On the sidelines: A week in the life of a Camas-Washougal sports reporter

When I wrote out my story ideas for our next issue, I knew it was going to be one fun week.

Here was my game plan.

Tuesday: See the Camas High School girls soccer team challenge defending state champion Columbia River on the dreaded grass behind Jason Lee Middle School, in Hazel Dell.

Wednesday: Watch the 3A District 4 cross country championship races at Lewisville Park, in Battle Ground. The Camas boys fell just short of Columbia River three days after running in the Richland Invitational. The Papermaker girls lost to Prairie earlier in the season, before placing third at the Richland Invitational and defeating Columbia River in a dual meet three days later.

Thursday: Road trip time. Start by driving out to Kelso to see the Washougal High School boys golf team playing in the district tournament, on the Three Rivers golf course. Head back to Hockinson to catch the Panther cross country teams running in the sub-district championships. Round out the night by watching the Camas and Prairie volleyball teams clash for the league championship, at Camas High School.

Friday: Rarely do I get the opportunity to watch two high school football games in one night, but time is on my side this week. Camas faces Fort Vancouver at 5 p.m., and Washougal hosts Mark Morris at 7 p.m.

Saturday: I’ll finish off the week by covering the 3A district boys tennis tournament, at Club Green Meadows in Vancouver.

After taking Sunday off, I’ll be in the office all day on Monday bringing these events to life on the page with words and photographs. That’s the week in the life of a Camas-Washougal sports reporter, and I love every minute of it.

Sidelines log, part one

Soccer: The Camas High School girls soccer team did not count on getting help from Columbia River this week. After the Papermakers defeated the Chieftains 1-0 Tuesday for their first win at Jason Lee since 2007, River rewarded Camas by beating Kelso Thursday. The loss for Kelso means the Papermakers are the league champions.

Cross Country: Four Camas girls finished one after the other at the District 4 cross country championships. Megan Napier notched fourth place, followed by Jackie Premo, Austen Reiter and Lindsay Wourms. Three Prairie High School girls were just a bit faster. The Falcons captured the district title with 31 points, and the Papermakers were right behind with 33. Prairie coach Phil Phimister said these are two of the lowest team scores he has seen in a long time.

Andrew Kaler won the district boys race for Camas, and Tucker Boyd and Austin Vaughan also earned top-10 finishes. The Papermakers took second as a team behind Columbia River.

Thursday, 2 p.m.: I arrived at the Three Rivers golf course to watch defending 2A state champion Connor O’Neill of Washougal play a couple of holes. I witnessed one of his best shots on 11. After his tee shot landed way right of the green, O’Neill would have to aim for a flag hidden by a mound of deep grass and hit his golf ball between two large trees. His approach shot was on target, landing just a few feet from the hole. After missing birdie putts on the last three holes, O’Neill sank this one on the first try.

O’Neill shot 1-under par 72 Thursday, for third place at the district tournament. I wished I could have seen more of his round, and talked to him afterwards. After his tee shot on 12, it was 3:30. If I wanted to make it to Hockinson in time for the Washougal cross country sub-district races, I needed to leave then.

Thursday, 4:30 p.m.: The girls were just finishing up, as I arrived. Kendall Utter placed fourth for Washougal with a personal best time. Tara Duey and Taneal Tanner also had top-10 finishes. Dylan Croeni finished first at sub-districts for the second year in a row, and Sean Eustis followed in fourth. Isaac Stinchfield also had a top-10 finish, and Brendan Casey earned a lifetime best. The Washougal boys and girls both finished second as a team.

Thursday, 7 p.m.: The Camas High School girls volleyball team steamrolled Prairie in about an hour and 10 minutes. Stefani Sorensen hammered home several points, and Brindl Langley landed a handful of aces. Kelsy Benton, Marleen de Zoete, Britteny Gilge and Sydney Trammell were also tough to stop.

With a record of 13-0, the Papermakers won their first league championship since 2007. One more win against Mountain View on Thursday, Oct. 28, at Camas High School, and they would become the first volleyball team in school history to go undefeated in non-league and league matches.

Sidelines log, part two

Football: After just 14 offensive plays, the Camas High School football team had scored seven touchdowns to start a running clock on Fort Vancouver Friday at Kiggins Bowl. By the end of the night, it was 63-0 Papermakers.

Damon Kosaki kick-started the “Mean Machine” by running a fumble all the way back for 73 yards and a touchdown within the first three minutes of the game.

Logan Grindy tossed four touchdowns on eight passes in the first half. Zack Marshall paired touchdown catches of 36 and 15 yards with a 75-yard mad dash to the end zone. After having a 51-yard touchdown catch taken away from him because of a penalty, Addison Owen delivered a crushing blow on defense and then scored on a 58-yard touchdown run.

Miguel Salamanca caught a short pass from Grindy, and turned it into a 67-yard touchdown after faking out a couple of defenders and finding open space all the way to the end zone. Jonathan Warner extended a 15-yard pass from Grindy into a touchdown.

Kenny Marshall and Vincent Huber had touchdown runs during the running clock. Roldan Alcobendas tied a school record with nine extra-point kicks. The 63 points by the Papermakers also ties a personal best. Camas beat Washougal 63-0 in 2008 and 2005.

Tennis: Camas High School sophomore Triton Pitassi and freshman Brandon Kang knocked off a couple of seniors to earn the opportunity to face each other for the 3A district singles championship Saturday, at Club Green Meadows in Vancouver.

For the next two hours, tennis fans were treated to a dynamic tangle of power, finesse, speed and endurance. Pitassi outlasted his teammate 6-4, 3-6, 6-2, but Kang was relentless all the way to the end. This was no practice round between Papermakers. Both Pitassi and Kang played to win, and they made Jonathan Burton proud to be their coach.

Read more about all of these events in Tuesday’s Post-Record. In the meantime, support your Panthers and Papermakers by signing up and posting comments. It’s been a great week for them.

See you on the sidelines.