Lincoln linebacker steps up for victorious Team Columbia in the Les Schwab Bowl

Leonardo Correani, a Lincoln High School junior-to-be, emerges with the ball after coming up with a fumble recovery in Friday’s Les Schwab Bowl.

To be in the right place at the right time once could be considered to be a matter of luck.

But, to be in the right place at the right time a second time, just a few minutes later, well, luck probably has little to do with it — at least when it comes to action on the football field.

It likely has more to do with instinct, determination, athleticism, hustle and just knowing what to do.

Leonardo Correani knows all about that.

Correani, a Lincoln High School rising junior and a starting linebacker for Team Columbia in Friday’s Les Schwab Bowl, came up with a pair of turnovers, an interception and a fumble recovery, in the first seven minutes and 55 seconds of the game, helping Team Columbia jump out to a 10-0 lead on its way to scoring a 34-21 win over Team Willamette in the all-star high school football contest played at Lewis & Clark College.

Team Columbia linebacker Leonaro Correani makes a diving interception in the first quarter of the team’s 34-21 win over Team Willamette in the Les Schwab Bowl.

“Dude, I didn’t know what to expect coming in, but I made some plays,” Correani said with a smile during Team Columbia’s victory celebration. “I know how it’s done. I know what to do, and I played my role. Things just fell my way.”

Team Columbia linebacker Leonardo Correani (with ball) jumps up after coming up with an interception in the first quarter of Friday’s Les Schwab Bowl.

The 5-foot-11, 210-pound Correani made his first game-changing defensive play during Team Willamette’s second possession of the game. Team Willamette had marched the ball down to the Team Columbia 40-yard line. But, on the next play, Team Willamette quarterback Zayden Anderson had his pass attempt deflected. Correani, seeing the ball tipped up in the air, ran over, dove straight out with his arms extended, and caught the ball right before it hit the Griswold Stadium turf for an interception.

“I barely saw it,” Correani said of the tipped ball. “I just looked up, and it fell in my hands. I felt lucky. It felt like a gift.”

Two plays after the “gift,” Team Columbia quarterback Cade Mitchell hooked up with receiver Hunter Vaughn on a 65-yard touchdown pass play, giving Team Columbia a 7-0 lead with 9:52 left in the opening period.

In the ensuing Team Willamette possession, Correani stepped up again.

Team Willamette running back James Richards gained eight yards on a run, moving the ball into Team Columbia territory. But Richards fumbled the ball at the end of the run and, following a scramble, Correani emerged with the ball, once again giving Team Columbia possession.

“It was same thing. Right place, right time,” Correani said of his fumble recovery. “I just focus on doing my role. Be a star in your role, that’s was the coaches are always saying, and I was a star in my role, and things then fell my way. But that could happen to anyone.”

But, for the second time in the all-star tilt, it happened for Correani. That may be a surprise to some, but, for others who played the entire fall season with him, it probably wasn’t a surprise at all.

“He is genuinely one of the best football players I’ve ever played with,” Team Columbia lineman Brady Holland, a 2025 Lincoln graduate who will play college football at Central Washington University, said of Correani.

Following Correani’s fumble recovery, Team Columbia moved the ball 47 yards in 13 plays, capping off the drive with a 31-yard field goal by Canaan Moore, upping the lead to 10-0 with 33 seconds left to play in the opening period.

Correani, with his interception and fumble recovery, helped set up Team Columbia’s first 10 points of the contest. But, if you ask him, it’s all just part of him helping out his family.

“When I’m on a team, it has to feel like a family,” Correani said. “I feel like we built that family, and we stayed disciplined. We know how to play football.”

Correani certainly seemed to show during his sophomore year at Lincoln that he knows low to play football. During the 2024 campaign, when Correani helped the Cardinals go 6-4 on the season, he had 92 total tackles on the season with 50 solo tackles and 42 assists. He had 13 tackles for losses, including a pair of sacks, one interception and one force fumble.

Correani was a first team all-Portland Interscholastic League selection at linebacker and an honorable mention pick at running back. He also earned Class 6A all-state honorable mention accolades at linebacker as a sophomore.

Correani is looking for even bigger things this fall as a junior, especially with everything he picked up during Les Schwab Bowl week.

“We just had a bunch of a great coaches,” Correani said. “We were a family, and I got to play against the best competition. It felt great.”

He added that he’s already looking ahead to the upcoming fall season with the Cardinals.

“I’ll be at middle linebacker, and I expect to play some at running back, as well,” he said. “I think the PIL is underrated, but we can play. We had a couple PIL guys here, and they know how to play.”

As for Correani’s future beyond Lincoln, Holland sees some big things ahead for his Cardinals’ teammate.

“He’s a fantastic kid and an amazing athlete,” Holland said. “Whatever college gets him in a couple years will get the biggest steal.”

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