On the sidelines: Rainbow road
The road to state for Camas and Washougal high schools was filled with sunshine and rainbows.
The road to state for Camas and Washougal high schools was filled with sunshine and rainbows.
Eighty minutes goes by fast when the soccer is this good. Squaring off against the number-two ranked team in the state, the Camas High School boys smashed Shorecrest with a force of a tidal wave by scoring three goals in the final 17 minutes May 17, at Doc Harris Stadium. The 3-0 victory for the Papermakers was the 250th for head coach Roland Minder. "Minder deserves it," said co-captain Drew White. "He's worked so hard for all our teams, and it's about time he gets some credit."
The Washougal High School track and field family could not be more excited for state championship week. Six Panthers are on their way to compete with the best runners, throwers and jumpers in Washington at the 2A state track and field championships Thursday, Friday and Saturday, at Mt. Tahoma High School in Tacoma.
The Camas High School baseball players wanted one more crack at the reigning state champions, and they got it Saturday in the Centralia Region Three championship game. "I wanted it to be Mountain View because they're in our league, and were the better team on paper," said head coach Joe Hallead. "The majority of the boys wanted O'Dea. They said we had some unfinished business."
Camas High School soccer coach Roland Minder reached the 250-win milestone Tuesday.
Do you believe in miracles? The Camas High School softball team did when nobody seemed to believe in them. Now, people have a reason to believe. On Thursday and Friday at Fort Vancouver High School, the Papermakers defeated Mountain View 10-6, Prairie 7-2 and Kelso 9-5 to capture their first district championship.
Defense ruled the day Saturday at Doc Harris Stadium, and propelled the Papermaker boys soccer team to state for the 13th straight season. Camas knocked off a pesky Auburn Mountain View squad 1-0 in the bi-district championship game. Senior forward Drew White finished off an explosive end-to-end goal in the 28th minute, off a 40-yard pass down field by junior defender Wyatt Brown. "I'm glad I got on the end of that one. It was a whole team effort," White said. "Wyatt had a great through ball that led to that goal. It was all him on that play. I just happened to be on the end of it."
Three goals accomplished. Two more left to grab. The Papermakers did two things Monday no other Camas High School baseball team has done before. They captured their first 3A bi-district title and their 23rd victory of the season. Number-one ranked Camas raked No. 3 Enumclaw 11-3 in the championship game Monday, at Auburn Mountain View High School.
Justin Webb dreamed of this moment his whole life. The Papermaker stepped up to the plate with two outs in the bottom of the seventh inning during Thursday's district championship game at Propstra Park. The game with Mountain View was tied 2-2, and the winning run for Camas was on third base. "I was definitely looking to end the game right there," Webb said. "I wanted to put the team on my back, and get a hit."
High school boys soccer playoff action comes to Camas and Washougal this week. The Washougal Panthers host W.F. West of Chehalis tonight, at 6 p.m., at Fishback Stadium. This is the first of three games Washougal must win this week to advance to the state tournament. "This should be a good showcase for our soccer program," said Panther head coach John Tyger. "It's a chance to represent our school, and I think our kids are going to play really well."