There is an art to blocking. There is a science to blocking.
It can be coached. It can be learned.
It also takes a special kind of mindset to excel at it.
Dakota Napierkowski has it.
“Every play, you just get to maul someone. Coaches want you to go after someone,” Napierkowski said. “You don’t have to juke anyone. You’re not trying to get away from anyone. Every play, you get to go at someone.”
Attack. Attack. Attack.
Napierkowski, a three-year starting offensive lineman for Camas, does this pretty much all game, every game.
You might not notice, though. Even after he has driven his opponent 10 yards downfield, even after he was the lead blocker on another Camas first down, even after he has sprung a Papermaker into the end zone, Napierkowski reacts the same way.
“I’m not a very hyped-up person. I like to keep to myself,” he said. “I’ll get quiet, go on to the next play, and act like I’ve been there before.”
The job is done. Take a quick break. Get ready to do the job again. A simple formula, right?
Last week, the Papermakers followed that system to six touchdowns on their first six possessions in a win over Battle Ground. This week, Camas takes on Skyview in another crucial Class 4A Greater St. Helens League game.
For all those Jack Colletto touchdown passes, for all the gains from the ground attack, there are five offensive linemen doing their thing to make it happen. Napierkowski is the leader of that group this season for the top-ranked Papermakers.
“He’s exceptionally skilled,” Camas coach Jon Eagle said. “He’s very smart. He rarely has an assignment error, if ever.”
Eagle still vividly recalls a play last year when Napierkowski blocked two guys on the same play. No, not one guy, then run five yards and find another guy. This was more like “boom-boom,” the coach said, at the point of attack. Two defenders. One blocker. Then one big hole and a Camas touchdown.
One of Dakota’s biggest fans is not surprised to see his success.
“He’s twice as good as I was in high school,” said his father, Brent Napierkowski. “He’d eat my lunch.”
That is high praise considering Brent Napierkowski ended up becoming an All-American at Portland State. He went to training camp with the Detroit Lions before a knee injury ended his NFL dream.
“How many people can say they blocked for Barry Sanders?” Brent asks, noting it was just camp, but still.
Dakota Napierkowski has been getting tips from his father since he started playing football in the third grade. They still go at it, from time to time, Brent vs. Dakota in drills.
“If you can push my 340-pound butt around …,” Brent says.
Sure enough, Dakota can do that nowadays.
“He’s in charge right now,” his father says.
Dakota Napierkowski wants to follow his father’s footsteps and play college football. Several programs have shown interest in the 6-foot-5, 250-pounder with a frame that should lend itself to gaining more muscle while maintaining the speed.
His favorite plays utilize that quickness. Napierkowski, a left tackle, loves it when he gets to pull, to hit the open field before initiating contact. It is almost unfair when he gets a running start.
“You get the big hits on those,” he said.
And, of course, the big yards, leading to all the touchdowns. Camas has averaged 46 points per game the past three seasons.
Even though they are accustomed to scoring, the Papermakers knew they were on to something special with those 42 first-half points last week.
“Makes you know you’re doing it right, that all the practice was for something,” Napierkowski said. “When it’s really coming together like that, it gives you confidence you can do that against any team.”
Confidence is high right when the Papermakers need it, too. Camas has not lost to a Clark County opponent since 2011, but Skyview came oh-so-close in the playoffs last year.
“It should be an intense week,” Napierkowski said. “We’re going to have to make sure everything is perfect.”
That is the norm at Camas.
“If you’re on top, everybody’s gunning for you,” Napierkowski said. “It’s going to be their best week of practice, to prepare for us. We know we’re going to get everybody’s best game. That makes us have to be ready, too.”
Dakota Napierkowski is always ready to hit someone. He just does not feel the need to make a big scene about it.
If Camas is scoring, if Camas is winning, that’s good enough for him.
