Camas defeats Eastmont 41-0; will host Puyallup next week in the quarterfinals
CAMAS — The Camas Papermakers scored on their first possession Saturday night in the opening round of the Class 4A state football playoffs. The way their defense would play, that first score would have been plenty.
The Papermakers shut out a Wing-T offense and cruised to the quarterfinals with a 41-0 victory over Eastmont at Doc Harris Stadium. Camas will host Puyallup at 2 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 23. Â
“I think it’s pretty cool,” sophomore linebacker Luke Jamison said of the shutout. “I’m glad we’re all doing our jobs. As long as no one’s trying to be a hero, we’ll keep doing it.
“It’s really exciting, especially against a Wing-T. We started shutting them down. That was a big deal. They got out of their comfort zone and had to start throwing, which they didn’t want to do.”
“Preparation. It’s all about preparation,” added fellow sophomore linebacker Logan Silva. “We come out there every day, watching film, going hard, every day. We prepare so much for these games. We know what they’re going to do before they do.”
Quarterback Blake Ascuitto threw a 48-yard touchdown pass to Jackson Clemmer to open the scoring. Ascuitto would end up with 216 yards in the first half alone, finding eight different receivers. Filling in for the injured Jake Blair since the second half of Week 8, Ascuitto has kept the Papermakers rolling.
“Just gotta trust my team. Building up these three weeks has helped me trust my team a lot better, trust my receivers to catch the ball, and they’re starting to trust me. More time will help even more,” said Ascuitto, who finished with 235 yards through the air.
Jacques Badolato-Birdsell, who has been trying to get over an ankle injury, said he was about 85 percent Saturday. That 85 percent was good enough for 155 yards from scrimmage and three touchdowns.
“Injuries are going to happen,” he said. “You just have to overcome it and play through it. I would do anything for my teammates.”
Badolato-Birdsell scored on touchdown runs of 2, 14, and 15 yards. He finished with 100 yards rushing on 17 carries, plus he set up a touchdown with a long gain on a screen pass.
Gabe Guo had a short touchdown run, and Clemmer caught a second TD pass from Ascuitto.
The Camas special teams also helped out. Kolby Broadbent blocked a punt and recovered the ball in the second quarter, leading to a score that would make it 27-0.
“It’s probably one of my best moments so far in my football career,” Broadbent said. “I’ve been so close so many times this year. That felt awesome. I wish I would have scooped-and-scored, but I’ll take it for what it is.”
All the scoring would make for a running clock in the final few minutes of the game, but this one was over by halftime, with the way the Camas defense showed up Saturday.
“A shutout in a playoff game is fantastic,” Camas coach Jon Eagle said. “We did a great job containing their run. Made a lot of big plays. We got some great field position from our defense. That’s a 9-1 league championship playoff team we held to zero points.
“That’s a pretty good day.”
And a quarterback’s best friend is a great defense on his team.
“Our defense just put in the work today,” Ascuitto said.
CAMAS 41, EASTMONT 0
Eastmont 0 0 0 0 — 0
Camas 6 28 0 7 — 41
First quarter
C — Jackson Clemmer 48 pass from Blake Ascuitto (kick failed)
Second quarter
C — Jacques Badolato-Birdsell 2 run (Bryce Leighton kick)
C — Gabe Guo 1 run (Leighton kick)
C — Badolato-Birdsell 14 run (Leighton kick)
C — Clemmer 13 pass from Ascuitto (Leighton kick)
Fourth quarter
C — Badolato-Birdsell 15 run (Leighton kick)
Individual statistics
RUSHING: Eastmont — Austin Popoff 5-14, Corbin Keys 5-(minus 1), Carson Everhart 3-16, Austin Ruffins 9-40, Adrian Vivanco 11-104. Camas — Randy Yaacoub 9-36, Badolato-Birdsell 17-100, Ascuitto 2-(minus 12), Guo 6-45, Charlie Bump 1-(minus 1), Team 2-(minus 6).
PASSING: Eastmont — Everhart 6-16-1-45. Camas — Ascuitto 16-22-1-235.
RECEIVING: Eastmont — Wesley McIlwaine 1-9, Popoff 2-6, Dillon Esperaza 1-17, Vivanco 1-3, Ruffins 1-10. Camas — Bump 4-27, Yaacoub 1-9, Clemmer 2-61, Dante Humble 2-12, Jordan Geigenmiller 2-25, Badolato-Birdsell 2-55, Eli Sivers 1-1, Kenny Wright 2-45
