Redmond’s Jayden Thynes runs onto the field during the Les Schwab Bowl Friday evening at Lewis & Clark College in Portland. (Dan Brood/For the Oregonian)

Three Redmond football players spent a week competing with and against some of the state’s top football players in the annual Les Schwab Bowl.

Or as Wyatt Horner put it, the trio were in “football heaven.”

“It was a great opportunity to be around the best coaches, best coaches and compete against the best of the best,” Horner said. “It was just soaking it all up, having fun each day, every day at practice and then in the game.”

Horner, along with Panther teammates Parker Gibson and Jayden Thynes — all seniors-to-be at Redmond — spent the week practicing in the annual all-star game which dates back to 1948.

Gibson, a linebacker and running back, and Thynes, a receiver and defensive back, were selected to play for Team Willamette, while Horner, a receiver and defensive back, was chosen to play for Team Columbia.

“It was great,” Gibson said. “It was great to be out there with a bunch of dudes who are also good at football and have people around you who know what they are doing. I made a lot of friends. It was all around a great experience.”

The players gathered at Lewis & Clark College in Portland last Sunday and spent the next week practicing. They also did some team-building activities, such as bowling and going to arcades. They got to tour the Nike campus in Beaverton, and had a professionally done photo media day.

“I had a lot of fun,” Thynes said. “For me the highlight was meeting a bunch of new people from all around Portland, east, west, all over Oregon. It was a grind. Overall, I miss it already. It was really cool that they tried to make it as fun as possible. I appreciated every moment.”

The week of practices culminated with Friday’s game with Team Columbia beating Team Willamette, 34-21. It is the fourth win in a row for Team Columbia.

It was the first live football game that Horner has played in for nearly two years. The senior missed all of last season with a back injury. He made it through the week of practice and game without a setback.

“It was the first time that I had a full-padded game in a really long time,” Horner said. “It was fun to be out there running around and catching balls. My body was feeling good and I haven’t been having any issues, so I am grateful for that.”