On the sidelines: Camas and Washougal keep rolling
Washougal travels 156 miles and still wins its sixth game. Camas starts the running clock on Hudson's Bay.
Washougal travels 156 miles and still wins its sixth game. Camas starts the running clock on Hudson's Bay.
The Panthers kept pushing and throwing and catching and running until the Lumberjacks cracked. Washougal football (5-0) sent a shock wave through the 2A Greater St. Helens League by defeating R.A. Long 42-14 Friday, at Fishback Stadium. It started slowly and methodically on a 97-yard scoring drive that took nine minutes off the clock in the first quarter. Sam O'Hara finished the deal with a 1-yard touchdown run. "I'm proud of the way our kids rallied together," said head coach Bob Jacobs. "A talented team like R.A. Long is always just a couple of big plays from being right back in the game. We played tough defense, whether it was getting a turnover or a making a big stop on the 1-yard line." Just when the Jacks seemed to be rolling down the field at an unstoppable force, Caleb Howard snagged an interception out of the end zone to get the ball back for Washougal. And once again, O'Hara dashed into the end zone for his second touchdown.
Live from Camas, it's High School Blitz. The KATU News cameras were rolling at Doc Harris Stadium Friday night, as the Papermaker football team disposed of the Prairie Falcons 35-6. Quarterback Tony Gennaro threw for 188 yards and two touchdowns to Zach Eagle and John Norcross. Zack Marshall rushed for 98 yards and a touchdown. Nate Beasley finished with two touchdown runs and two interceptions.
Gus Cooper is becoming the big cheese around the tennis courts for Camas. On a windy Wednesday afternoon, Cooper struggled to keep the ball in play and lost the first set to Columbia River's Dylan Koester. After a pep talk with head coach Jonathan Burton, Cooper strung together an incredible 4-6, 6-1, 6-0 come-from-behind victory that had major ramifications on the Papermakers beating the Chieftains by the total number of games won. "The wind made it interesting, but I think I figured it out after the first set," Cooper said. "On one side, it pushes the ball deep so you have to put less power on it. On the other side, it takes more power or you won't get it over the net. "Knowing that I'm able to come back from losing a first set is a good feeling," he added. "I've always had that mentality. You take it point by point."
The view from the top of the Greater St. Helen's League is grand, but the Camas golfers are looking for greener pastures. After losing to Prairie by a stroke in 2009 and two strokes last season, the Papermakers beat the Falcons by 10 strokes Sept. 15 at Camas Meadows. On Wednesday, the Papermakers topped Mountain View 162-168 to capture that elusive league championship with a 6-0 record. "It's nice to win league," said head coach Ed Givens. "It's been a while since we've done that. It was definitely one of our main goals this year. The next one is to try and repeat as district champions. It's going to be a tall order. We are going to need some kids to step up and play well under pressure."
KATU Channel 2 News selects Camas football as Game of the Week. Washougal football bowls over R.A. Long in league opener.
They shared multiple state soccer titles as Camas Papermakers. Now back together in college, Brent Richards, Quinton Beasley and Drew White are helping the University of Washington men's soccer team shoot for a Pacific-12 Conference Championship. Richards is a senior, Beasley is a junior and White is a freshman.
The volleyball rivalry between Camas and Prairie is well-documented. Tonight in the Papermaker warehouse, it enters the next phase. "This is one of the biggest rivalries for our school," said Camas head coach Julie Nidick. "The ball will bounce the way it bounces. I want to come out and see our girls play Camas volleyball. Attack with everything." For the past three years, the Papermakers have defeated the Falcons for the district title. After Camas beat Prairie three times in 2010, the Falcons are looking for some payback. There is something about seeing Prairie on the schedule next that brings out the fire in the Papermakers.
The Camas High School girls cross country runners turned it up a notch at the Nike Pre-Nationals Saturday, on the Portland Meadows race track. Freshman Alexa Efraimson amazed her coaches and teammates again by snatching third out of 98 competitors in the Jim Danner Championship. She completed the 5,000-meter course with a personal best time of 17 minutes, 58.2 seconds. "To know I'm just a freshman is exciting, but I still have a lot to learn and a lot to work for," Efraimson said. "Every race and every practice, I want to get better."
Homecoming football games in Washougal have not always been fun, but this is a different year. A capacity crowd filled the seats at Fishback Stadium Friday night, to see the Panthers dismantle Clatskanie 40-14. The Washougal players and coaches looked up in the stands several times with smiles on their faces, and they just fed off the crowd's energy. "The place was packed. There wasn't an empty seat in the house, and people were lined up all along the rails," said head coach Bob Jacobs. "It's great for our kids and it's great for our town. We want to maintain that excitement, and bring everybody under one umbrella."