Camas solves Heritage in the second half

The game started out promising for the Papermakers with a touchdown, but the rest of the first half was anything but typical.

Heritage kicked a field goal, forced Camas to turn the ball over on fourth down, scored a touchdown and a 2-point conversion to gain the lead. The Timberwolves then stopped the Papermakers on their next three possessions to go into the locker room at halftime with an 11-6 advantage.

“That’s a pretty good football team we’re playing, and if we just let down just a little bit, the result is you’re behind at halftime,” said head coach Jon Eagle. “Our kids figured it out and we were able to run the ball, which was key, and then we played great defense.”

The Papermakers outscored Heritage 35-0 in the second half to earn a 41-11 victory at McKenzie Stadium Thursday.

Jack Colletto ignited the comeback for Camas, this time on defense. The senior ran back and intercepted a pass by the Timberwolves on the opening drive after halftime.

“It was a big play,” Colletto said. “I really wanted to make one, and I was fortunate enough to be in the right position.”

Colletto took the ball under center and turned to Michael Matthews, who scored the first touchdown of the game. The senior completed a series of runs capped off by a 6-yard dash across the goal line for his second touchdown.

“We talked at halftime about what play was working, and we said we’re going to put it to the test,” Matthews said. “I think we ran that same play probably six times. The O-line, they had that play dialed in. They were pushing, I just needed to make the right cuts and we got it done.”

Colletto ran for two touchdowns to give the Papermakers a cushion. The quarterback also went out for a route and caught a trick pass by Ryan Rushall to set up a touchdown run for Hunter Crandall. Elias Bashir delivered a 13-yard touchdown to wrap up the victory.

“I think the mindset just flipped,” Matthews said. “At halftime, we realized Heritage is a great team, we’re in a ball game and we got to come out and play.”

Camas (7-0) will get a different look in its homecoming game against Sunnyside (6-1), of the Big 9 League. Kickoff is at 7 p.m. Friday, at Doc Harris Stadium.

Heritage took the Camas football team by surprise in the first half. Colletto hopes the Papermakers can get off to a better start Friday and sustain it for all four quarters.

“There’s a good side to it, saying we can comeback and finish games. This week, we really want to focus on trying to start fast,” he said. “It was a scare. It kind of knocked us back into reality. We have to make sure we don’t get complacent.”