The Federal Way Eagles’ dream season came to a crashing end Saturday night at a packed Doc Harris Stadium in Southwest Washington.
The Camas Papermakers (12-0) clinically took apart the second-ranked and previously unbeaten Eagles, 65-32, in the quarterfinals of the Class 4A State Football Tournament.
The Papermakers now advance to the state semifinals, where they will play the top-ranked Skyline Spartans inside the Tacoma Dome. Auburn, who Federal Way dismantled during the South Puget Sound League regular season, will play Bellarmine Prep in the other 4A semifinal.
Federal Way ends their best season since 1976 with a 11-1 record and played most of the second half with a running clock against third-ranked Camas. It’s something that the Eagles have done to their opponents all season long. But this time, Federal Way was on the receiving end.
The Papermakers scored 37 points in the second quarter, mostly thanks to the running of junior tailback Nate Beasley. Beasley finished with 249 yards on the ground and accounted for five touchdowns on the night. Camas led 51-17 at half.
Federal Way’s high-powered offense and a defense that dominated opponents all season long just couldn’t get anything going Saturday. Camas controlled every aspect of the game, including the line of scrimmage. The Papermakers’ linemen on both sides of the ball pushed the Eagles up and down the field, allowing Beasley huge running lanes on offense and created immense pressure up front on defense.
Camas jumped out to a quick 14-0 lead on a 22-yard run by Beasley and a 3-yard run by junior quarterback Reilly Hennessey just 2:10 into the first quarter.
The Eagles seemed to right the ship after the quick start by the Papermakers with an impressive nine-play drive that netted a 35-yard field goal by Koby Craig. Junior Keenan Curran had 29 yards on the ground and a pair of Camas penalties accounted for 20 more yards during the drive.
Federal Way’s defense then forced the lone Papermaker punt on their next possession.
But it was all Camas from there. After the first of the Eagles’ six turnovers, Hennessey hit Dylan White on an 18-yard touchdown pass, John Norcross had a 6-yard touchdown run, the defense picked up a safety and Norcross scored on another 4-yard run to give the Papermakers a 37-3 lead midway through the second quarter.
Federal Way sophomore Chico McClatcher tallied the Eagles’ first touchdown of the day when he caught a pass from senior Evan Elliott and raced 80 yards through the Camas defense to make it 37-10. But Beasley added two touchdown runs to put the Papermakers over the 50-point mark with 2:28 remaining in the first half.
Federal Way scored a late touchdown in the second quarter on a 5-yard Elliott to Marcel Morris pass to end the half, 51-17. Elliott finished 18 for 37 for 315 yards and four touchdowns, but also had four costly interceptions. Morris ended up with five catches for 91 yards and Aaron Persinger finished with five catches for 88 yards. McClatcher led Federal Way in rushing with 45 yards.
The second half started much like the first. On Camas’ first possession, Beasley raced 51 yards around the right side of the Eagle defense to put the Papermakers up 58-17 and necessitate the running clock less than a minute into the third quarter, which happens when a team leads by more than 40 points.
The Eagles picked up a third quarter touchdown on a 14-yard pass from Elliott to senior Mike Tate and senior D’Londo Tucker added a 1-yard touchdown catch in the fourth quarter.
Beasley added a 12-yard touchdown catch from Hennessey, who finished 12 for 15 for 142 yards, to finalize Camas’ impressive night.
But the perfect execution on the field by the Papermakers wasn’t the only awe-inspiring performance Saturday. The off-the-field accomplishments in Camas were also impressive.
Every seat on the Papermakers’ side of Doc Harris Stadium was filled with somebody wearing either red or black. Outside the stadium, trailer-size barbecue pits cooked burgers and kettle corn was popped fresh right in front of you. There was even a stand where you could buy a gyro.
The Camas High School band was well over 100-students strong and all of them were donned in shiny outfits, top hats included, and sounded like they should be playing for a college football program, not at a high school. They even performed a precision halftime routine on the Doc Harris Stadium FieldTurf, marching in unison.
It was an environment that seemed to come straight out of the book, “Friday Night Lights,” which was set in Southwest Texas than a Saturday night in the Vancouver suburb on the Columbia River in the Class 4A State Playoffs.
Camas 62, Federal Way 32 (Saturday)
First quarter
Cam — Nate Beasley 22 run (Roldan Alcobendas kick)
Cam — Reilly Hennessey 3 run (Alcobendas kick)
FW — Koby Craig 35 FG
Second quarter
Cam — Dylan White 18 pass from Hennessey (Alcobendas kick)
Cam — John Norcross 6 run (Alcobendas kick)
Cam — Safety, Federal Way fumbles out of own end zone
Cam — Norcross 4 run (Alcobendas kick)
FW — Chico McClatcher 80 pass from Evan Elliott (Craig kick)
Cam — Beasley 6 run (Alcobendas kick)
Cam — Beasley 5 run (Alcobendas kick)
FW — Marcel Morris 5 pass from Elliott (Craig kick)
Third quarter
Cam — Beasley 51 run (Alcobendas kick)
FW — Mike Tate 14 pass from Elliott (Craig kick)
Cam — Beasley 12 pass from Hennessey (Alcobendas kick)
Fourth quarter
FW — D’Londo Tucker 1 pass from Elliott (Morris from Tucker)
Individual statistics
RUSHING — Federal Way: McClatcher 9-45, Zeek McNeal 10-34, Elliott 9-34, Keena Curran 3-28, Team 1-(-19). Camas: Beasley 25-249, Hennessey 6-37, Norcross 2-10, Vincente Huber 4-7, Bryan Kelly 3-4, Team 3-(-4).
PASSING — Federal Way: Elliott 18-37-4-315, Curran 0-4-0-0. Camas: Hennessey 12-15-0-142.
RECEIVING — Federal Way: Morris 5-91, Aaron Persinger 5-88, McClatcher 2-74, Tucker 5-48, Tate 1-14. Camas: Beasley 3-47, Norcross 3-26, Michael DiGenova 2-18, White 1-18, Zach Eagle 1-13, Jack Beall 1-11, Connor Maloney 1-9.
