Bellevue rallies back to stun Camas, 38-35

CAMAS — This kind of loss can be heartbreaking or even debilitating, the one that players and coaches can’t escape.

Coach Jon Eagle, though, isn’t one to let his Camas High School football team let that happen.

Not even after a 38-35 home defeat to Bellevue, the state’s Class 3A football powerhouse for more than a decade, in which Friday at Doc Harris Stadium, the Wolverines at one point scored 21 straight points, turned two late-game Camas turnovers into points, and orchestrated the game-winning drive as time expired to move to 4-0.

Jed Michael’s 41-yard field goal that broke a 35-all tie capped a wild final 4 minutes, 49 seconds of the fourth quarter after Camas led by as many as two touchdowns entering the final 12 minutes.

“We’ve been here before,” said senior Luc Sturbelle, who had all three first-half touchdown receptions from quarterback Andrew Boyle. “We’ve definitely been in this situation. Once they started getting momentum, we knew we had to step back up again like we did at the start.”

They turned it on and started driving on us.”

But for the better part of three quarters Friday, that momentum was in Camas’ hands. The offense, which had outscored its opponents 148-14 since allowing 31 first-half points in a Week 1 loss to Lincoln, went to work as Boyle (16 of 24 completions, 292 yards) and Sturbelle (eight catches, 143 yards) connected for all three first-half touchdowns on receptions of 8 yards (twice) and 69 yards. If it wasn’t for a prototypical Bellevue drive to end the first half — one that lasted 7 minutes, 12 seconds and went 92 yards in 19 plays — Camas’ 21-14 halftime lead likely would’ve been greater.

The defense shined, too, stopping Bellevue three times on fourth down in the second half while pushing its lead to 28-14 — its largest of the game — on Jackson Clemmer’s first of two touchdown receptions (28, then 63 yards) from Boyle.

But Bellevue never backed down.

Friday was the first-ever meeting between the two state powers in separate classifications.

While Camas captured its first state championship in 2016, that also was the same year of Bellevue’s postseason ban.

Bellevue captured 11 state titles since 2001 (two titles have since been vacated), but an independent investigation found allegations of wrongdoing leading to the removal of longtime coach Butch Goncharoff in 2016.

The Wolverines are now under the direction of their second coach since Goncharoff’s departure — Michael Kneip, a Bellevue High grad and ex-University of Washington player — and the winning has continues.

Using its traditional wing-T offense, Bellevue scored 21 straight points, and scored off drives from special teams execution (blocked punt, onside kick) and two interceptions. The successful onside kick led to Drew Fowler’s 53-yard touchdown run run play later as Doc Harris’ boisterous crowd got silent in a 28-all game.

Bellevue’s only attempted three passes all season, and failed to attempt one Friday.

It didn’t need to.

The running of Fowler at quarterback proved mighty. Of his game-high 171 yards, 139 of them came after halftime. Alex Reid, whose touchdown off a touchdown gave Bellevue its first lead at 35-28, added 127 yards rushing.

But two interceptions in the final 3 minutes paved the way for Bellevue’s final 10 points, including the eventual game-winning drive marching 50 yards in 25 seconds for Michael’s game-winner off his leg.

Those plays, and some others, senior Dawson Ingram said, are ones he wishes Camas (2-2) could have back. Camas opens 4A Greater St. Helens League play next week at Heritage.

“You can’t get them back now,” he said. “… We didn’t make it happen in the second half like we did in the first half.”