Les Schwab Bowl is completely back
Annual prep all-star game faces few COVID restrictions for July 2nd contest
After making it back for players last year as COVID-19 pandemic restrictions were being lifted, the 74th annual Les Schwab Bowl is now ready to receive fans and players with open arms at Linfield College’s Maxwell Field in McMinnville.
The event is slated to kickoff at 6:00 pm on July 2nd. The date for the game is a bit later than in some years past, but not unexpected to those following NCAA rules.
We had to work around the allowed dates for college visitations for potential players for the Schwab Bowl,” says spokesman John McCallum.
“This was the best date for balancing out all the factors involved with kid visitations—Linfield sports camps—and keeping the Division I players available for our rosters.”
This is the second year at Linfield for the game, and organizers are anticipating another good turnout in McMinnville.
“Without marketing last year, we still had a packed stadium,” says McCallum.
“We expect more of the same this year, with fans on top of the action—loud and fun!”
NEW THIS YEAR: teams are not organized by their geographic location in the state, but they are drafted by the coaching staff.
“We’ve had coaches and committees kick this around for a couple of years, and they felt like drafting kids (and coaches) was the right move. In some cases, former high school teammates are facing each other,” says McCallum.
“This change is a sign of times.”
The opposing squads are known as Team Columbia and Team Willamette.
HELP FOR COLLEGE COACHES: Schwab Bowl officials will be providing a by-invitation-only live stream of the actual team practices (June 27-28-29-30) for college coaches, at their request. It helps them to evaluate their potential players. The stream is for college coaches only.
GAME DAY DETAILS: Tailgating begins at 2:00 pm, with the gates at opening at Maxwell Field at 4:00 pm. Kickoff is scheduled for 6:00 pm.
FOOD AVAILABLE: Food trucks from McMinnville, Salem and Portland are scheduled to be available for food sales on game day. Beer and wine will also be available on site.
LOCAL PLAYERS IN THE SCHWAB BOWL: Here are the players from the mid-Willamette Valley participating in the all-star game, listed by team.
Team Columbia: TC Manumaleuna (6-0, 200, QB-North Salem High, Jr.); Zach Dodson-Greene (6-2, 190, WR-West Salem High, grad)
Team Willamette: Zach Wussttig (6-1, 180, DB-Jefferson High (2A)-Sr.); Vandon Fessler (5-11, 180, WR/DB-Silverton, grad); Sam Willis (6-4, 265, OL-DL-Silverton, grad)
OF NOTE: Schwab Bowl players will spend some time with kids from the St. Mary’s Boys Home of Beaverton on Friday, July first. The two groups will take part in several activites as they get to know each other a little bit.
IN MEMORIUM: Schwab Bowl officials are retiring jersey number-15 in honor of Brayden Bafaro. The graduate of Liberty High School in Hillsboro wore that jersey number for the North squad in the 2016 edition of the contest. Bafaro passed away in May after a battle with cancer.