken Waz
The Les Schwab Bowl continues to evolve in its eighth decade of existence.
Last year marked the first time underclassmen were permitted to play in the annual Oregon all-star football game. Another wrinkle has been added for this summer’s 74th edition: a draft.
The traditional North vs. South format was scrapped in favor of a draft with the aim of putting two highly-competitive teams on the field for the July 2 matchup at Linfield University. Head coaches Steve Pyne (Team Columbia) and Dan Lever (Team Willamette) were able to select players from any classification, region or grade level.
“It was like a mini-NFL Draft,” said Lever, a first-time Les Schwab Bowl participant who led Tualatin to the Class 6A final. “There was definitely some positioning going on between the two sides. It was fun to have all the athletes available to you, not just the ones in your region.”
Pyne, a veteran Les Schwab Bowl coach, won his fourth state title with Central Catholic last fall. Pyne supported the decision to allow underclassmen in the game and was intrigued by the idea of drafting his roster of players and assistants.
“Last year as we were there, all of us coaches were sitting around and talking with (organizers) John (McCallum) and Reggie (Walker), and the idea came up about making it a draft instead of having North/South,” Pyne said. “It made it a little more unique. I think the opportunity for a kid from Portland to play with a kid from Medford, Bend or Pendleton is pretty cool.”
Walker said between 200 and 250 players were nominated by their coaches for the Les Schwab Bowl, which began in 1948. Of the 80 players selected by Lever and Pyne, more than 40 are committed, signed or being actively recruited by Division I schools.
Opening the all-star game to freshmen, sophomores and juniors was an important step for Walker, the Director of Operations for Prime Time Sports. Walker also runs the nationally-acclaimed Les Schwab Invitational.
“We kind of started planning this years ago when we heard from a bunch of seniors who weren’t going to be able to play because they were reporting early (to college),” Walker said. “As a way to get the top players in the state to participate, we felt like we had to open it up to underclassmen. More than anything else, we just wanted to provide a good setting for all the best players to be able to compete against each other, regardless of their grade and where they are from.”
In past years, the North vs. South format occasionally led to unbalanced matchups on the field. The organizers settled on a draft to keep the teams as balanced as possible.
The draft began with an opening round in which Lever and Pyne could each select five players of their choice. The following rounds were done position by position (for example, offensive skill position players in round two, offensive and defensive linemen in round three, etc.).
The coaches did not have an agreement with each other to draft their own players. Central Catholic star Riley Williams organically went No. 1 overall to Team Columbia, and Lever spent the next two picks on his biggest stars: Malik Ross and Cole Prusia.
“I did not want to play against them, man,” Lever said of his top two picks. “They are phenomenal players and great kids. I’m trying to win the game, so I definitely didn’t want those two going against us.”
Pyne wound up drafting 10 Rams, including sophomore quarterback Cru Newman with the fourth overall pick. Lever and assistant Anthony Newman, who worked under Pyne at Central Catholic and is now at West Linn, snatched up star wide receiver/defensive back Zach Grisham before Pyne could take him.
“It was crazy!” Pyne said.
Pyne took a couple of 5A players in the first round: North Salem sophomore quarterback/linebacker TC Manumaleuna II and West Albany junior wide receiver/defensive back DeMarcus Houston.
Manumaleuna II holds offers from Florida State, Louisville, Miami and Oregon. Houston, who will miss the game because of injury, is being recruited by several Pac-12 schools.
“Just from watching on film, TC is composed and is pretty aware of what’s going on around him. He has tremendous upside,” Pyne said. “It’s a little bit selfish of me, but I wanted to stack my guy up against him in practice and see what’s going on because I think Cru is the best quarterback I’ve ever had, and he’s a sophomore. I have high hopes for him and what his college future holds.
“DeMarcus, he’s just a special player. You watch his film and it just pops.”
Pyne is also excited about Zak Holsey, a senior quarterback/defensive back who put up monster numbers for 1A Waldport. Holsey recently committed to play football at George Fox.
“The kid can flat-out run,” said Pyne, who was impressed by 2A Heppner’s Jayden Wilson at last year’s game. “And he gets the opportunity to come up here and play.”
Lever rounded out his first round with Tualatin quarterback Jackson Jones, North Medford tight end/defensive end AJ Pugliano and Lake Oswego quarterback Jack Layne. Layne’s teammate, running back Gabe Olvera, was Pyne’s other first-round pick.
Pugliano is one of the country’s top prospects for the class of 2024. The 6-foot-4, 220-pound phenom holds offers from Oregon and Oregon State.
“He has all the tools to be a Power 5 tight end or even a defensive end if he wants to be,” Lever said. “He’s a very physical player with great hands who gets separation. He will be a fun piece to work with offensively and will definitely be a mismatch.”
Lever also looked beyond the 6A ranks, nabbing 3A offensive player of the year Braydon Thornton later in the draft. Thornton put up eye-popping receiving numbers during his career at Siuslaw.
“I feel really good about our team,” Lever said. “We have a little bit more of a diverse roster than the other side. We took a bit of a different approach in going out and getting who we thought best fit the need. It’s going to be a bit of a private school vs. public school matchup.”
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TOP 10 PICKS
1, Riley Williams, Central Catholic, 2023
2, Malik Ross, Tualatin, 2022
3, Cole Prusia, Tualatin, 2022
4, Cru Newman, Central Catholic, 2024
5, Jackson Jones, Tualatin, 2022
6, AJ Pugliano, North Medford, 2024
7, Gabe Olvera, Lake Oswego, 2022
8, TC Manumaleuna II, North Salem, 2024
9, DeMarcus Houston, West Albany, 2023
10, Jack Layne, Lake Oswego, 2022
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FULL ROSTERS
Team Columbia (Steve Pyne)
Banks: TE/LB Charlie White, 2022
Central Catholic: RB/DB Ellis Bynum, 2022
Central Catholic: RB/LB Gibson Coyle, 2022
Central Catholic: OL/DL Myale Jones, 2022
Central Catholic: TE/LB Riley Williams, 2023
Central Catholic: QB Cru Newman, 2024
Central Catholic: WR/DB Timmy Mitchell, 2024
Central Catholic: OL/DL Joe Merlino, 2023
Central Catholic: OL/DLBeau CressAllen, 2023
Central Catholic: C/DL Matix Carpenter, 2024
Central Catholic: K/P Asher Wasjkol, 2022
Coquille: RB/DB Gunner Yates, 2022
Franklin: OL/DE Mipam Jampa, 2022
Hood River Valley: QB/WR/S Trenton Hughes, 2022
Jesuit: RB/DE Noah Staley, 2023
Jesuit: OL/DT Sylus Wallace, 2023
Jesuit: WR/DB Jace Burton, 2024
Jesuit: RB/LB Lonnie Burt, 2024
Jesuit: C Roice Cleeland, 2023
Jesuit: OL Sean Khouri, 2023
Klamath Union: C/DT Hayden Smith, 2023
Lakeridge: TE/LB Zac Waible, 2022
Lake Oswego: RB/CB Gabe Olvera, 2022
Lake Oswego: LB Dylan Layne, 2022
Marist Catholic: RB/LB/S Lucas Tuski, 2022
Marist Catholic: OL/DL Kale Paslay, 2022
Newberg: U/LB/P Charlie Evans, 2022
North Medford: WR/DB Bryce Dyer, 2022
North Medford: OL/DL David Fuiava, 2023
North Salem: QB TC Manumaleuna II, 2024
Scappoose: QB/S Luke McNabb, 2022
Silverton: WR/DB Austin Ratliff, 2022
Sheldon: WR/CB Keegan Line, 2022
Sunset: WR/DB Hayden Hurley, 2022
Thurston: TE/DE Grayson Starck, 2022
Tualatin: OL/DL Lucas Edwards, 2022
Waldport: QB/DB Zakcrye Holsey, 2022
West Albany: WR/CB DeMarcus Houston, 2023
West Linn: U Mark Hamper, 2023
West Salem: WR/DB Zach Dodsen-Greene, 2022
Westview: OL/DT Bryce Cordell, 2022
Team Willamette (Dan Lever)
Barlow: FB/LB Andrew Collins, 2022
Beaverton: WR/DB Kyron Albright, 2022
Central Catholic: WR/DB Zach Grisham, 2022
Churchill: TE/DE Braden Rohde, 2022
Grant: RB/DB Donald "Chili" Stephens, 2023
Grant: TE/LB Jayden Moses, 2023
Grant: OL/DL Stephen del Giudice, 2024
Grant: WR/DB Marshune Waters, 2023
Hood River Valley: WR/DB Ryles Buckley, 2022
Lake Oswego: QB Jack Layne, 2022
Lake Oswego: OL/DL Austin Leykem, 2022
Liberty: OL/DL Ryan Berger, 2023
Lincoln: RB/TE/DE/LB Brady Kopetz, 2022
Marist Catholic: OL/DL Tanner Relling, 2022
Milwaukie: OL/DT Jake Cooper, 2022
Newberg: FB/LB Hudson Davis, 2023
Newberg: RB/LB Price Pothier, 2022
North Medford: TE/DE/LB AJ Pugliano, 2024
Roosevelt: QB/WR/DB Imarion Kelly, 2022
Roseburg: QB/DB Colton Masters, 2022
Silverton: WR/DB Vandon Fessler, 2022
Silverton: OL/DL Orie Schaffers, 2022
Silverton: OL/DL Sam Willis, 2022
Sheldon: OL/DT Tilman Ritchie-Tuisue, 2022
Sherwood: WR/DB Cody Hall, 2022
Siuslaw: WR/DB Braydon Thornton, 2022
Summit: FB/LB Jack Clemans, 2022
Summit: K/P Soren McKee, 2022
Summit: RB/DE Chip Allers, 2023
Summit: OL/DL Spencer Elliott, 2023
Summit: DB Joe Schutz, 2022
Sunset: OL/DL Mahmoud Abdelmoneum, 2022
Tualatin: TE/DE Kellen Hale, 2022
Tualatin: RB/DB Malik Ross, 2022
Tualatin: QB Jackson Jones, 2022
Tualatin: WR/DB Cole Prusia, 2022
Tualatin: DB Peter Burke, 2022
West Linn: WR/DB Jordy Tawa, 2022
Westview: WR/S Drew Bennett, 2022
Wilsonville: WR/S Jack Johnson, 2022
Selected but will not play
Central Catholic: WR/DB Jordan King, 2022
Central Catholic: TE/LB Emar'rion Winston, 2022
Jefferson: CB Trejon Williams, 2022
Lake Oswego: WR Justius Lowe, 2022
Lakeridge: WR Joey Olsen, 2024
Mountainside: WR Keenan Speer-Johnson, 2022
Thurston: TE Jacob Newell, 2022
Westview: WR Darius Clemons, 2022
Westview: RB Aaron Jones, 2022
