Camas has a family-like connection on the offensive line

CAMAS — One of Tai Tumanuvao’s biggest fans is someone who knows what it takes to be a Class 4A football state champion.

J.T. Tumanuvao, older brother of Camas’ all-league center and a starting offensive linemen on Camas 2016 state title team, still remembers the phone call that gave him pure joy in August, when his only sibling, Tai, shared the exciting news of being a two-way guy on the line.

Proud brother also shared the news with his close friends.

“Whether it meant anything to them or not, I was proud of him,” J.T. Tumanuvao said, speaking earlier this week from Provo, Utah, where he’s a student at Brigham Young. “That was a cool moment to share as brothers.

“It’s neat to see him grow as a young man and be confident in his abilities.”

J.T. Tumanuvao was an all-league right guard in 2016 who led the way for Jack Colletto, a hard-nose running quarterback now at Oregon State and Michael Matthews (Montana), a two-way starter at running back and linebacker as a senior.

Saturday, Camas (13-0) is back in the Class 4A state title game for the second time in four seasons. It faces a Bothell (11-2) team that ended the Papermakers’ season in last year’s state preliminary round. Kickoff is at 4 p.m. at Mount Tahoma Stadium in Tacoma.

And J.T. will be there at Mount Tahoma watching his brother, just as Tai did three years ago when elder brother won a state title at the Tacoma Dome.

“I hope that after Tai’s hard work and all the guys on the team, that they have a taste of that,” J.T. said.

While they never played together at Camas, Tai Tumanuvao models a lot of his game from his brother. He wears the same No. 65 as J.T. — “I want to keep it in the family,” Tai said — and has similar game-day routines.

“I definitely try to think about what he did and how he went through all this hard work, so I have to do the same,” said Tai, also a nose guard.

Tai Tumanuvao is the leader — “the boss,” as longtime position coach Justen Wochnick said — of an experienced, technically-sound offensive line that’s drawn rave reviews all season. It’s a unit that Wochnick calls the most complete group he’s had at Camas since joining head coach Jon Eagle’s staff in 2007.

Playing offensive line isn’t for everybody, but it is for this all-senior starting offensive line.

And that’s the difference with this group.

“With the offensive line,” Wochnick said, “it’s a willingness to push your body to do things your body is not meant to do, and taking pride in doing that. The biggest thing with these guys is they enjoy it.”

And they enjoy each other. Tristan Souza at left tackle, Tumanuvao at center and Rush Reimer at right tackle are multi-year starters with Souza as the veteran three-year starter. First-year starters Tyler Criddle (left guard) and Josue Espinoza (right guard) just happened to be having big seasons, too. So is blocking tight end Kenny Wright.

Talent is evident, but so is experience.

“We’ve always grown up together, win together, do all this stuff together,” said Reimer, a Montana State commit. “And since we have that high connection, we just dominate.”

It’s been that way all season. Camas’ run game has flourished with breakout seasons from multiple backfield players, including Jacques Badolato-Birdsell as Camas’ leading rusher with more than 1,300 yards and 26 touchdowns. Quarterbacks Jake Blair and Blake Asciutto have thrown 26 touchdowns and a combined 2,400 passing yards.

Camas’ line continued to dominate even though its biggest member, USC commit Caadyn Stephen, hasn’t played since Week 3 with a lingering injury.

The linemen get plenty of love every game from teammates and coaches, as well as during media interviews. Asciutto, who starts his sixth career game Saturday, said he wouldn’t be where he is if it wasn’t for the guys in front of him.

“It’s the perfect team for me,” Asciutto said, “because I need a good O-line.”

Together, Camas’ offensive line has put its heart and soul into the season, helping the Papermakers average 42 points per game, while sacrificing individual glory for team gain.

That has paved the way for success after 13 games entering Saturday.

“I trust every single one of the guys on the O-line. I love to play next to them,” Tai said. “I’m going to miss it when it’s done, but hopefully, we can end it with a win.”