Les Schwab Bowl 2024 has new location, same magic: ‘It was one of the best weeks of my life’
Big plays on offense.
Big plays on defense.
A big win for Team Columbia.
Team Columbia, showing its big-play ability on both sides of the ball, jumped out to a 33-7 lead and held off Team Willamette’s second-half rally to get a 39-26 victory in the 2024 Les Schwab Bowl, a high school football all-star game featuring many of the top players from around the state, played Friday at Lewis & Clark College in Portland.
“Oh, this is everything,” said Team Columbia quarterback Zayden Anderson, a Seaside senior-to-be who threw three touchdown passes. “We wanted this win so bad, and just the way we won was awesome. It’s not explainable. This whole week, just bonding with these guys and getting this big win, was just awesome.”
“Getting the win is awesome,” said Team Columbia receiver Landon Kelsey, a Central Catholic senior-to-be who was named the game’s Most Valuable Player. “(Former Central Catholic) Coach (Steve) Pyne was 13-2 going into this. We didn’t want him to be 13-3, so the fact that we won put him at 14-2, and this is probably his last time coaching in this game. So, it was pretty special.”
“This win is just a portrayal of all the hard work we put in this week, all of the hours in the heat, lots of practice,” said Team Columbia linebacker Ty Newbury, a Central Catholic senior-to-be who was tabbed his team’s Back of the Game. “It just came down to these four quarters, and to come out with a win, it just feels like a great accomplishment.”
Friday’s game, the 76th in the all-star series and the 26th as the Les Schwab Bowl, marked the third consecutive win for Team Columbia, which bested Team Willamette 42-13 in last year’s game, giving the team a 3-0 series lead since the contest has been under the Team Columbia vs. Team Willamette format.
Team Columbia got its latest win behind a big-play attack, which produced five touchdowns, four on offense and one on defense, that covered at least 28 yards.
“We had a lot of playmakers,” Newbury said. “Both of our quarterbacks (Anderson and Franklin graduate Will Reid) were amazing. We had good running backs, and we had all kinds of receiver talent. Our O-line gave them time to pass and made the gaps for the running backs. And our defense was just stacked. Our D-line made it hard on their quarterbacks. Our linebackers and backs had time to close on their receivers and get those interceptions. That led to the outcome of the game.”
Team Willamette, while it didn’t get to celebrate a victory in Friday’s game, still got to revel in the Les Schwab Bowl week and the contest itself.
“It was a lot of fun, being out here with the best in the state,” said Team Willamette quarterback Max Nowlin, a Scappoose senior-to-be who had three touchdown passes. “It was a lot of fun slinging it around.”
“It was fun competing,” said Team Willamette receiver Rasean Jones, a Baker junior-to-be who was named his team’s Back of the Game. “It’s just a great bunch of dudes, and it was just fun to get out there and compete.”
Team Columbia showed off its big-play capabilities early. In its first possession, Team Columbia quickly moved the ball 70 yards in five plays, capping the drive with a 38-yard touchdown pass from Reid to Kelsey.
The team’s next possession ended with a 34-yard touchdown toss from Reid to Kelsey, who made a spectacular leaping catch, giving Team Columbia a 14-0 lead with 7 minutes and 15 seconds left in the first quarter.
“The first one, they called my name, so I knew it was coming,” Kelsey said. “The second one, I wasn’t sure about that. It was pretty cool. I didn’t expect it. I had to come back and get it.”
The next time Team Columbia got the ball, it was Anderson’s turn to lead the squad to the end zone. He threw a 33-yard pass to Aaron Bidwell, a Marist Catholic senior-to-be, setting up a 9-yard touchdown pass to Jesuit junior-to-be Hudson Gasperson, making it 21-0.
Team Willamette got on the scoreboard, trimming the lead to 21-7 when Jeremiah Katsuta, a Central Catholic graduate, powered his way to the end zone from a yard out with 6:18 left in the second quarter.
Team Columbia responded, in a big way, before the intermission, getting two more big-play touchdowns. The first was a 39-yard toss from Anderson to Central Catholic senior-to-be D’Mareion Gates. The Team Columbia defense then got in the scoring act, as linebacker Kenya Johnson, a Sprague senior-to-be, returned an interception 59 yards for a touchdown with 1:40 remaining in the second quarter, pushing the Team Columbia lead to 33-7 at halftime.
Team Willamette opened the scoring in the second half with a 10-yard pass from Nowlin to McKay graduate Justice Anthony. Team Columbia answered with a 28-yard touchdown pass from Anderson to running back Owen Scholes, a Sunset senior-to-be, making the score 39-14 going to the fourth quarter.
Team Willamette, tying to battle back, got two touchdown passes from Nowlin to Jones, covering two and 18 yards, in the final period, cutting the lead to 39-26.
Team Willamette had a chance to get even closer as time was running out, but Team Columbia ended the threat with another big play. This one came on defense, as Newbury had an interception on the final play, and his wild 70-plus yard return ended just short of the end zone as time expired.
“I was back there, and we knew it was going to be deep, last play of the game. I was just dropping back with the receiver, and I see the quarterback lean back, so I say, ‘Here we go,’” Newbury said. “The ball was coming, and I was like, ‘Whoa, I’m in the right spot.’ I snag it from the receiver. He hit me, and I was going down, but our cornerback, he grabbed me and held me up, and I just ran it down the sideline. Crazy play.”
Team Columbia had the ball limited time in the second half, as game rules allowed Team Willamette to keep possession after its touchdowns because of its margin of deficit, but the squad made the most of its chances.
Team Columbia had 312 yards of total offense on 37 plays behind strong play from its offensive line, which included Central Catholic senior-to-be Zac Stascausky, Springfield graduate Sam Keen, West Linn graduate Ridge Huot, McMinnville senior-to-be Jacob Fairbank and Lincoln senior-to-be Brady Holland, among others.
“We don’t do anything crazy,” Stascausky said. “It’s just the same five plays. But when you execute things at a high level, you win.”
Both Team Columbia quarterbacks were efficient. In fact, it would be hard to be any more efficient than Anderson was — he completed all five of his pass attempts for 110 yards and three touchdowns.
“Just throwing those three touchdowns, and Max, with Team Willamette, throwing three touchdowns, I think we put 4A on the map. I’m just really proud of that,” Anderson said. “I had a mix of emotions before the game, but I was ready to get out here, because I trusted each and every one of these dudes.”
Reid completed 7 of 9 passes for 112 yards and two touchdowns.
“Every single quarterback did great,” Anderson said.
Kelsey had three catches for 91 yards and two scores on his way to earning game MVP honors.
“I didn’t expect it. I didn’t really play a lot,” he said. “It’s pretty cool because (2024 Central Catholic graduate) Cru Newman won it the past two years. Keeping that Central Catholic tradition going.”
Scholes had two catches for 29 yards and a touchdown, and he rushed for 24 yards on seven carries.
Also getting in the receiving stats for Team Columbia was the 6-foot-6, 280-pound Stascausky, who had an 8-yard reception on a fourth-quarter trick play.
“We just drew it up in practice. I had to convince Coach to run it in the game,” Stascausky said. “He didn’t want to, but I begged and begged, and it was fun. Unfortunately, I didn’t get in the end zone, but it was fun.”
Emmet Togni, a Lincoln graduate, was the game’s leading rusher with 38 yards on seven carries.
Newbury had two interceptions, with his first helping to set up the first score.
“That just feels amazing. I couldn’t even believe it, to be honest,” he said. “Seeing that ball in the air, everything slows down, like in slow motion. You just go, ‘No way, this is my moment.’ And to have that twice is just unreal. Last year, I didn’t have any picks during the whole season, so to have two in one game, in an all-star game, is just unreal.”
Also for the Team Columbia defense, Johnson and Blake Hurley, a Sunset graduate, each had an interception, with Hurley also having a tackle for loss. Alexander Hager, a Sandy graduate, had two tackles for loss. Zach Davis, a Central Catholic senior-to-be, had a tackle for loss, and Camas, Wash., senior-to-be Luke Webb had a sack.
For Team Willamette, Nowlin completed 25 of 35 passes for 277 yards and three touchdowns.
“It was fun. I was seeing the field well,” Nowlin said. “Of course, with the best in the state to throw to, that always helps. They made me look good. And we had a great O-line, too. It was fun out there.”
Jackson Bell, a Sherwood senior-to-be, completed 8 of 14 passes for 72 yards.
Jones led all receivers with 10 catches for 122 yards and two touchdowns.
“That was definitely cool,” he said. “I didn’t come into the game with any goals, so whatever happens happens, and that happened.”
Nick Crowley, a Wilsonville senior-to-be, had seven receptions for 99 yards, and Anthony had five catches for 59 yards. Tyson Davis, a Central Catholic junior-to-be, was the team’s leading rusher with 26 yards on seven carries.
For the Team Willamette defense, Aeden Saele, a Sprague senior-to-be, Lincoln Mason, a Wilsonville senior-to-be, and Hudson Reink, a West Linn graduate, each had a tackle for loss.
Central Catholic senior-to-be Kainoa Hayes was named the Team Columbia Lineman of the Game, and Mason was the Team Willamette Lineman of the Game.
Players from both teams had great experiences and are taking great memories from the week leading up to the contest.
“It was one of the best weeks of my life, and I say that honestly,” Anderson said. “If you get the chance to come to an event like this, I say do it.”
“The week was fun,” Kelsey said. “It was a lot of work, I’m not going to lie. I was tired, but I met a bunch of guys from different schools that I love. I wouldn’t trade it for the world.”
“It was long, it was hot, but it was fun,” Newbury said. “Nothing better than hanging out with your boys and playing football. As it turned out, I was rooming with one of my dad’s college roommate’s sons (Sunset’s Andrew Knight). We’re just out here having fun and making a lot of new friends. It’s a big brotherhood.”
“It was fun. Two-a-day practices are hard, but we did some fun things,” Stascausky said. “We went to St. Mary’s Home for Boys and ran a little camp them. We went to the Nike Campus and did a whole bunch of fun things. It was a good week.”
“It was definitely fun building relationships with the dudes. I’ll keep following them in the future,” Jones said. “The best part was late nights with the friends in the dorm room, eating snacks, playing pool, just hanging out.”
“It was so fun,” Nowlin said. “This game was a lot of fun, but I think the moments I’ll remember most is just hanging out with the guys, doing all kinds of fun stuff. It was just a great week.”
DAN BROOD