News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
While the Outlaws football team rumbles toward another run at a state title, Sisters' sixth and seventh graders have quietly put together an undefeated record.
The young players went 5-0 this season against middle school teams from throughout Central Oregon, even downing a tough Trinity Lutheran squad 22-18. Trinity Lutheran, a small school that fields its eighth graders, had gone undefeated the past two years.
While winning is sweet, coach Steve Barrett noted, the main mission for the young players is to learn the game.
"They just learn the fundamentals of football," Barrett said. "For the sixth graders, it's the first time they've put on pads."
True to that spirit, each player plays in each game.
Barrett noted that part of the team's success can be credited to the work of assistant coach Dave Chatelain, who brings to the field 18 years of experience coaching at the varsity high school level. Barrett said Chatelain helped ground the players in the hundreds of small details of play that make for success on the gridiron.
This year, that's a lot of kids. According to Barrett, 44 students came out for the team and 36 were on the roster at the end of the season. Barrett attributes the high turnout to interest generated by the success of the Sisters High School program.
"I think it's the success they're having at the high school level," Barrett said. "The kids want to be part of that."
The quality of play bodes well for the future of Outlaws' football.
"It's not often you go undefeated at any level," Barrett noted. "We had a strong sixth grade class to back the seventh graders up. The seventh graders, besides being good athletes are good citizens, they're good kids."
Jim Cornelius is editor in chief of The Nugget and author of “Warriors of the Wildlands: True Tales of the Frontier Partisans.” A history buff, he explores frontier history across three centuries and several continents on his podcast, The Frontier Partisans. For more information visit www.frontierpartisans.com.
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