State playoff semifinal football preview: Camas vs. O'Dea
When, where: 7 p.m. Friday at Tacoma Dome (3A state playoff). Audio/Video Webcast: www.wiaanetwork.com.
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Last meeting: First meeting.
At stake: Berth in state championship against Bellevue/Kamiakin winner
O’DEA (12-0)
Last week: beat Capital 19-16 (3OT) in state quarterfinals.
Players to watch: QB Pierre LeDorze; RB Jomari Brooks (1,098 yards, 9 TDs); RB Jayshawn Jordan (820 yards, 8 TDs), RB Tatum Taylor, OL Sam Flor (6-4, 285 pounds).
Notes: The Irish from Seattle won the 3A Metro Conference Mountain Division with a 4-0 record. … The Mountain Division was the stronger of the two divisions of the Metro Conference. Three Mountain Division teams reached the state playoffs, while none of the Sound Division teams did. … The other two Mountain Division (Eastside Catholic and Seattle Prep) lost in the first round, but both lost to teams that reached the semifinals. Eastside lost to Bellevue 42-0 and Prep lost to Kamiakin 28-14. … O’Dea beat both Eastside and Prep by one point each. .. O’Dea’s strength lies in its offensive line, which has paved the way for Irish runners to gain 3,631 rushing yards and 37 touchdowns. … The rest of line is comprised of David Dempsey (6-5, 215), Cody Fullerton (6-3, 264), Stuart Haslam (6-0, 265), David Salle (6-1, 242) and Spencer Ramquist (6-2, 210). … O’Dea also has solid kicking game. Bart Hardwick kicked four field goals in win over Capital, including three in the overtime periods. … Last week’s quarterfinal game feature no touchdowns by the offenses. O’Dea scored on a 100-yard punt return by Taylor Tatum. Capital scored on a 44-yard fumble return. … Tatum was the Metro Mountain Division co-offensive player of the year.
CAMAS (11-1)
Last week: beat Meadowdale 40-0 in state quarterfinal.
Players to watch: QB Tony Gennaro (152-237, 2335 passing, 30 TDs); RB Zack Marsahll (178-1188 rushing, 17 TDs); WR Jonathan Warner (39-580 receiving, 9 TDs); WR Zach Eagle (32-574 receiving, 6 TDs).
Notes: The Papermakers’ lone loss was to Skyview, a team still alive in the 4A state semifinals. … Other than that one loss, Camas has not allowed a team to score more than 14 points or come within 14 points in any of its 11 wins. … The closest game Camas has played since losing to Skyview was a 35-6 win over Prairie on Sept. 30. … Camas and O’Dea share a common opponent. Camas beat Bainbridge 58-0 in the state preliminary round. O’Dea beat Bainbridge 35-14 in league play. … Camas has four shutouts in its past seven games, including three of the last four. … Camas took a run-oriented Meadowdale team and held the Mavericks to 72 yards on the ground. … Senior John Norcross was the 3A Greater St. Helens League defensive player of the year. … DL Kamari Brown, LB Scott Feather, LB Kyle Goodnow, DB John Payne and DB Chris Galusha were first-team picks on defense.
Bottom line: The Irish like run, run, run and run some more. They have averaged 300 yards rushing per game. But Capital held O’Dea to under 100 yards of offense during regulation last week. O’Dea has a big offensive line with a healthy appetite for opening holes. But Camas’ defense has feasted on stopping run-oriented offense this season.
Columbian’s pick: Camas.
