dan.trujillo@camaspostrecord.com
October 11, 2011
Riding in the victory lane to Crook County
After a 3-hour, 165-mile bus ride to Prineville, Ore., the Washougal Panthers piled on 451 rushing yards to defeat the Crook County Cowboys 28-7 Friday.
After a 3-hour, 165-mile bus ride to Prineville, Ore., the Washougal Panthers piled on 451 rushing yards to defeat the Crook County Cowboys 28-7 Friday.
When the Camas High School football players grit their teeth at the line of scrimmage, opponents can see their pink mouth guards. It's a unified statement the Papermakers are delivering every Friday night. Not only are they fighting for championships, but they are also putting on the pads and the helmets for women stricken with breast cancer. "This is something we wanted to make [people aware of] for our mothers, aunts and grandmothers by rocking the pink mouth pieces," said senior running back Zack Marshall.
The Washougal High School cross country runners were grinning with excitement Thursday, on the bus ride home from Lake Sacajawea Park. Despite being outnumbered 16 to 12 at the starting line on the opposing team's course, four Panther boys crossed the finish line before the first Lumberjack to help the Washougal boys beat R.A. Long. Sean Eustis won the 5,000-meter race, with a time of 17 minutes, 59 seconds. Isaac Stinchfield snatched second place, in 18 minutes flat. As Washougal's Geer McGee and Noah Collins reeled in the top runner from R.A. Long, the rest of the Lumberjacks faded away. McGee took third (18:24) and Collins clinched fourth (18:26). Nicholas Velardi notched sixth (19:01) and Darian Tierney followed in seventh (19:07).
After delivering 18 goals in victories over Fort Vancouver and Mountain View last week, the Camas High School girls soccer players are ready to get revenge on Prairie tonight. The battle for first place in league between the 6-1 Papermakers and the 5-1 Falcons has been moved to District Stadium, in Battle Ground. The game begins at 7 p.m. Camas is coming off a 4-0 shutout over Mountain View Thursday. Olivia Lovell fired in the first goal on an assist from Mikaela Norrish. After helping get the Papermakers on the board, Norrish knocked in the second goal on service from Savannah Joyce. Emily Ponce put the third goal in the net on a penalty kick. Lauren Oljar delivered the final goal on a pass from Alex Dombek.
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.
