Camas blanks Mountain View

CAMAS — Quarterbck Tony Gennaro was nearly perfect in the first half for the Camas Papermakers.

The defense was pretty perfect all night.

That combination turned into a Camas blowout victory Friday night at Doc Harris Stadium in an opening game in the Class 3A Greater St. Helens League.

In a battle of teams that finished first and second in the league last year, the defending champion Papermakers rolled to a 31-0 victory over the Mountain View Thunder.

Gennaro was 13 of 16 for 179 yards and three touchdowns in the first half — two of the scoring passes going to Jonathan Warner — and the Camas defense overpowered the Thunder.

“It was great momentum, and the offense finally got moving,” Gennaro said. “We worked so hard all week to get the offense up and moving.”

Camas coach Jon Eagle said his staff challenged the offensive line to establish a running game, something the team failed to do last week in a non-league win over Timberline.

His linemen responded.

Running back Zack Marshall was the beneficiary, gaining 114 yards on 18 carries, including 98 yards in the first half.

His performance allowed the passing game to get moving downfield.

Gennaro had touchdown passes of 8 and 15 yards in the first quarter to Warner, who finished with 10 catches for 131 yards.

“Jonathan stepped up tonight like a lot of other players,” Gennaro said. “He made some plays out there that we expect him to make. He’s a great player, and he showed it tonight.”

Warner considered it his “breakout” game, but he also said he is determined to come through for his teammates all season, as well.

“It’s amazing, especially in front of the home crowd and being loved,” he said with a smile. “The O-line did a heckuva job; I’ll say that — and my quarterback, too.”

Linebacker John Norcross returned a fumble 16 yards for a score, his second consecutive week with a defensive touchdown.

“Our entire Camas defense just flows to the football,” he said, noting that Scott Feather got the tackle and stripped the ball from the Mountain View ball carrier. “I flowed to the ball like the Camas defense does and just like last week, I was at the right place at the right time.”

Chris Galusha caught an 8-yard scoring toss from Gennaro just before the half to make it 28-0.

Roldan Alcobendas ended the scoring with a 43-yard field goal in the third quarter.

It turned out, Camas just needed the first score for the victory.

Camas rolled up 277 yards of offense in the first half to Mountain View’s 60 yards. Norcross had at least four tackles for no gain or loss in the first half. He had a lot of help, too.

“Everybody did their assignments, the offense dominated, and the defense shut ’em down,” Camas defensive lineman Kamari Brown, who had a 12-yard sack and was in on several other plays for no gain or negative yardage. “It feels great. It feels great.”

Mountain View had a chance get back in the game in the second quarter, driving inside the 10-yard line, but then lost a fumble. In all the Thunder had three turnovers. Mountain View’s only other threat into Camas territory came after trailing by 31.

Although just the second week of the season — and the first league game — this contest was billed as a possible league title matchup. Only time will tell if that is true. The Papermakers, for their part, did not celebrate anything more than a Week 2 victory.

“We can’t think that way,” Brown said, referring to any league title just yet. “We can’t overlook any team. Every team is a threat. We still have to battle for (Columbia) River next week. We’ll have to battle for Prairie. We’ll have to battle for Fort (Vancouver). I think everyone on this team is up to that challenge.”

CAMAS 31, MOUNTAIN VIEW 0

Mountain View 0 0 0 0–0

Camas 14 14 3 0–31

First quarter

Cam — Jonathan Warner 8 pass from Tony Gennaro (Roldan Alcobendas kick)

Cam — Warner 15 pass from Gennaro (Alcobendas kick)

Second quarter

Cam — John Norcross 16 fumble return (Alcobendas kick)

Cam — Chris Galusha 8 pass from Gennaro (Alcobendas kick)

Third quarter

Cam — Alcobendas 43 FG

Individual statistics

Rushing — Mountain View: Riley O’Dell 13-48, Justin Rinta 6-33, Connor Atchison 3-21, Eddie Richardson 3-17, Sterling Reynolds 9-8, Michael Rivers 2-5, Nick Mace 3-1; Camas: Zack Marshall 18-114, Nate Beasley 4-62, Vincente Huber 3-0, Gennaro 1-(-3).

Passing — Mountain View: O’Dell 3-8-0-51; Camas: Gennaro 14-23-0-191, Reilly Hennessey 1-1-0-6, Dylan White 0-1-0-0.

Receiving — Mountain View: Atchison 2-36, Mark Hartley 1-15; Camas: Warner 10-131, Connor Maloney 1-19, John Payne 1-17, Zach Eagle 1-16, Galusha 1-8, Hennessey 1-6.

Video highlights from week 2 Camas v. Mountain View, courtesy of GSHLfootball.com special to 360Preps. Full highlight videos are available at gshlfootball.com.