The Nugget Newspaper - News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon

The boys lacrosse team demolished Mt. View 18-5 on Wednesday, April 9, and three days later beat West Salem on the road in a final score of 11-6.

In Tuesday's action the Outlaws' impressive defense was key to their 18-5 victory over the Cougars.

Scott Nelson had an outstanding day, leading the Outlaws with five goals and five assists.

Nelson said, "We had a lot of good ball movement. Everybody made the right cuts and so we were able to get good shots and score goals."

Zach Valoppi scored three goals in the contest, and Jens Stadeli scored three goals and dished out four assists. Porter Ford's goal from defense was a highlight in the contest.

Valoppi said, "Mt. View has one very strong defender that could take the ball from us and run up the field, so we made quick passes and tried to get a shot off as quick as we could."

Outlaws defense was stellar, stopping seven minutes of man-down defense without a goal, twice with two men down.

The Outlaws had 68 groundballs compared to the Cougars' 36.

Sisters out-hustled the Cougars, which was a complete flip from their game against Sherwood the previous week.

"It was good to see us get back at it," said Coach Bill Rexford.

On Saturday, the Outlaws traveled to West Salem and recorded an 11-6 victory. The lacrosse program brought third- and fourth-grade boys all the way through varsity boys for games against the Titans.

West Salem boasts a very good team and last year when the teams, faced each other the Titans came out on top. The Outlaws were excited to have another shot at them.

"The boys got to see the fruits of their hard work," said Rexford.

Scott Nelson again led the offensive onslaught. Nelson is averaging five goals and five assists per game.

"That kid (Nelson) is crazy good right now," said Rexford. "He draws a crowd. The whole defense is on him and he scores when he can, and when he can't he distributes the ball to others who can."

Mark Fish scored a couple of goals for the Outlaws as a result of Nelson finding him through the crowd.

Porter Ford played lock-down defense on West Salem's best player and held him to just one goal.

Rexford commented that Josh Ward has been a wonderful addition to the team.

"Josh missed his junior year and is back," said Rexford. "He plays with such passion and enjoys every minute, and we enjoy every minute of it as well."

Rexford told The Nugget he has noticed a big difference in the Outlaws' play.

"The big difference in the boys at this point is that they are really trying to make plays instead of trying to avoid making mistakes," said Rexford. "I saw some of the best stick-handling I've seen in my 10 years of coaching here."

Nelson said, "We're a young squad, but we've come a long way and we're all playing well."

Sisters is ready for the upcoming week. The Outlaws will play at home against Harney on Thursday, April 17, and at home again on Saturday against Wilsonville, one of the top 10 teams in the state.