Owen Bruner, Brett Boen of 2A Kennedy have something extra to prove at Les Schwab Bowl: ‘Small schools can do stuff’

By Dan Brood 

Owen Bruner, a 2023 Kennedy graduate, to his dismay, wasn’t selected to play in the East-West Shrine All-Star Football Game, which will be held July 29 in Baker City.

But you don’t need to feel sorry for him. Things got better in a hurry. 

“I didn’t get selected to the Shrine Game, and I was kind of sad,” Bruner said. “But then I got picked up for this one. That more than makes up for it.”

“This one” is the Les Schwab Bowl, a high school football all-star game featuring many of the top players from around the state, which will be played Saturday at Linfield University in McMinnville.

For Bruner, coming from Kennedy, a Class 2A school located in Mt. Angel, being selected to play in the Les Schwab Bowl is pretty special.

“It means a lot,” said Bruner, who will play for Team Willamette in Saturday's contest. “Coming from a small school, you don’t really get an opportunity like this. Just being selected to be in a game like this is pretty cool.”

Bruner’s Kennedy teammate, Brett Boen, was also selected for the game. He’ll play tight end for Team Columbia.

“That’s my friend, Brett, he got selected, too,” Bruner said. “I got switched to defense (from receiver), so I might get to line up against him.”

For Bruner and Boen, playing in Saturday’s Les Schwab Bowl might be the perfect way to cap an amazing senior year.

During the fall, Bruner helped the Trojans reach the Class 3A state championship game — that’s right, Class 3A.

“We came off a loss in the championship last year in (Class) 2A, and we got bumped up to 3A, because 2A went to nine-man football. But we ended up making it to the championship again, proving that small schools can do stuff,” said Bruner, who had four catches for 48 yards and a touchdown in a 15-7 win over Banks in a state playoff semifinal contest. “Not many people talk about small schools, and we come out there and dominate 3A. It’s just football, and we can compete.”

Bruner was a Class 3A first-team all-state pick on offense and defense.

Things were even better come baseball season, when Kennedy bested Blanchet Catholic 10-0 in the Class 2A/1A state championship contest, giving the Trojans their second consecutive title.

“We went back-to-back — that’s pretty cool,” Bruner said. “Not too many teams do that. We outscored our opponents 45-3 in the playoffs. It was just hard work. Our whole team grew up together. We were always playing baseball together and having fun.”

Bruner went 2 for 3 with a sacrifice fly, two stolen bases and three RBIs in the championship game.

Now, he is looking to make some noise in Saturday’s Les Schwab Bowl.

“Everyone at this game is 6A, 5A, 4A, and we’re coming from a small school and we’re here to prove ourselves and show what we can do,” he said.

Bruner hopes that includes celebrating a victory.

“We’ve been practicing hard all week, so we really want to go out there and win,” he said.

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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.