Top-ranked Camas stays perfect

CAMAS — The Camas Papermakers do not just win on Friday nights.

They win all week, in practice, getting ready.

Friday nights are just the finale to the whole victory,

“We have masterminds in our coaches,” said Camas safety Cooper McNatt, who had two interceptions, returning one for a touchdown in the Papermakers’ 42-6 victory over Battle Ground at Doc Harris Stadium.

“They just picked apart the offense. They had everything down perfectly. They really make it easy for us,” McNatt said. “They make the game simple. Make your reads and play football.”

Camas, the top-ranked team in Class 4A, improved to 6-0 overall, 3-0 in the Class 4A Greater St. Helens League. Battle Ground fell to 4-2, 2-2 in league.

A week after holding Skyview to barely more than 100 yards of offense, the Camas defense suffocated a Battle Ground offense that had averaged 42 points a game through the first five weeks of the season.

“Everybody said it was going to be a track meet, with lots of offense,” Camas linebacker Michael Matthews said. “It’s good to give the defense the credit we deserve.”

And unlike many times when the Camas offense puts things out of reach early, the Papermakers needed a strong performance from its defense in the first half.

“That’s what you love, especially in a home game like this. The crowd was really into it,” Matthews said. “We have a ton of athletes on defense who want to be out there. We love each other. It’s good to pull the weight every once in a while.”

After a scoreless first quarter — no one could have predicted that, with Camas averaging 49 points a game — the Papermakers found the end zone three times before halftime. McNatt crushed Battle Ground’s spirit with a 35-yard interception return to make it 21-6.

The Camas defense forced a punt on the first drive of the second half, and the Camas offense really got going, with Jared Bentley catching a 32-yard touchdown pass from Liam Fitzgerald.

Hunter Bruno made a diving catch in the end zone on a 27-yard pass from Fitzgerald later in the third quarter, and just like that, this close game was no longer close.

“We knew they were going to tough,” Bruno said of the Tigers. “Going in, we knew we had to play our hardest. We relied on our defense most of the game, and we came out on top.”

Fitzgerald finished with 208 yards passing and three touchdowns. Bruno caught six passes for 132 yards and one score.

“Once we started rolling and we got the momentum going, it’s just a great feeling,” Bruno said. “It’s really easy with a great quarterback like Liam.”

Jordan Del Moral scored the game’s first touchdown and the final one — each from the 1-yard line — for the Papermkers.

Battle Ground cut a seven-point deficit to one in the second quarter on a 5-yard touchdown pass from Gunner Talkington to Max Randle. The extra point was blocked, leaving it 7-6 with 4:43 to play in the first half.

Camas had a quick response, with Fitzgerald finding Bentley for a 5-yard touchdown pass. Bruno had a 55-yard reception to set up the score.

That made it 14-6 before McNatt made the play of the night, reading the wide receiver screen and stepping in front of the intended receiver for the pick-six.

Bruno, Secric Ruiter and Drake Owen also had interceptions for the Camas defense. The Papermakers held Battle Ground — the top passing offense in the region coming into this game — to 148 yards.

It had nothing to do with luck.

It was focus during the week.

“Everybody prepared really well,” Matthews said. “Everyone played really smart. It comes from film, knowing what’s going to happen.”

CAMAS 42, BATTLE GROUND 6

B. Ground    0    6    0    0—6
Camas    0    21    14    7—42
Second quarter
Cam — Jordan Del Moral 1 run (Michael Boyle kick)
BG — Max Randle 5 pass from Gunner Talkington (kick blocked)
Cam — Jared Bentley 5 pass from Liam Fitzgerald (Boyle kick)
Cam — Cooper McNatt 35 interception return (Boyle kick)
Third quarter
Cam — Bentley 32 pass from Fitzgerald (Boyle kick)
Cam — Hunter Bruno 27 pass from Fitzgerald (Boyle kick)
Fourth quarter
Cam — Del Moral 1 run (Boyle kick)

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING — Battle Ground, Bailey Buckner 10-46, Talkington 9-5, Curtis Stradley 8-45, Chase Gunter 1-3, Reed Thompson 8-38, Austin Adams 1-8. Camas, Del Moral 25-63, Fitzgerald 6-9, Will Schultz 2-(minus 1), Tyler McClellan 2-18, Jack Colletto 1-3, Team 2-(minus 2).
PASSING — Battle Ground, Talkington 14-23-4-119, Adams 4-6-1-29. Camas, Fitzgerald 12-24-1-208.
RECEIVING — Battle Ground, Riley Betcher 9-89, Buckner 1-0, Thompson 2-6, Randle 2-24, Kyle Cahoon 2-26, Gunter 1-4, Stradley 1-(minus 1). Camas, Bentley 3-39, Bruno 6-132, Del Moral 1-3, Blake Roy 2-34.