Camas opens playoffs by routing Bethel

CAMAS — Any question about the playoff readiness of the Camas Papermakers disappeared in a flurry of first-half offense on Friday at Doc Harris Stadium.

And the defense made a statement, too, in a 49-6 demolition of the Bethel Braves that was decided by halftime.

Jordan Del Moral ran for four first-half touchdowns, the Papermakers scored touchdowns on their first five possessions, and Camas rolled into the Class 4A state tournament with a the win over Bethel of Spanaway.

“I definitely think it was a complete effort,” Camas quarterback Liam Fitzgerald said. “The offensive line pushed them back and Jordan (Del Moral) always runs hard. Our receivers played hard and our defense shut them out.”

In the round-of-16 next week, Camas (10-0) will host the winner of Saturday’s game between Greater St. Helens League rival Skyview and Monroe.

Del Moral scored the first four Camas touchdowns on runs from inside the 10 to cap drives that mostly featured Fitzgerald distributing the ball to a variety of receivers.

“That sets the tempo for our team. You have to spread the ball around on those first two drives,” Fitzgerald said. “Completing those passes felt pretty good.”

Completing each of the first four drives with a touchdown felt pretty good to Del Moral, who finished with 66 rushing yards and another 70 on three receptions.

“Got to give credit to the passing game because they got us down there.  It was really fun,” Del Moral said. “We were ready today. The defense played an amazing game and the offense just executed after  the defense cleaned up.”

In the first half, Fitzgerald completed 16 of 23 throws for 237 yards. Among them was a 43-yard catch and run by Drake Owen for the fifth Camas touchdown.

Camas coach Jon Eagle was particularly pleased with the way his offensive line performed.

“They threw a lot of different looks at our offensive line and I thought we picked that up very well,” Eagle said.

Like his players, the coach also got a kick out of the sixth first-half touchdown, a 51-yard interception return by Blake Roy that defensive captain Michael Matthews called his favorite play of the season.

“I saw the guy come across and just sat there. I anticipated the ball coming, caught it and it felt like it was in slow motion,” Roy said. “There were a ton of great blocks from our defense. They just paved the way. It was exciting.”

That was the second of three interceptions by the Papermakers. Jared Bentley picked off a pass in the end zone to spoil the visitors only drive of the first half, and Jack Colletto intercepted the first pass of the second half.

The Camas defense limited the Braves to a net 19 yards rushing — 13 of those on a quarterback scramble late in the game. Bethel had 142 passing yards, thanks to three completions of more than 30 yards.

“We just wanted to play as fast as we could and as downhill as we could,” Matthews, a linebacker, said. “We knew it was going to be a physical game. We knew they were going to try to smack us in the mouth. It was really good showing that we could stop the run early on. They tried to throw the ball the rest of the game and our secondary just played great.”

CAMAS 49, BETHEL 6

Bethel   0              0              0              6– 6

Camas   14           28           0              7–49

First quarter

Cam – Jordan Del Moral 4 run (Michael Boyle kick)

Cam – Del Moral 1 run (Boyle kick)

Second quarter

Cam – Del Moral 5 run (Boyle kick)

Cam – Del Moral 9 run (Boyle kick)

Cam – Drake Owen 43 pass from Liam Fitzgerald (Boyle kick)

Cam – Blake Roy 51 interception (Boyle kick)

Fourth quarter

Bet – Seth Smith 3 pass from Bryce Missey (pass failed)

Cam – Jack Colletto 4 run (Boyle kick)

Individual Statistics

RUSHING – Bethel: Missey 6-22, Jordyn Coard 2-3, Matthew Booth 2-(minus 3), Jonjon Taimanglo 1-(minus 1), Trevor Repp 1-(minus 2). Camas: Del Moral 16-62, David Aarhus 8-29, Hunter Crandall 7-43, Fitzgerald 4-25, Tyler McClellan 3-14, Colletto 2-6, Caleb Leightbourn 1-(minus 11)

PASSING – Bethell: Missey 11-26-3-142, Lane Brown 0-1-0-0. Camas: Fitzgerald 17-25-1-250.

RECEIVING – Bethell: Collin White 3-66, Booth 3-15, Sam Doyle 2-13, Savon Bell-Johnson 1-31, Jarrell Anderson 1-14, Smith 1-3. Camas: Jared Bentley 8-73, Hunter Bruno 3-55, Del Moral 3-70, Blake Roy 2-9, Owen 1-43.