Noah Holub proud to represent 3A Valley Catholic at Les Schwab Bowl: ‘There’s something to prove with a chip on your shoulder’

“Everyone knows about Jesuit and Central Catholic, but there’s a lot of talent down in 3A.”

By Dan Brood 

Sure, Noah Holub is happy to be selected to play in Saturday’s Les Schwab Bowl.

But Holub is more than just happy to get to play in the high school football all-star game which includes many of the top players from around the state, which will be contested Saturday at Linfield University in McMinnville. He’s also there to represent.

Holub, who will suit up for Team Willamette in Saturday’s contest, is there to represent the Class 3A level and, more specifically, he’s there to represent Valley Catholic High School.

“Oh man, it means a lot,” said Holub, who will be a senior with the Valiants this fall. “I think I’m only the second player ever from Valley Catholic to play in this. It’s really special coming from 3A, which doesn’t get a lot of recognition.” 

Valley Catholic has been on his mind all week, and it likely will be in Saturday’s game, as well.

“Yeah, I think about that, and it means a lot,” Holub said. “I’m going to try to do my best. I want to show that there’s real skill down in the lower divisions. Everyone knows about Jesuit and Central Catholic, but there’s a lot of talent down in 3A. That’s motivation. There’s something to prove with a chip on your shoulder.”

While he’s looking to represent Valley Catholic, the 6-foot-6, 190-pound Holub knows he has the support of the Beaverton private school as well, especially from Valiants head coach Michael Snyder.

“My coach, he supports me a lot. He sees a lot of potential in me,” Holub said. “That always makes me want to do my best. Without my coach, Michael Snyder, I don’t know where I’d be, to be honest.”

As a junior, Holub earned first-team all-conference honors at linebacker and second-team accolades at tight end while playing for a young Valley Catholic squad that went 1-7.

He’s been working hard this summer, looking for more.

“I went to camps at Washington, Oregon State, and to Oregon for 7-on-7 with my team last week,” Holub said. “It went pretty well. I’ve been doing pretty well, in my opinion. It’s good to be going up against top competition.”

Speaking of top competition, Holub will be moving from his usual tight end spot for Saturday’s Les Schwab Bowl.

“For this game, I’m going to be playing at an outside receiver,” he said. “I think that’s good. It will help show my versatility.”

He’s looking to benefit from his full week at the Les Schwab Bowl.

“I want to learn from the coaches. We’ve got some of the best in the state here,” Holub said. “We’ve got some of the best players in Oregon on my team here. I want to learn from them as well.”

As for this fall, Holub is optimistic about the outlook for Valley Catholic.

“It’s looking pretty good,” he said. “We only lost three seniors from last year. I love it there a lot.”

But first, there’s Saturday’s Les Schwab Bowl.

“Winning would be very important,” Holub said. “I’d love to win, obviously, but it’s more about the experience.” 

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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.

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