Division I recruit Julien Simon denies Camas with late pick as Lincoln hangs on in season opener

Lincoln High School’s four-touchdown lead was rapidly unraveling.

For a moment on Friday night in Tacoma it seemed Camas, the Class 4A powerhouse that won a state title just two seasons ago, would complete a miraculous second-half comeback.

Julien Simon had other ideas.

After the Papermakers scored their third touchdown of the fourth quarter, cutting Lincoln’s lead to 31-29, quarterback Jake Blair lined the offense up for a two-point try.

The sophomore signal-caller rolled to his right, throwing to a seemingly open receiver in the end zone. But Simon leaped up and snatched the ball out of the air.

“My coaches told me to look out for that same play that they ran (in the film we watched), and I knew it was coming,” Simon said. “I just jumped, and used my ability, and picked it off.”

The Abes fell on the onside kick attempt on the ensuing kickoff, and picked up a first down to preserve the score and end their season-opener at Lincoln Bowl with a win.

Lincoln fans roared and Simon, a sophomore who is considered to be one of the nation’s top recruits in the 2021 class, got to be the hero.

“We practiced that play, and they ran it at the goal-line in the film that we got,” Lincoln coach Masaki Matsumoto said. “We knew they were going to motion trips, so we talked through that.

“We went with our best trips coverage, the one we were most comfortable with, and sure enough Julien came up with a great play. He’s amazing with the football.”

Simon, who has Division I offers from schools like Florida and USC, finished with two interceptions — including one which he returned for a 30-yard touchdown — and another 26-yard catch for a score.

His two trips to the end zone were part of a five-score barrage — four touchdowns and a 34-yard field goal by kicker Gabriel Foster — the Abes unleashed in the first half.

“We wanted to play fast, we wanted to get things going and we wanted to score a lot of points in a hurry,” Lincoln quarterback Caden Filer said.

The Abes scored on each of their first three drives. Filer methodically led Lincoln down the field each time, connecting for touchdowns with Romere Williams (21 yards) and Mykel Campbell (66 yards).

Simon’s pick-six and Foster’s field goal gave the Abes a 24-0 advantage at the end of the first quarter, and Simon’s second touchdown pushed the lead to 31-0 just before the end of the half.

Filer finished 15 of 24 passing for 255 yards and three touchdowns, and rushed for another 52 yards on eight carries. Campbell led the Abes in receiving with four catches for 123 yards and the one score, while Romere Williams had four catches for 68 yards and a touchdown.

“In the first half, everything was (firing) on all cylinders,” Filer said. “Everyone was on the right page.”

Meanwhile, Camas couldn’t find any momentum on offense, punting the ball five times and turning the ball over twice in the first half. The Papermakers didn’t cross midfield until well into the second quarter, and struggled converting first downs.

The only bright spot came as the half expired, when Blair hit Shane Jamison down the sideline, and the receiver shirked several Lincoln defenders to convert a 50-yard touchdown.

Camas trailed, 31-7, entering the break, but clearly with a spark. Lincoln gave up a safety on the opening possession of the second half, and the Papermakers came firing back, with Blair throwing two more touchdown passes to Joey Schnell (13 yards) and Luc Sturbelle (9 yards), while Randy Yaacoub added a 21-yard rushing touchdown.

“We kind of sputtered in the second half, but we’ll get through that as a team, as coaches, as players,” Matsumoto said. “Hopefully we don’t have a second half like that (again).”

Blair finished 14 of 26 passing for 239 yards and two touchdowns after replacing starting quarterback Andrew Boyle, while Jamison (five catches, 97 yards) and Sturbelle (five catches, 92 yards) were the top targets.

Sturbelle’s touchdown catch cut the Abes’ lead to two points, leading to the failed conversion try.

“They could have easily folded, especially when (Camas) scored that last touchdown,” Matsumoto said. “But, we held it up and said, ‘Hey, let’s make a stop,’ and Julien made a great-play on that two-point conversion.”

Abner SioFetaui, who led the Abes in rushing with 12 carries for 67 yards, picked up a crucial first down in the final minute with runs of 9 and 3 yards to seal the win.

“We just needed to keep pushing, we couldn’t give up,” Simon said. “We knew they were going to give us a good game.

“We didn’t expect to blow them out like we were in the first half, so we had to keep competing.”

This story was originally published August 31, 2018 at 10:33 PM.