Thor Brody shines on offense, defense as Camas rallies to beat Kelso 34-30

Thor Brody doesn’t like to come off the field. And that’s a good thing for the Camas Papermakers. The senior rushed for 117 yards, scored two touchdowns and secured the clinching interception on defense as Camas rallied for a 34-30 win Friday over Kelso in a non-league football game at Doc Harris Stadium. “I like it,” Brody said. “It’s a thing when you come to Camas, you just want to win. You play football because you love football. It’s selfish if you don’t want to come off the field. It’s selfish to just play for yourself. And I’ve been a selfish guy before, so I’m trying do what’s best for the team.” After a dreadful first quarter in which Camas (4-2) gave up a safety and 32-yard fumble return by Kelso’s Parker Stewart for an early 9-0 lead, it was Brody who got Camas on the board with 1-yard touchdown run in the second quarter. Ben Druckman hit Max Gibson on an 89-yard touchdown pass play in the third quarter to put Camas up 21-9. But Kelso (4-2) rallied with big plays, too. Kaden Mendes pulled in a 72-yard touchdown pass from Owen Dahl that helped the Hilanders rally to take a 22-21 lead early in the fourth quarter. Druckman’s 24-yard touchdown pass to Brody on fourth down gave Camas a 27-22 lead. But Brody Snaza’s 67-yard kickoff return set up Mendes’ second touchdown reception of the night to put Kelso back in front. Trailing 30-27 with 5:52 to go, Camas gave the ball to Brody seven times in the game-winning drive for 30 yards, and he also caught a 12-yard pass to advance the chains. And Brody unselfishly shared the credit to his offensive line. “It’s all the hard times honestly,” Brody said. “A lot of ups and downs at practice. A lot of yelling at each other. Lots of emotions in there. But that’s how you build trust right there. I trust this guy (senior lineman Jack Mitchell) with my heart. I get mad at him, but I trust this guy a lot.” The feeling is mutual, Mitchell said. “You just got to lay dudes out, and Thor takes care of it, dude,” Mitchell said. “The second Thor’s in the open, touchdown, dude, all day long.” When Kelso focused on stopping Brody, quarterback Druckman hit Schafer with a 9-yard touchdown pass that put Camas ahead with 1:54 left. Kelso’s last-ditch effort to rally ended with Brody intercepting a Dahl pass at midfield. “I think it shows a lot that we don’t give up at all,” Mitchell said. “Even when we’re down, it’s going back and forth. We keep fighting until the final whistle. It just shows off a lot.”

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