CAMAS — It was a half of brilliance.
Or misery for those who were trying to stop Jack Colletto and the Camas Papermakers.
Colletto threw for 399 yards and seven touchdowns, including six scores in the first half, and Camas made quick work of Battle Ground in a 49-28 victory Friday night at Doc Harris Stadium.
Both teams entered the game at 4-0 heading into the opener of Class 4A Greater St. Helens League play. Only one remained perfect. And it was decided after a near-perfect first half.
“Those yards don’t just come from me. The protection was there and my receivers were making really good plays,” Colletto said.
Yeah, but the passing numbers do belong to the quarterback, and his teammates appreciated his performance.
“That’s insane,” said Drake Owen, who caught three of the touchdown passes. “If he keeps that up, there’s nothing that’s going to stop us.”
In fact, the Papermakers only stopped scoring in the first half when they chose not to score. They had touchdowns on their first six possessions of the game. The Papermakers took a knee on the seventh drive, heading into halftime with a 42-14 lead.
“It was a great feeling,” receiver Cooper McNatt said of being in the locker room with that cushion against a quality opponent. “I have so much trust in our O-line, and Jack made it happen out there.”
Colletto threw incomplete passes on his first two attempts Friday. Then he went 15 of 17 for 312 yards and six TDs the rest of the half.
“The game plan all week was to pass the ball, get the ball out,” Owen said. “Jack definitely executed it. The O-line gave him time. It worked out perfectly for us. Just a great win for us.”
“We wanted to come out hot … and force them to guard the pass,” said Michael Matthews. “It was definitely a fun game for us.”
Owen finished with 135 yards receiving with his three scores. Matthews, a running back, had 94 yards and two TD receptions. And McNatt made the best of his three catches, going for 90 yards and two scores.
“We’re a good team. We’re very physical,” Colletto said.
But he added there is another element that some outside the program might not understand. This is not just a talented team. It’s a dedicated team.
“We care a lot. We don’t take practice lightly,” he said. “We take it very seriously. That’s our key.”
That’s how the Papermakers can handle things, even if the other team scores first.
Battle Ground is a quality opponent, with an offense that can move the ball on any squad. Like Friday night, the Tigers went 80 yards on five plays to make it a 7-0 game.
The Papermakers just did their thing after that, once they touched the ball.
Colletto to McNatt to tie the game. A 38-yard TD pass to Owen to take the lead midway through the first quarter. Another TD pass to Owen just before the end of the period.
Owen opened the scoring in the second quarter as well. Four quick scores and the Papermakers were up 21, looking solid.
The Tigers would make it a two-score game on a Gunner Talkington-to-Max Randle TD pass.
Then Colletto found McNatt for a 53-yard TD pass.
The Papermakers saved their best for the end of the half, going 89 yards, using five plays in 75 seconds. Colletto found Matthews to make it 42-14.
The quarterback got his seventh TD pass on the opening drive of the second half, finding Matthews all alone for a 58-yard score.
Up until that point, Battle Ground had moved the ball successfully against the Camas defense, but only had two scores to show for it.
Battle Ground kept moving the ball, too — the Tigers finished with 537 yards. But the final two touchdowns just made the final outcome closer.
Talkington finished 31 for 44 for 306 yards and two touchdowns. He also rushed for 108 yards and a score.
Randle caught 10 passes for 115 yards and two scores. Bailey Buckner also had 100 yards receiving for the Tigers.
The biggest numbers came from the Papermakers, though. The ones on the scoreboard.
CAMAS 49, BATTLE GROUND 28
B. Ground 7 7 7 7—28
Camas 21 21 7 0—49
First quarter
BG — Curtis Stradley 49 run (Riley Phillips kick)
Cam — Cooper McNatt 9 pass from Jack Colletto (Michael Boyle kick)
Cam — Drake Owen 38 pass from Colletto (Boyle kick)
Cam — Owen 17 pass from Colletto (Boyle kick)
Second quarter
Cam — Owen 23 pass from Colletto (Boyle kick)
BG — Max Randle 30 pass from Gunner Talkington (Phillips kick)
Cam — McNatt 53 pass from Colletto (Boyle kick)
Cam — Michael Matthews 13 pass from Colletto (Boyle kick)
Third quarter
Cam — Matthews 58 pass from Colletto (Boyle kick)
BG — Talkington 3 run (Phillips kick)
Fourth quarter
BG — Randle 3 pass from Talkington (Phillips kick)
Individual statistics
RUSHING — Battle Ground: Stradley 4-67, Talkington 22-108, Bailey Buckner 10-56. Camas: Matthews 7-42, Colletto 7-54, Will Schultz 8-23, Tyler McClellan 3-7, Michael Boyle 1-4, Team 2-(minus 6).
PASSING — Battle Ground: Talkington 31-44-0-306. Camas: Colletto 19-26-0-399.
RECEIVING — Battle Ground: Tommy Renfroe 2-26, Buckner 9-100, Stradley 1-7, Phillips 2-8, Randle 10-115, Kalau Higgins 5-21, Izak Brundage 2-29. Camas: McNatt 3-90, Ryan Rushall 5-80, Owen 7-135, Matthews 4-94.
