Les Schwab Bowl is the last high school game for graduated Scappoose star Luke McNabb — and his first game on his college field
By Dan Brood
Luke McNabb, a 2022 Scappoose High School graduate, was a standout quarterback last fall, earning Northwest Oregon Conference West offensive player of the year honors and Class 5A second-team all-state accolades as he helped lead Scappoose to a Class 5A state playoff berth.
But beyond that, the 6-foot-3, 200-pound McNabb is an athlete — a three-sport star athlete at Scappoose.
He’s ready to show off that athleticism at Saturday’s Les Schwab Bowl, a high school all-star football game that will be played at Linfield University in McMinnville. McNabb won’t be showing that athleticism at quarterback for Team Columbia. Instead, he’ll be playing on defense, at safety.
And he seems to be pretty happy about it.
“So far, this has been really fun,” said McNabb, who ended up starting at safety four games into the 2021 season at Scappoose. “I haven’t practiced much at safety, until toward the end of the year, but I’m having a blast practicing at safety, and I get to throw a little bit, too, so it’s fun.”
What also is fun for McNabb is getting to know the Linfield campus. He’ll be continuing his scholastic athletic career at Linfield, playing football and baseball for the Wildcats.
“It’s nice,” McNabb said. “It gives me a good feel about what it’s going to be like, staying here in the dorms, and to get used to the field and facilities. I like it so far.”
McNabb said that at Linfield, he’ll be back playing quarterback.
“One more game at safety,” he said with a smile.
He plans on making the most out of that final game playing in the defensive backfield.
“I just like to play everything,” McNabb said. “We’re just mainly playing man (defense) and Cover 3, so I get a lot of freedom to just be running around, playing football, so I enjoy that. I’m loving it.”
He’s also hoping the experience helps him in his quarterbacking future.
“It gives me more feel about the defense, what safeties see,” McNabb said. “It’s kind of nice to see what the defense does, how they look.”
But before looking ahead to playing college football at Linfield, McNabb is enjoying his Les Schwab Bowl week.
“I’m having a blast, meeting a lot of new guys,” he said. “I love it.”
And, of course, there’s Saturday’s game, where McNabb and his Team Columbia teammates face off with Team Willamette.
“Oh, we want to win, definitely,” McNabb said. “We want to win big.”
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This year’s Les Schwab Bowl, presented by Express Employment Professionals, and serving as a fundraiser for various youth charities, includes many of the top players from around the state, including underclassmen, as well as a player from southwest Washington. This is the 74th game in the series, but the first that won’t be North vs. South. Instead, players were drafted by Team Columbia head coach Steve Pyne, who led Central Catholic to the 2021 Class 6A state championship, and Team Willamette head coach Dan Lever, who guided Tualatin to the Class 6A title tilt.
Saturday’s event begins with tailgating at 2 p.m., featuring Golden Valley Brewing, Stoller Family Wine and more. Gates open at 4 p.m., with kickoff slated for 6 p.m.
Tickets for the game can be purchased online, at lesschwabbowl.com/tickets. The game also can be streamed online, at a cost of $10, at lesschwabbowl.com.
