dan.trujillo@camaspostrecord.com
October 27, 2012
On the sidelines: Homecoming champions
There's no place like home for the Camas High School football team. The Papermakers are 19-1 at the new Doc Harris Stadium since it opened in 2010.
There's no place like home for the Camas High School football team. The Papermakers are 19-1 at the new Doc Harris Stadium since it opened in 2010.
The Camas High School cross country teams reached the Greater St. Helens summit, but there are more mountains to climb. Both the boys and the girls captured the 4A district championship Thursday, at Lewisville Park in Battle Ground. The Papermakers clinched both titles for the second year in a row. "It just shows our dominance," said senior Tucker Boyd. "Whether we're in 3A or 4A, we're going to compete with you." Alexa Efraimson earned first place with a time of 18 minutes, 9 seconds. She beat Alexis Fuller of Union to the finish line by 37 seconds. Efraimson loves this quote from Olympic runner and author Hal Higdon, "Even when you have gone as far as you can, and everything hurts, and you are staring and the specter of self doubt, you can find a bit more strength deep inside if you look closely enough."
Jonathan Ho was tired of playing second fiddle. He wanted to be the best. On Saturday, the Camas High School sophomore defeated Tanner Blake 6-4, 6-4 for the 4A district singles championship at the Vancouver Tennis Center. "It feels good to finally beat somebody from Union," Ho said. "That's what every Papermaker wants." Blake had Ho on the ropes with a 4-3 advantage in the second set, but the Papermaker got right back into the fight and quickly turned the tables. Ho sent Blake into a tailspin by winning the next two games to gain a 5-4 lead. As Ho stepped back to serve during that final sequence, the look in his eyes said he was not going to give this game away.
The Washougal High School girls cross country team captured the league championship for the first time since the school joined the 2A Greater St. Helens League in 2006. "Washougal hasn't won league in a long time," said sophomore Karina Miller. "For our girls to be league champions is a big deal." "It shows that we are able to accomplish our goal," added junior Paige Roberts. "We're like one big family, all getting stronger together."
The Camas football team felt at home again at McKenzie Stadium. The Papermakers finished off Heritage 55-21 Friday, a week after shutting out Union 22-0.
Step one is complete for the Camas High School cross country teams. The Papermaker boys and girls both captured the 4A district championship Thursday, at Lewisville Park in Battle Ground. Next up is the West Central District Championships Oct. 27, on the American Lake golf course in Tacoma.
The Union Titanic could not withstand the Camas typhoon. The Papermakers earned a 22-0 victory against their cross town rivals Friday night, at McKenzie Stadium in Vancouver. Camas became the first football team to shut out Union since the school opened in 2007. "All 11 guys played to the ball on every play. I couldn't ask for more from my teammates," said senior linebacker Colton Dowd. "This win was for all those past alums who lost to Union. It was unlike any other game." For starters, the Papermakers and Titans had to adjust to the first rainfall of the season. Bad snaps and fumbles humbled both teams in the first quarter, but Camas broke through the dam when Zach Eagle snagged a pass from Reilly Hennessey out in the open and plunged into the end zone. "It was a pretty wet night. I think they expected us to run, but we caught them off guard," Eagle said. "Reilly got it to me and the O-line held their blocks. I had some open space and wanted to see what I could do with it."
Brian Humphreys showed flashes of brilliance in his first high school district golf tournament on Oct. 8 and 9, but the Camas freshman became a spectator watching Union senior Ian Spicer conquer the Tri-Mountain golf course in Ridgefield. Spicer nailed seven birdies and an eagle in the final round, and finished with a 5-under par score of 67 strokes. He almost double-eagled the 18th hole from around 250 yards away. The ball stopped rolling about 4 feet from the hole. Spicer tapped it in for an eagle and won the district championship. Humphreys finished in second place, five strokes ahead of his adversary. "You can't get mad at yourself when you play well and the other guy has the round of his life," Humphreys said. "It was inspiring to watch. I want to be the district champion next year. That means I have to play whoever I'm up against, and match him shot-for-shot."
Washougal junior Thomas Normandeau beat Camas sophomore Taryk Boyd for first place out of a field of more than 500 junior varsity runners from 30 different teams at the Adidas Classic Saturday, at Fern Hill Park in Portland. "I knew this was going to be a tough race because it had so many people from some pretty big schools," Normandeau said. "Once I got ahead of the pack, I could see that the other guy was like 50 yards ahead of me, so I just decided to hold on to second. "But slowly, I started to catch up to him. I just kept my pace going, and I kept getting closer and closer," Normandeau added. "Once I passed him with about 300 meters to go, I really thought I could beat him. As I tired as I was, I just kept running as fast as I could."
Nothing was settled after 90 minutes of soccer between the two first place teams in the 4A Greater St. Helens League Oct. 9, at Doc Harris Stadium. The Camas and Union girls game ended in a 0-0 tie. The Papermakers were the aggressor. Savanna Joyce, Courtney Loewen, Emily Ponce, Mika Norrish, Anyssa DeVera, Jamie Carter and Hailey Rose attacked the net, but had no luck. Carly Marshall, Amanda Kern, Rachel Gibson, DeVera and Rose held up on the back line, and goalkeeper Lauren Rood made five saves. "We were the dominant team," said Camas head coach Roland Minder. "We did everything we needed to do except put a ball in the back of the net."
