‘So many memories, so many new friends.’ Different format, same result at annual Les Schwab Bowl — a magical week for all involved

By Dan Brood | Photos by Ken Waz 

A fast start. 

A determined effort. 

A close-knit, bonded team. 

An impressive victory. 

Team Columbia, getting off to a blazing start and never looking back, powered its way to a 28-9 win over Team Willamette in the 2022 Les Schwab Bowl, a high school football all-star game played Saturday at Linfield University in McMinnville.

“This is super special,” said Team Columbia quarterback Cru Newman, a Central Catholic junior-to-be who accounted for three touchdowns and was named the game’s Most Valuable Player. “All the guys wanted it, and we prepared for it all week. We really got the outcome we wanted, so that was really cool.”

“It means a ton,” said Team Columbia defensive end Richie Anderson, a Tualatin senior senior-to-be who had a sack in the victory. “We know a lot of players on the other team, we know the players on our team. It’s different players all coming together. We really bonded over the last week. It was really special.”

“It’s a good way to end the high school career,” said Team Columbia running back Gunner Yates, a 2022 Coquille graduate who scored two touchdowns, both covering more than 50 yards. “It’s good playing with these guys. It’s going to be really memorable.”

Saturday’s game, the 74th in the contest’s history, was the first played under a new format, where the head coaches, Central Catholic’s Steve Pyne for Team Columbia and former Tualatin/new Silverton coach Dan Lever for Team Willamette, drafted teams. But the contest seemed to feature the same intensity as when it was a North vs. South geographical matchup. And the win certainly seemed to mean just as much to the victorious Team Columbia squad — as did the whole week in general.

“It’s just really nice, having it be the last game of my high school football career, getting the win and everything,” said Team Columbia tight end Grayson Starck, a 2022 Thurston graduate who had a touchdown catch. “It’s been a lot of fun this week, hanging out with new people.”

Team Willamette players agreed.

“It was a really fun week. I wish the food was a little bit better, but I can’t complain. I ate a ton of food,” Team Willamette lineman Ryan Berger, a Liberty senior-to-be, said with a laugh. “I made a lot of friends. It was a lot of fun.” 

“It went well. It’s sad to see that we lost, but this whole experience was super fun,” said Team Willamette defensive end Braden Rohde, a 2022 Churchill graduate who was named his team’s defensive MVP. “I’m so glad I got the opportunity to be here.”

The Team Columbia squad got off to a roaring start. The first time the team clad in blue got the ball, it put together a 53-yard scoring drive behind the blocking of starting linemen Sylus Wallace, Roice Cleeland and Sean Khouri, all Jesuit seniors-to-be; Central Catholic senior-to-be Beau CressAllen, and Marist Catholic junior-to-be Sam Keen. A 16-yard pass from Newman to Zach Dodson-Greene, a West Salem graduate, coming on a third-and-15 play, and an 18-yard strike from Newman to Starck, coming on third-and-16, helped set up Newman’s 1-yard touchdown run.

“We just came out firing,” Newman said. “Some guys made some big plays on third downs. Zach, Grayson — we just kept moving the ball, fighting through a bit of adversity. We just kept moving it.”

Spencer Fiske, a Hidden Valley graduate, added the first of his four extra-point kicks, giving Team Columbia a 7-0 lead with 6 minutes and 50 seconds left in the first quarter.

“I was really excited,” Newman said of scoring the game’s first touchdown. “We wanted to put the foot on the gas and go from there.”

That’s exactly what Team Columbia did. 

The next time the team had the ball, a 24-yard toss from Newman to Starck and a 14-yard run by Yates set up a 21-yard touchdown pass from Newman to Starck, who powered his way off the line, cut to the right and grabbed the ball in the end zone, making it 14-0 with 2:30 left in the opening period. 

“That just felt so good. Cru threw me the ball, and I just had to catch it,” Starck said. “I was just really happy, excited. I just really wanted to win the game, so it was really nice to score.”

“Grayson came up with a clutch third-down catch before that,” Newman said. “He sells the block really well and gets open. Great job by him.”

The ultra-fast Yates took over from there.

In Team Columbia’s next possession, Yates ran to the left side of the field, cut to the sideline and sprinted to the end zone for a 52-yard touchdown, making the score 21-0 with 14:28 before halftime.

“I got some good blocks, a block from the slot,” Yates said. “I saw some open field and turned up. It was good.”

Soon, Yates was at it again. After taking a swing pass from Newman on the left side of the field, Yates again found the left sideline, and, again, he found the end zone, finishing a 59-yard touchdown pass play, pushing the lead to 28-0 with 7:51 remaining in the second quarter.

“I went out, slipped out. They forgot about me,” Yates said. “I just turned up the field and got away from them.”

“Gunner’s a speed demon. That boy can move,” Newman said. “And give credit to the line. They did great all night.”

Team Willamette tried to battle back before the first half ended. An 11-yard pass from quarterback Mikey Gibson, a Canby graduate, to tight end Oliver Fisher, a Sherwood senior-to-be, and a 14-yard run by Gibson, with an unsportsmanlike penalty on Team Columbia tacked on, gave Team Willamette a first-and-goal at the 2-yard line.

But with a couple of penalties to follow, as well as a big sack by Team Columbia linebacker Charlie White, a Banks graduate, Team Willamette was forced to try a 46-yard field goal. Soren McKee, a Summit graduate, nailed the kick, making the score 28-3 with 1:37 left in the second quarter.

Team Columbia took that 25-point lead to the intermission.

“The offense was great. The defense was great,” Anderson said of the team’s strong first half. “We held them down. They didn’t get a touchdown.”

Team Willamette was able to get closer early in the second half. A spectacular diving interception by Marshune Waters, a Grant senior-to-be, helped set up a 15-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Hiro Diamond, a Liberty graduate, to tight end Kellen Hale, a Tualatin graduate, making it 28-9 with 9:25 remaining in the third quarter.

But Team Willamette wasn’t able to get any closer — the Team Columbia defense made sure of that.

Timmy Mitchell, a Central Catholic junior-to-be, and Charlie Evans, a Newberg graduate, each had an interception, and Anderson, Noah Staley, a Jesuit senior-to-be, and Lakeridge graduate Zac Waible each had a tackle for loss, helping Team Columbia wrap up the 28-9 victory.

“It was amazing,” Newman said. “We came in here to win, and we did. Live in the moment.”

“It was pretty important to me,” Starck said of the victory. “I just love playing football, and every win feels really nice. Winning this game, with this group of guys, was really fun.”

Newman completed 7 of 10 pass attempts for 139 yards and two touchdowns. He ran for 22 yards and another score on nine carries.

“It was a super fun week, one I’ll always remember,” Newman said. “I have so many memories, so many new friends.”

Yates ran for a game-high 72 yards on five carries and had the one catch for 59 yards and a touchdown.

“This week was great. Had a lot of fun,” Yates said. “Meet some new people, and it was some great coaching.”

Gabe Olivera, a Lake Oswego graduate, ran for 48 yards on 15 carries. Starck had a game-high 63 yards on three receptions.

“This week, we just got into it. We started working together, and we just connected really well,” Starck said. “It was a lot of fun, hanging out with the guys, playing video games, coming out to practice twice a day. It was just a lot of fun, meeting new people, meet other guys who are just really good football players.”

Also for Team Columbia, Dodson-Greene had three catches for 27 yards. Keegan Line, a Sheldon graduate, had two catches for 24 yards. TC Manumaleuna II, a North Salem junior-to-be, completed 3 of 8 pass attempts for 37 yards.

Anderson helped lead the way for the defense, having two tackles for loss to go with a sack.

“I really wanted to try my hardest,” Anderson said. “I gave it my all out there.” 

Anderson also had another memorable tackle, bringing down Team Willamette running back Malik Ross, Anderson’s teammate last fall at Tualatin. 

“Malik Ross, he’s kind of scary,” Anderson said with a smile. “When I brought him down, it felt pretty good. It felt like an accomplishment.

“This was a great week. I’d recommend it to anyone who gets this opportunity. It was really fun. I’m going to remember this forever.”

For Team Willamette, Diamond completed 10 of 15 passes for 111 yards and a touchdown. He ran for a team-high 35 yards on nine carries. Gibson completed 9 of 16 passes for 60 yards. He ran for 30 yards on seven carries.

Ross added 28 rushing yards on eight carries, and Imarion Kelly, a Roosevelt graduate, ran for 15 yards on three carries, in addition to having three catches for 10 yards and completing a 5-yard pass.

A.J. Perez, a Clackamas senior-to-be, led Team Willamette with six catches for 60 yards. Fisher had three catches for 46 yards. Hale had three receptions for 30 yards. Ross had three catches for 20 yards.

The Team Willamette offensive line, including starters Kevin Cassidy, a Mountainside senior-to-be, Stephen del Giudice II, a West Linn junior-to-be, Austin Leykam, a Lake Oswego graduate, Berger and Tanner Relling, a Marist Catholic graduate, also seemed to turn in a strong performance.

“It was pretty good,” Berger said. “It was pretty physical. I was battling with my dude a couple of times. I got some pretty good pancakes a couple of times. I think I had a pretty good game.”

Rohde had a huge day for the Team Willamette defense, recording three sacks.

“It means a lot, to come out here in front of my friends and family, to put on a show for them and be that spark,” Rohde said. “It was great. Win or lose, this whole thing was just so surreal, to be out here and be part of tradition and history. It was awesome. I just love these guys.”

Also for the Team Willamette defense, Fisher had a sack and a tackle for loss, and Cody White, an Estacada senior-to-be, had a fumble recovery. Max von Arx, a Grant graduate, and Zach Wusstig, a Jefferson (2A) senior-to-be, each had a tackle for loss.

Hayden Hurley, a Sunset graduate, was named the Team Columbia defensive MVP. Yates was the Team Columbia offensive MVP. Diamond was tabbed the Team Willamette offensive MVP.

For Team Willamette, like Team Columbia, the week was about more than wins and losses.

“I love football. I love being out here. I get so excited, and I appreciate getting to be out here to play the game I love,” Rohde said.

“It was just a whole bunch of random guys living together, but I think we got closer in this one week than I’ve been with my own team at my school. It was fun to connect with these guys and play the game we love.”

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