Rising QB prospect Kaden Hale of Forest Grove looks to keep building momentum at Les Schwab Bowl
By Dan Brood
Kaden Hale and his teammates on the Forest Grove football team didn’t get off to the best start to the 2022 season.
That might be an understatement, as the Vikings stood at 0-4 though four weeks of the campaign.
Then, something happened — Forest Grove and Hale, then a junior, flipped the switch.
“It was a rough start, but we got it together. For me, it was kind of the same — pretty rough at the start, because of the injury (in Week 1 against Century),” said Hale, the Vikings’ quarterback. “But I think it was around Week 5, that’s when we started picking things up. I had a real good game, and that started building momentum for me and my teammates.”
Hale definitely had a good game in Week 5, a 44-14 win at Centennial. In the victory, he passed for five touchdowns and around 300 yards and rushed for a touchdown.
“We just needed something to boost our momentum and get our confidence going,” he said. “The following week, in our homecoming game, we beat Southridge.”
In that game, a 42-13 victory over the Skyhawks, Hale threw for three touchdowns and ran for two more.
For the 6-foot-3, 200-pound Hale, the momentum has continued through this summer, as he’ll be playing in Saturday’s Les Schwab Bowl, a high school football all-star game featuring many of the top players from around the state, which will be played at Linfield University in McMinnville. Hale will play quarterback for Team Willamette.
“That means a lot,” Hale said of playing in the all-star tilt. “We haven’t had too many people come down here from Forest Grove. I don’t think we’ve had a quarterback from Forest Grove, so that’s cool.”
Hale is looking to benefit from the week leading up to the contest, and he knows the prestigious background of the event.
“It’s pretty special, especially since it’s the 75th anniversary of the game and the 25th anniversary of the Les Schwab Bowl. It’s pretty cool,” he said. “I’ve learned a lot already. I’ve looked forward to meeting new people. The guys are all pretty cool. It’s been a fun experience, and I really like it.”
The sky might be the limit for the athletic Hale. In the 2022 season, despite the rough start, he finished with 1,229 passing yards and 11 passing touchdowns to go with 449 rushing yards and six rushing touchdowns.
Still, he says he’s not exactly a prototypical dual-threat quarterback.
“That’s just how I play,” he said. “If I feel there’s not an opening, and I get out of the pocket, that’s where a lot of my big plays come from.”
With the strong finish to his junior year, and the Vikings’ strong finish, Hale is looking forward to the 2023 season at Forest Grove.
“It’s looking pretty good,” he said. “I think once we put things together, we’re going to be a solid team.”
But first, there’s Saturday’s Les Schwab Bowl, where Hale is hoping to help lead Team Willamette to victory against Team Columbia
“It’s so important. I’m really hoping we do,” he said. “It would just be a fun time for me and the guys out here.”
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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.
