Jamahl Wilson, one of Oregon’s breakthrough stars of 2022, looking forward to Les Schwab Bowl, senior season at McKay

By Dan Brood 

He’s fast.

He’s quick.

He’s talented.

And he’s all about McKay, team and family.

Jamahl Wilson, a McKay senior-to-be, is happy that he’ll be representing the Royal Scots when he takes the field as a running back for Team Columbia at Saturday’s Les Schwab Bowl, a high school football all-star game featuring many of the top players from around the state, to be played at Linfield University in McMinnville.

“I feel like it’s a pretty good achievement to be here representing McKay,” Wilson said Wednesday. “It’s all pretty meaningful. My parents and family are going to be here to watch me. That’s going to make it really special.”

Speaking of special, the 5-foot-10, 180-pound Wilson had a pretty special junior season at McKay.

“Everyone came together at the end of the year,” Wilson said. “At the start, it was a little bumpy, we had a few hiccups. We started off with an ‘L’ against Lebanon. It was a game we were dominating. But in the fourth quarter, we gave up the lead and they won. After that, we just hung our heads a bit, and we weren’t working together. But at the end of the year, we put it together again. It showed in the West Albany game, when we beat them (20-14 at West Albany).”

For the season, Wilson ran for 1,464 yards and 18 touchdowns on 180 carries. He had 18 receptions for 264 yards and two scores.

His big game of the season, coming in a 51-22 win over Crescent Valley, Wilson ran for a school-record 444 yards and six touchdowns on 30 carries.

“I had my O-linemen, they were blocking for me,” Wilson said of the huge performance and his huge season. “I couldn’t have done it without them blocking for me.”

Wilson said he’s looking forward to the 2023 campaign with the Royal Scots, hoping to improve on last year’s 3-6 record.

“We’re looking pretty good. We’re losing a couple linemen, but we’ve got some younger guys stepping up. They’ve been putting in the work in the offseason. We shouldn’t lose too much in the transition,” he said. “In the skills, we’ve got me, Justice (Anthony), Kyrin (Fiumaono), Lukes (Dominguez). We’re pretty stacked all around.”

But first, there’s Saturday’s Les Schwab Bowl, and Wilson is ready to carry the ball for Team Columbia.

“I’m looking forward to it. I’m looking forward to running in the inside and outside zone. I like our offensive playbook,” he said.

How important is a victory?

“That’s not the only thing I want, but it would be great,” Wilson said. “I want to have fun with the whole team.”

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Proceeds from this year’s Les Schwab Bowl, presented by Express Employment Professionals, will benefit the Oregon Athletic Coaches Association general scholarship fund, the Brayden Bafaro Scholarship Fund, and various youth charities.

This is the 75th game in the series, but just the second that won’t be North vs. South. Instead, players were drafted by the Team Columbia coaching staff, with head coach Steve Pyne from Central Catholic, and by the Team Willamette coaching staff, with head coach Josh Line from Sheldon. In last year’s game, the first under this format, Team Columbia posted a 28-9 win over Team Willamette.

Gates will open at 3 p.m. Saturday, with food carts on site. Kickoff is slated for 6 p.m.

Tickets for the game can be purchased at lesschwabbowl.com/tickets. The game can also be streamed online, at a cost of $10, at lesschwabbowl.com.