Papermakers enjoy impressive opener

OREGON CITY, Ore. — Reilly Hennessey could only shake his head in disbelief as he heard his final stat line read to him.

“That’s astonishing,” Camas’ junior quarterback said after throwing for 415 yards and four touchdowns in his starting debut Friday night, a 63-20 rout of Oregon City at Pioneer Memorial Stadium.

“Coach (Jon Eagle) told me before the game that Logan Grindy in his debut threw for five touchdowns and like 400-500 yards. I just thought, ‘How is that possible?’ I’m not at his level yet.”

Perhaps not, but it was certainly an impressive first game for Hennessey, who at one point completed 14 straight passes as the Papermakers built a 49-13 lead midway through the third quarter.

“I was so nervous coming into this,” said Hennessey, who finished 22 for 32 passing. “But I knew my teammates had my back, and I had to have theirs.”

Another junior who had a big debut in the starting backfield was tailback Nate Beasley, who ran for 92 yards and three touchdowns and also caught a pair of TD passes.

“This is a great feeling,” Beasley said. “It’s been my dream, following my brothers here to play Camas varsity football, leading my team to victory.”

A third junior, Zach Eagle, also had a huge night, catching 11 passes for 176 yards and two TDs as the Papermakers finished with 549 yards of total offense and 26 first downs.

Still, it was their defense that set the tone early.

Camas forced Oregon City, a 4A state quarterfinalist a year ago, to go three-and-out on its first two possessions and recovered a fumble on the Pioneers’ third drive — one of six OC turnovers on the night.

Beasley scored three touchdowns in the first 81/2 minutes of the game, which helped calm any nervousness on the Camas sideline.

“I like when our defense goes out, sets the tone, and we can build off that,” Hennessey said. “That just made me feel so comfortable.”

CAMAS 63, OREGON CITY 20

Camas 21 14 14 14–63

Oregon City 0 13 7 0–20

First quarter

Cam — Nate Beasley 44 pass from Reilly Hennessey (Roldan Alcobendas kick)

Cam — Beasley 3 run (Alcobendas kick)

Cam — Beasley 43 run (Alcobendas kick)

Second quarter

OC — Mitchell Thompson 12 run (Daniel Slack kick)

Cam — Zach Eagle 47 pass from Hennessey (Alcobendas kick)

OC — Justin Corenjo 71 pass from Jacob Tipton (kick failed)

Cam — Beasley 1 run (Alcobendas kick)

Third quarter

Cam — Eagle 31 pass from Hennessey (Alcobendas kick)

Cam — Vicente Huber 4 run (Alcobendas kick)

OC — Thompson 59 run (Slack kick)

Fourth quarter

Cam — Beasley 37 pass from Hennessey (Alcobendas kick)

Cam — Huber 15 run (Alcobendas kick)

Individual statistics

RUSHING — Camas: Beasley 18-92, Hennessey 3-1, John Norcross 2-23, Huber 2-14, Isiah Ephraim 1-6, Bryan Kelly 2-0, Cole Zarcone 2-1, Eagle 1-(minus 3). Oregon City: Thompson 21-139, Tipton 6-(minus 8), Cornejo 1-3, Nick Martin 1-(minus 1), Jon Hall 2-11, Jordan Villarreal Ferguson 4-15.

PASSING — Camas: Hennessey 22-32-1-415. Oregon City: Tipton 16-32-3-267, Hall 1-3-0-11, Coy Vandehey 1-1-0-14.

RECEIVING — Camas: Eagle 11-176, Beasley 4-99, Dylan White 4-68, Norcross 2-42, Jorden Payne 1-7. Oregon City: Cornejo 4-112, Hunter Knighton 3-43, Clay Valenzuela-Reece 4-36, Matthew Oades 2-31, Martin 2-20, Austin Williams 1-34, Villarreal Ferguson 1-2, Daniel Dolin 1-14.