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November 20, 2010
On the Sidelines: Historic football season in Camas ended too soon
Lakes edges Papermakers in overtime 27-24 in state quarterfinals.
Lakes edges Papermakers in overtime 27-24 in state quarterfinals.
The history of football in Camas has been rewritten, but the Papermakers are not going to stop climbing. Camas reached the century mark Saturday, becoming the first football team in school history to win a state playoff game. The thousands of fans who spilled out of Doc Harris Stadium are never going to forget those final seven minutes, when the Papermakers scored a touchdown and made a heart thumping stop on fourth-and-goal to defeat Juanita of Kirkland 20-13.
When the state championship was no longer in the cards for the Camas High School volleyball team in Kennewick, fifth place became a worthy consolation prize. Especially after the Papermakers defeated Capital 25-14, 26-24, 21-25, 18-25 and 15-12; Meadowdale 25-16, 27-25 and 25-17; and defending state champion Bishop Blanchet 25-17, 25-8 and 25-15 Saturday inside the Toyota Center. "Our record of 30-2 is the best ever in Camas. The girls proved without a shadow of a doubt that they are the best team in Camas history, even if they didn't get the highest finish at state," said head coach Julie Nidick. "Seattle Prep being able to beat us in the first round was their springboard to a state championship. There's no doubt in my mind how close we were to winning the whole thing."
The Camas High School girls soccer sisters played their hearts out Saturday. They desired a return to the Final Four, and dreamed of winning a state championship. After the Bonney Lake Panthers edged the Papermakers 1-0 in the quarterfinals Saturday at Doc Harris Stadium, the sisters would have given anything for one more soccer game together. "I am extremely proud of our effort in this game. We never gave up. Even on the last throw-in with 10 seconds left, everyone was up and trying to get one more shot," said senior defender Adrienne Engel. "You play your heart out, but sometimes you end up with the short end of the stick."
Camas football beats Jaunita 20-13 for the first state playoff victory in school history.
Dylan Croeni had the tenacity to bring a state cross country title home to Washougal, but defending champion Scott Carlyle of Sehome had the edge in experience. The battle between the top two high school runners in the 2A boys state championship race had fans on the tiptoes of their feet Saturday, at the Sun Willows Golf Course in Pasco. Croeni grabbed the lead during the third and final mile of the 5,000-meter hilly course, but Carlyle outkicked him to the finish line by one second. Both times were staggering. Carlyle clocked in at 15 minutes, 30.8 seconds, and Croeni followed in 15:31.9.
Sixty minutes of soccer settled nothing between Camas and Auburn Mountainview, but then the Papermakers kicked it up a notch. Janae Benson finished off a corner kick from Adrienne Engel and filtered through Annike Sumpter, Sara Slayton and Kailee Esser to catapult Camas back into the state tournament, with a 1-0 victory in the bi-district championship game Saturday at Doc Harris Stadium. Esser and Sumpter became a two-headed machine on defense, equipped with the feet of Emily Ainsworth and Maiah Sharma, and the cat-like instincts of goalkeeper Andrea Soderberg. Benson and Ciara Klein battered Auburn in front of the goal. Slayton fed them crosses and Engel fired some corners. Aggressiveness for a goal finally paid off for the Papermakers in the 63rd minute.
The Papermakers scored 56 points for Logan Grindy Friday, and didn't give up any. On a night when the senior quarterback could not play because of a fractured fibula, the Camas High School football players, coaches and students remembered these important words from University of Alabama football coach Paul "Bear" Bryant. "The most important thing of any team is a winning attitude," he said. "The coaches must have it. The players must have it. The student body must have it. If you have dedicated players who believe in themselves, you have already won."
Several Camas and Washougal high school fall sports teams are in postseason mode this week. Click the link for more details.
The Liberty Middle School eighth-grade football team took the field on Saturday, Sept. 11 - all 13 of them.