Camas football gets off to rocky start against Central Catholic

OREGON CITY — Camas football’s season couldn’t have started worse: A 99-yard Central Catholic kickoff return opened the season-opening contest Friday at Pioneer Memorial Stadium as the Rams rolled to a 28-17 victory over the Papermakers.

Things undoubtedly got better as things progressed for the 2019 WIAA 4A State champions, but the 2019 OSAA 6A State champions earned interstate bragging rights behind the defensive prowess of Oregon commit Emar’rion Winston and the speedy legs of Stryder Todd-Fields.

Camas’ defense, led by linebacking trio Luke Jamison, Jon Schultz and Jairus Phillips, showed it will be the Papermakers’ strength this season, holding the Rams to 250 offensive yards and just two scores — 73-yard and 13-yard passes. Otherwise, it was the 99-yard opening kickoff return by Todd-Fields and a 19-yard interception return by Solomon McDaniel after Winston tipped the screen pass of Camas quarterback Taylor Ioane.

“Our defense is going to be good no matter what,” Phillips said. “We put in the work that will make it pay off and hopefully we have success this entire season.”

The Papermakers tallied 205 offensive yards, but were forced to punt eight times. Ioane finished 14 of 34 passing for 163 yards and an interception. Sam Stark hauled in four catches for 58 yards and Luke Jamison had second-half touchdown runs of 2 and 4 yards. Matthew Gerardo added a 30-yard field goal to round out the Papermaker scoring.

Key Moments

Two touchdowns negated — The Papermakers had touchdown catches by Zach Blair and Sam Stark called back due to holding and illegal formation, respectively. The first resulted in Gerardo’s field goal and three points, but Camas was able to get back in the end zone with Jamison’s first touchdown following the second penalty.

Botched punt — Central Catholic made it closer than it needed to be after taking a 28-9 lead in the fourth quarter. On a punt attempt with six minutes remaining in the game, Central Catholic snapped the ball well over punter Asher Wajskol’s outstretched arms. Wajskol fell on it, but Camas converted the 20-yard field with a Jamison scoring run to cut the deficit to 28-17. A failed onside kick gave the Rams the chance to run the clock out.

Muffed chances — Three times in the game, Central Catholic muffed punts and Camas recovered. While Camas could only convert the short fields into a touchdown on one occasion, it kept the Papermakers’ hopes alive well into the fourth quarter.

Key Players

Matthew Gerardo — The Camas kicker earned plenty of praise from his teammates in the postgame huddle. Not only did the senior convert on his lone field-goal attempt, he also had punts that netted 62 and 49 yards. Unfortunately, he left the game in the fourth quarter after getting injured going for a tackle on a kickoff return.

Camas linebacking trio — Not enough can be said about Luke Jamison, Jon Schultz and Jairus Phillips. The trio combined for five tackles for losses, including two sacks.

Emar’rion Winston — The 6-foot-3, 240-pound senior linebacker is a four-star Oregon commit and showed every bit of that on the field Friday night. He consistently pressured from an outside linebacker spot and disrupted the flow of the Camas offense.

Quotable

“(Former coach Jon) Eagle is a dude. Everyone loves him. But we’re also loving (first-year coach) Jack (Hathaway). He’s out there every practice bonding with everyone. I think he’s doing a great job.” — Camas senior linebacker Jairus Phillips on the first game without longtime coach Jon Eagle, who left this offseason to become quarterbacks coach at Portland State University.

CENTRAL CATHOLIC 28, CAMAS 17

Camas 0 0 9 8 — 17

Central Cath. 7 7 7 7 — 28

SCORING SUMMARY

First quarter

CC — Stryder Todd-Fields 99 kickoff return (Asher Wajskol kick)

Second quarter

CC — Solomon McDaniel 19 interception return (Wajskol kick)

Third quarter

C — Matthew Gerardo 30 field goal

CC — Todd-Fields 73 pass from Cru Newman (Wajskol kick)

Fourth quarter

C — Luke Jamison 2 run (Gerardo kick)

CC — Jordan King 13 pass from Newman (Wajskol kick)

C — Jamison 4 run (Gerardo kick)

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

Rushing — Camas: Zach Blair 3-(-5), Bradley Prouse 1-3, Luke Jamison 8-34, Taylor Ioane 5-(-7), Jon Schultz 7-15, Jairus Phillips 5-12; Central Catholic: Cru Newman 7-41, Emerson Dennis 4-(-32), Gavin Jackson 4-9, Jacob Hardeman 14-34.

Passing — Camas: Taylor Ioane 14-34-1-163; Central Catholic: Cru Newman 12-20-0-215, Emerson Dennnis 1-2-0-18.

Receiving — Camas: Zach Blair 2-32, Mark Thorkelson 1-17, Conner Murphy 2-21, Nathan Criddle 3-17, Luke Jamison 1-3, Jon Schultz 1-15, Sam Stark 4-58; Central Catholic: Jordan King 4-63, Zach Grisham 2-24, Stryder Todd-Fields 3-71, Blake Anderson 1-44, Jacob Hardeman 1-0, Riley Williams 2-31.