Camas answers wake-up call to cap 9-0 season

Can a 49-0 win be a wake-up call?

That is the way at least some of the Camas Papermakers viewed their win over Heritage on Friday at McKenzie Stadium, a game that saw them lead 7-0 after the first quarter and 21-0 at halftime.

“On the field and on the sidelines mentally we just weren’t there,” back Bryan Kelly said about a first half that wasn’t as sharp as Camas has come to expect. “We weren’t doing exactly what our coaches told us we should do. So that combination of not listening and not being focused, things don’t happen for you.”

Kelly, however, finished with a big night. He ran for 144 yards and three touchdowns and had a 50-yard reception to help cap a 9-0 regular season.

Camas has won its last 28 league games and has won five consecutive league titles — three as a Class 4A school. It has won its last 21 games against Southwest Washington opponents dating to a 2011 loss to Skyview when Camas was in Class 3A.

The Papermakers begin the postseason next week by hosting Tahoma of Covington.

Heritage (2-7, 0-6 4A GSHL) played a spirited game. A 55-yard burst by Cole Zarcone set up a Camas touchdown on the first possession of the game. But the Papermakers didn’t score again until their fourth possession, and needed a 64-yard, 10-play drive late in the second quarter — capped by a third-and-goal completion of 20 yards from Liam Fitzgerald to James Price — to lead by three touchdowns at halftime.

Price, who finished with six catches for 99 yards, said that he and his teammates will learn from the sluggish start.

“It definitely had to do with our mental preparation in practice Monday through Thursday,” Price said. “It’s kind of a punch in the mouth to say that we have to stay humble and we have to keep getting better every day. And that’s all part of developing as a team.”

Any thought that Heritage would keep it close in the second half quickly vanished. The Timberwolves went three-and-out and Kelly bolted clean through the defense on Camas’ first offensive play of the third quarter for a 39-yard scoring run.

“The O-line came out firing and everyone was mentally focused and it all came together,” Kelly said of that play. “You see what happens when everybody is focused.”

Fitzgerald completed 13 of 20 passes for 222 yards. His touchdown passes of 14 yards to Blake Roy and 20 yards to Price both came on third-down plays.

Heritage junior Kalani Umiamaka ran for 70 yards on 17 carries. Sophomore quarterback Gavin Lee completed 10 of 19 passes for 89 yards. He was intercepted twice, with Roy and Jared Bentley making the picks.

CAMAS 49, HERITAGE 0

Camas 7 14 21 7—49

Heritage 0 0 0 0— 0

First quarter

Cam — Blake Roy 14 pass from Liam Fitzgerald (Caleb Lightbourn kick).

Second quarter

Cam — Bryan Kelly 1 run (Lightbourn kick).

Cam — James Price 20 pass from Fitzgerald (Lightbourn kick).

Third quarter

Cam — Kelly 39 run (Lightbourn kick).

Cam — Cole Zarcone 27 run (Michael Boyle kick)

Cam — Kelly 1 run (Brendan Geignenmiller kick).

Fourth quarter

Cam — Stephen Jesmer 19 run (Boyle kick).

Individual statistics

RUSHING — Camas: Kelly 16-144, Jordan Del Moral 9-42, Cole Zarcone 3-88, Fitzgerald 5-36, Jake Peebles 4-6, Austin Stevens 1-35, Jesmer 1-19. Heritage: Kalani Umiamaka 17-70, Gavin Lee 14-8, Remy Thompson 3-8, Bailey Thomason 1-1, Jarod Luedecker 1-1.

PASSING — Camas: Fitzgerald 13-20-0-222, Peebles 2-5-0-12. Heritage: Lee 10-19-2-89.

RECEIVING — Camas: Price 5-92, Hunter Bruno 3-18, Kelly 1-50, Reid Conlee 1-35, Roy 1-14, Del Moral 1-14, Tanner Halcumb 1-7, Jared Bentley 2-5. Heritage: Jarod Luedecker 4-43, Kenese Peneuta 2-29, Umiamaka 2-13, Thomason 2-4.