Missouri commit Gabarri Johnson, Navarre Dixon lead Lincoln in win over Camas
This recent nonleague series between perennial high school football powers Camas and Lincoln always provides highlights.
Back in 2018, when Lincoln hosted the Papermakers at Lincoln Bowl, the Abes at one point had a four-touchdown lead before Camas rallied and nearly completed a big second-half comeback.
But, former Lincoln standout Julien Simon, who now plays linebacker at USC, shut it down in the closing moments of the fourth quarter when he intercepted a two-point try in the end zone that could have tied the game. The Abes held on for a 31-29 win.
The next season, Lincoln made the return trip to Camas, and this time it was the Papermakers who built an early lead and picked up a 24-14 season-opening victory on their way to an eventual undefeated Class 4A state title.
Friday afternoon in Tacoma was the third time the two programs have met in the past five seasons. The Abes now have the advantage again in the recent series, after piling up more than 600 yards of total offense and holding off another late comeback attempt by Camas in a 42-28 win at Lincoln Bowl.
Missouri commit and third-year quarterback Gabarri Johnson and running back Navarre Dixon paced the Abes on offense, combining for 488 yards and five touchdowns on the ground, and Lincoln held the Papermakers to a single score after the break to close out the win.
Camas took the game’s first lead late in the first quarter on a 36-yard scoring pass from Taylor Ioane to Trenton Swanson, but the Papermakers’ only lead of the game lasted barely more than a minute.
Lincoln answered two plays later, when Johnson kept the ball and sprinted up the middle, out-running several Camas defenders for an 85-yard score to tie the game. The play energized the Abes’ offense the rest of the way.
“Everybody was just fired up and ready to go get them a score and just play for each other,” Johnson said.
The Abes defense caused and recovered a fumble on Camas’ next drive early in the second quarter, and Dixon scored the first of his three rushing touchdowns moments later on a 44-yard run.
Camas responded with a 49-yard scoring pass from Ioane to Zach Blair, but Johnson gave the Abes the lead for good on a 57-yard scoring run four plays later.
Kelly Sio-Fetaui added a 1-yard rushing score not long after as the Abes scored on four consecutive drives.
Ioane threw another touchdown pass with less than 30 seconds to play in the half to bring Camas back within one score on another 36-yard toss to Swanson, but Lincoln still carried a 26-21 lead into the break.
Dixon added two more rushing touchdowns of 5 and 43 yards in the second half to keep the Abes in front.
“We’re always going to depend on our run game, because we feel really good about our running backs and our (offensive) line and obviously Gabarri making the reads and doing stuff when he keeps it,” Lincoln coach Masaki Matsumoto said.
Lincoln’s defense was also key in limiting Camas in the second half to help secure the win.
The Abes forced punts on the Papermakers’ first two drives, and when Camas drove into the red zone early in the fourth down two possessions, DJ Ervin intercepted a pass just outside of the end zone to quiet the momentum.
“He’s a heck of player,” Matsumoto said. “ … We sort of worked on that concept all week, and so he was ready.”
The Papermakers’ lone touchdown after the break was on an 83-yard punt return by Blair midway through the fourth quarter, which cut the lead to 34-28.
But, Dixon responded with his 43-yard touchdown run to cap a seven-play Abes drive with 4:10 to play to give Lincoln back its two-score lead.
Camas turned the ball over on downs in the red zone on its final possession, and Dixon and Johnson combined for three first downs on five rushing plays to run out the clock.
Lincoln improves to 3-0 to start the season, also picking up key nonleague wins against last season’s 3A North Puget Sound League champion Auburn Riverside and then 4A KingCo program Skyline on the road the past two weeks.
STAT PACK
Lincoln finished Friday afternoon’s contest with 694 yards of total offense, while Camas collected 399.
Johnson completed 10-of-19 passes for 206 yards and no interceptions, and connected with six receivers while also adding a game-high 273 rushing yards and the two touchdowns on 23 carries.
Dixon finished with 23 carries for 214 yards and the three touchdowns for the Abes.
Drake Granberry led Lincoln in receiving with three catches for 82 yards, while Jemani Teplasy had three catches for 52 yards.
Ioane finished 25-of-35 passing for 357 yards, the three touchdowns and one interception.
Swanson was his top target, hauling in 11 catches for 168 yards and the two scores. Blair added five catches for 92 yards and the one receiving touchdown to go with his long punt return for a score. Sam Stark had four catches for 58 yards.
PLAY OF THE GAME
Johnson’s 85-yard touchdown run near the end of the first quarter set the tone for the Abes’ offense the rest of the way.
On the first drive of the game, Lincoln turned the ball over on downs. On the second drive, the Abes went three-and-out, and immediately got the ball back after recovering their own punt attempt, but the drive still eventually stalled near midfield.
Moments after Camas took the early 7-0 lead, Johnson responded two plays later, darting up the middle for the first of his two long rushing scores.
“We didn’t get too much of what we wanted as far as moving the ball and scoring the first few drives, so I just felt like we just needed a big play,” Johnson said.
“My running backs running the ball, it just opened up the pull lane, I pulled it, got through and broke a long touchdown and just had our team all fired up after that.”
The Abes then scored on their next three drives, taking a lead they never lost on Johnson’s 57-yard keeper midway through the second quarter.
UP NEXT
Lincoln opens 3A Pierce County League play next week by hosting Mount Tahoma (0-3) at 7 p.m. Friday. The Abes won last season’s 3A PCL title, sweeping all five of their league opponents.
