CAMAS — The Camas Papermakers watched the clips. They saw the opponent.
They knew the Graham-Kapowsin Eagles were strong.
So they went to work.
The best week of practice led to the most dominating performance of the season Friday night, and the Papermakers are going to the Class 4A state quarterfinals.
Jack Colletto threw two touchdown passes, ran for two, and also intercepted a pass — in the first half alone — leading Camas to a 55-6 victory over Graham-Kapowsin at Doc Harris Stadium.
Camas will travel to face Skyline at 3 p.m. next Saturday in the state quarterfinals.
Michael Matthews had 2.5 sacks to lead the Camas defense. Marshall McIvor had two half-sacks, as well.
“In the locker room, on the board, it just says one word: Dominate,” McIvor said. “That’s what we practiced to do. We came out here, and we just dominated.”
All the Papermakers credited that week of work.
“We watched the film. ‘Holy crap. These guys are a good team. No joke,’” McIvor said. “Then to be able to come out here and prove how our D-line is, what our linebackers could do. pin the ears back and get in there and play.”
Camas is ranked No. 1 in the state but the Papermakers are not so sure they have convinced teams from the Seattle-Tacoma area.
“We have a chip on our shoulder,” Colletto said. “We wanted to make a statement. I think we did. A lot of people don’t believe in us. We want to make our team known.”
“It’s going to give Southwest Washington some recognition,” Matthews said. “It’s nice to be No. 1 but I feel this score sends a message throughout the state.”
The Papermakers had eight possessions and scored eight touchdowns.
Colletto found Cooper McNatt on a 5-yard touchdown pass for a quick 6-0 lead.
“It just felt good to bring the tempo and set the tone for the rest of the game,” McNatt said.
The Eagles bounced back and drove 80 yards to tie the game, and for a moment, it appeared this might look like a game between two top-five teams.
Then it was all Camas.
And how the Papermakers scored next just seems unfair. Already the top-ranked team in the state, they know they are good. But they also got a 20-yard bounce for a touchdown.
Drake Owen caught a long pass from Colletto, but he fumbled at the 20-yard line and the ball rolled all the way to the end zone, where Michael Matthews fell on it for a touchdown.
“Camas is built on hustle,” Matthews said. “I saw Drake break free. I figured I could run down there and block someone. I saw the ball come out. Happy I was in the right place. I took off. Thankfully I was the first one to the ball.”
The Eagles then dared the Camas defense, going for it on fourth down from their own 28-yard line.
Stuffed. Camas ball.
Two plays later, Camas touchdown — Colletto to Christian Nghiem — for a 20-6 lead.
The Eagles got sacked on two of their next three plays and punted.
Two plays later — sensing a theme here? — Colletto was off on a 32-yard touchdown run.
Graham-Kapowsin had one final push, a long drive into Camas territory, hoping to get back in the game. On the 17th play, though, Colletto, playing safety, intercepted a pass at the goal line and returned it 32 yards.
Three plays later, Colletto broke free on a 64-yard touchdown run and a 34-6 lead at the half.
Colletto finished withy 124 yards rushing on five carries, plus he threw for 181 yards.
Matthews, Elias Bashir, and Hunter Crandall scored on touchdowns runs in the second half to close out the scoring.
Graham-Kapowsin, which averaged 51 points per game this season, was held to 208 yards of offense. Camas defenders sacked the quarterback six times.
“We just game-planned hard all week. Just packed the box and showed them how physical we are,” Matthews said. “I think we executed the plan perfectly.”
CAMAS 55, GRAHAM-KAPOWSIN 6
G-Kapowsin 6 0 0 0—6
Camas 20 14 14 7—55
First quarter
Cam — Cooper McNatt 5 pass from Jack Colletto (kick failed)
G-K — Micah Smith 2 run (kick blocked)
Cam — Michael Matthews recovers offensive fumble in end zone (Michael Boyle kick)
Cam — Christian Nghiem 11 pass from Colletto (Boyle kick)
Second quarter
Cam — Colletto 32 run (Boyle kick)
Cam — Colletto 64 run (Boyle kick)
Third quarter
Cam — Matthews 4 run (Boyle kick)
Cam — Elias Bashir 34 run (Boyle kick)
Fourth quarter
Cam — Hunter Crandall 5 run (Boyle kick)
Individual statistics
RUSHING — Graham-Kapowsin: Smith 21-71, Aaron Olmos 4-7, Dylan Morris 9-(minus 25), Brandon Becker 2-17, Viliami Hansen 1-1, Eian Olmos 1-(minus 6), Connor Jones 2-17. Camas: Matthews 6-16, Colletto 5-124, Will Schultz 4-43, Bashir 6-52, Crandall 4-22, Keaton Sturbelle 1-(minus 2).
PASSING — Graham-Kapowsin: Morris 14-18-2-126. Camas: Colletto 11-17-0-181.
RECEIVING — Graham-Kapowsin: E. Olmos 2-32, Tyler Wheeler 2-22, Tre Mason 8-54, Thomas Wheeler 2-18. Camas: Ryan Rushall 3-64, McNatt 3-18, Drake Owen 4-88, Nghiem 1-11.
