South defender Tyasin Burns (right), of Pendleton, forces a fumble during the Les Schwab Bowl on Saturday, July 3, 2021, in McMinnville. The South won 31-8.

MCMINNVILLE — Players at the 2A level have never gotten the opportunity to experience the Les Schwab Bowl first hand.

Heppner’s Jayden Wilson showed Saturday, July 3, that no matter the level of play, football is football.

The Mustangs quarterback threw for 131 yards and ran for 11 as the South beat the North 31-8 at Linfield University. The South now leads the series 35-34-4.

“This was awesome and a lot of fun,” Wilson said. “I was happy to get the invite and the opportunity to go. I was pretty confident. I know I deserved to be there — that 2A is as good as any A. We can ball with the big teams.”

Wilson was joined on the South teams by Pendleton’s Tyasin Burns, who played in the secondary, and Bucks coach Erik Davis, who ran the offense. Burns finished second on the team with nine tackles, and forced two fumbles.

“Tyasin did a really good job,” Wilson said. “Coach Davis did a really good job of simplifying the offense so we could learn it in a week. He spread out their defense. It was different, but I absorbed all the information I could from him.”

The South took an 8-0 lead after the first quarter, with Wilson completing three passes for first downs before Devin Bradd ran the ball in from the 2-yard line for the game’s first touchdown.

The South scored again in the second quarter as Cole Brosterhous hauled in an 18-yard pass from Jakoby Moss, who alternated series with Wilson.

The South offensive line gave the quarterbacks good protection, and the defensive line was relentless.

“There were some big boys protecting me up front,” Wilson said. “Our defensive line was huge up front and destroyed their offensive line. We were able to handle their defense pretty well.”

After a scoreless third quarter, the South scored three touchdowns in the fourth quarter, while the North managed one.

“It was nice to get the win,” said Wilson, who also will play in the East-West Shrine All-Star Game with Heppner teammate Jackson Lehman on Aug. 7 in Baker City.

The 6-foot-5, 215-pound Wilson, who will play college football at Linfield University, said it was nice to get a sense of the field, and meet new people.

“I kind of got the lay of the land on campus, and got my first win — first of many, I hope — on that field,” Wilson said. “It was nice to create bonds with new teammates. For a week’s worth of football and practices, those guys became my brothers. It felt like more than a week.”