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Notebook: Tumanuvao shows Camas grit after injury

By Micah Rice, Columbian Sports Editor
Published: December 7, 2019, 8:35pm

TACOMA – Camas senior lineman Tai Tumanuvao hobbled toward his cheerful fanbase, a clear indication of the battle wounds from the 48-minute war with Bothell on Saturday.

Early in the fourth quarter, Tumanuvao grabbed his jersey and writhed in pain as he fell to the ground on a fourth-quarter run play. He walked off the field, and trainers quickly tended to his right ankle.

He missed the next two plays of the series, before returning for Camas’ next possession. On any other night, that story might have been different.

“There’s nothing left after this,” Tumanuvao said. “I’m just going to fight through it and let my brothers know I’m there for them. Hopefully that means they will fight harder too.”

The Camas line, with Tumanuvao back, paved the way for the Papermakers’ final score later in the quarter, a 1-yard Jacques Badolato-Birdsell run.

“They just have grit. They keep going, even though they’re injured,” Badolato-Birdsell said of his blockers. “At halftime, we had several people injured but they didn’t care. They knew what they had to do and stepped up.”

Leighton flips script with booming punt

Senior punter and all-American Bryce Leighton doesn’t often get to showcase his booming leg. The Papermakers’ offense limits the opportunities with touchdowns.

On Saturday, Leighton made one of his few chances count. With Bothell picking up steam in the third quarter, Leighton delivered a booming 55-yard punt. Eli Sivers tracked it and downed it on the Bothell 3-yard line.

“I see that the returner is lined up not far away me, so I know if I can boom it I can get it over his head,” Leighton said. “Watching that punt sail over his head and watching Eli down it was just such an amazing feeling knowing they’re pinned down deep there.”

The Papermakers defense made a quick stop on the Bothell possession to set up prime field position. Jackson Clemmer found the end zone on a 28-yard pass from Blake Asciutto on the ensuing possession.

Camas fans turn out en masse

The worry for Papermaker fans was that they wouldn’t all fit into Mount Tahoma Stadium. They all got in the gates, but several spilled into the temporary bleachers set up along the track.

It made for a wild atmosphere as the band played and the crowd roared. At times, such as when Tyler Forner converted a fourth-and-1 opportunity in the fourth quarter, it was deafening.

“Hopefully they get used to this and keep coming back and get used to cheering for a ring,” Tumanuvao said. “I love them. They’re good at traveling, too. Maybe they overflowed this stadium a little too much, but it’s great.”

Prior to Saturday’s game, there were some concerns among Camas fans that Mount Tahoma Stadium would not be able to fit the large fanbases of Camas and Bothell.

Those concerns were largely unfounded. Camas fans filled the visiting-side grandstand. Portable metal bleachers on that side were roughly 90-percent full. Fans, many of whom arrived an hour before kickoff, had no issues with parking or entering the stadium.

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