Papermakers prove pliable in 24-14 win

CAMAS — If you would have told Camas coach Jon Eagle that his Papermakers would allow 479 yards of offense and commit 115 yards in penalties entering Friday night’s bout with Lincoln of Tacoma, he’d probably be thinking it would be in a losing effort.

Instead, he saw that even with the mistakes, his resilient squad was a 24-14 victor over the Abes at Doc Harris Stadium.

“Defense is about points, and for most of the game, they had six points,” Eagle said of his bend-but-don’t-break squad Friday.

The offense countered with 472 yards, including 196 rushing from junior running back Jacques Badoloto-Birdsell and 127 receiving from Jackson Clemmer. Jake Blair threw for 182 yards on a 11-of-23 passing and two scores, and the defense kept Lincoln at bay with help from red-zone interceptions by Blake Ascuitto and Charlie Bump.

Lincoln struck first with a 4-yard touchdown by Jaylen Clark from Caden Filer, who threw for 316 yards on 62 attempts. But Jackson Clemmer responded just one play later with a 63-yard catch and run in the second quarter. He scored again on a 10-yard strike when the Papermakers went 93 yards in 7 plays to end the half up 14-6.

“Really I’m just thinking about how hard we worked in the offseason,” Clemmer said. “We just showed up and played. You can’t stop us.”

Badoloto-Birdsell broke the game open with a 62-yard scoring run in the second half, and Montana State commit Bryce Leighton kicked a 43-yard field goal late to seal it.

Key Moments

• After the frenzied crowd at Doc Harris was silenced with a Lincoln 4-yard haul-in by Jaylen Clark, the Papermakers took no time to reignite the Papermaker faithful. Jackson Clemmer caught a 63-yard pass from Jake Blair on a crossing pattern and evened the game at 6-6 in the second quarter. Montana State commit Bryce Leighton’s extra point gave Camas its first lead of the game.

• Backed up at their own 6-yard line with 70 seconds to go in the half, the Papermakers went 93 yards punctuated by a 10-yard TD catch from Clemmer, who also had a 47-yard haul to set up the buzzer-beating score that made it 14-6 at the break.

• Jacques Badoloto-Birdsell came out of the lockers and immediately made it a two-score game, taking an off-tackle run play 62 yards to paydirt and a 21-6 lead. “I just saw green grass,” he said.

Key Players

• Jackson Clemmer: Recently cleared to play, albeit with a knee brace, the 6-foot-6 Camas receiver caught four passes for 127 yards and touchdowns of 63 and 10 yards. All his production came in the first half.

• Jacques Badoloto-Birdsell: The Papermakers’ junior running back ran for 196 yards on 19 carries, including a 62-yard touchdown scamper in the third quarter. He also batted down a fourth-down pass from Lincoln quarterback Caden Filer in the back of the end zone in the first quarter.

• Jaylen Clark: The 6-foot-2 senior caught nine passes for 75 yards including 4- and 8-yard touchdown catches for the Abes.

Quotable

“There were some big holes created by the amazing o-line we got. I saw my holes, saw my opportunity and took it. I haven’t looked back since” — Jacques Badoloto-Birdsell on his 196-yard rushing night.

CAMAS 24, LINCOLN 14

Lincoln 0 6 0 8 — 14

Camas 0 14 7 3 — 24

Second quarter

L — Jaylen Clark 4 pass from Caden Filer (kick block)

C — Jackson Clemmer 63 pass from Jake Blair (Bryce Leighton kick)

C — Clemmer 10 pass from Blair (Leighton kick)

Third quarter

C — Jacques Badoloto-Birdsell 62 run (Leighton kick)

Fourth quarter

C — FG Leighton 43

L — Clark 8 pass from Filer (Clark pass from Filer)

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING — Lincoln: Jeddiah Hayes 5-30, Caden Filer 2-(-4), Majesty Irving 10-46, Julien Simon 5-6, Artie Johnson 3-9, Abner Sio-Fetaui 5-76. Camas: Badoloto-Birdsell 19-196, Blair 4-27, Tyler Forner 3-10, Randy Yaacoub 6-41, Sebastian Harb 2-11, Skyler Prince 3-5.

PASSING — Lincoln: Filer 40-62-2-316. Camas: Blair 11-23-0-182.

RECEIVING — Lincoln: Hayes 1-5, Donovan Clark 1-6, Jaylen Clark 9-75, Tre Wells 1-15, Jasiah Snow-Marshall 6-52, Darius Bailey 1-19, Irving 2-8, Laron Monroe 3-15, Simon 10-80, Sio-Fetaui 1-2, Irae Savaiinaea 5-39. Camas: Charlie Bump 4-27, Jackson Preston 1-13, Jordan Geigenmiller 1-12, Clemmer 4-127, Titan Phillips 1-3.