Les Schwab Bowl Marks End of Prep Football for CVC Standouts

This story is courtesy of Mark Gilman of FullAccessSports.com.

2007 CVC Schwab Bowl players (L-R): Kevin Leeland (Redmond), Ben Merrill (Sprague), Erik Hochhalter (West Salem), Sean Maloney (Redmond), Kyle Sorenson (Sprague). Photo courtesy: Mark Gilman FullAcessSports.com

PORTLAND, Ore. - The week has involved learning a new offense and suiting up with a group of mostly strangers.

But none of the Central Valley Conference representatives in the 2007 Les Schwab Bowl are complaining as they prepare for their final high school football game.

The annual all-star event brings together some of the very best senior players from the previous fall's Oregon high school football season at the 5A and 6A levels.

This year's event will be held June 22 at PGE Park in Portland.

Central Valley Conference players taking part include West Salem's Erik Hochhalter, Sean Maloney and Kevin Leeland of Redmond, and Ben Merrill and Kyle Sorenson of conference champion Sprague.

All the CVC participants will play for the South squad, made of up players from outside of the Portland-Metro area. Portland area teams make up the North squad.

For some of the players, this game is the last they will ever play. Sorenson has career plans he is pursuing--attending culinary school in Portland.

"Football has been a big part of my life," he said. "It's nice to strap it on one more time."

Others have college football in their future.

Merrill and Maloney are headed to Western Oregon University, and Hochhalter also expected to play for the Wolves next spring; Leeland is destined for West Point to play for Army.

But Hochhalter is excited to bond with his former league rivals in this one last prep match up.

"It's pretty cool that the league has so many people coming to play in this big game, and I think it's great how we've all come together as a team."

Kickoff for the game is slated for 7:00 p.m.

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