Outlaws lose season opener

The Outlaws defense couldn't stop the Indians.

The Sisters Outlaws started their 2001 football season with a disappointing 47-28 loss to The Dalles Indians on Friday, September 7.

While they fought to keep the Indians at bay, the Outlaws were buried under an onslaught of yellow flags from the referees. Sisters was penalized 10 times for a total of 95 yards.

Sisters and The Dalles changed possessions quickly in the beginning of the game on a pair of interceptions. Ryan Harper intercepted the Indians' first play from scrimmage, but the Indians jumped right back and picked off Pat Bruce for the first time of the night.

The Indians' interception led to their first score. Indians running back Brian King cut through Sisters' defense for a 21-yard touchdown run.

The Dalles' lead didn't last long. Mike Greene and the Outlaws' special teams put Sisters back in the game as Greene returned the kickoff 85 yards for Sisters' first score of the season.

Greene scored again, scampering in to the endzone for a 10-yard touchdown run with less than a minute left in the half.

But the game started downhill after the intermission.

The Outlaws regained possession on the kickoff after halftime. Poised to break the game open, Greene tried to dart a pass downfield to Ian McAllister. Greene's toss sailed high and landed in the hands of an Indians defender. The momentum changed immediately.

The Dalles' ensuing possession resulted in another Indians touchdown with quarterback James King rambling for a 20-yard scoring run.

Sisters did not lose hope, fighting back into the red zone. After hauling in a Greene pass, Seth Teague scrambled into the end zone for a Sisters touchdown.

The play was tarnished by a yellow penalty flag.

Sisters attempted again. The Outlaws ran the same play and finished with the same result, a Seth Teague touchdown.

The score was called back after another penalty flag forced the Outlaws out of the end zone.

Sisters' momentum was shot.

The Outlaws posted two more touchdowns by Ryan Harper and Ian McAllister, but Sisters was unable to hold of the Indians as they were outscored 34-14 in the second half.

Coach Bob Macauley spotted flaws in the Outlaws' run defense.

"Our safety and defensive end support was not very good," Macauley said. "These are fixable mistakes, we (coaches) need to do a better job of coaching these problems."

Macauley plans on operating drills emphasizing better run support throughout the week leading up to the Outlaws' showdown against the Madras White Buffaloes on Friday, September 14.

Tackling 101 will also be on the agenda.

The Dalles' running backs took advantage of their size difference and broke away for long runs after they had initial contact with an Outlaws defender.

For example, Indians' quarterback King broke several tackles and scampered 67 yards for the final score of the night.

The Outlaws did have some success grappling with their opponent. Andy Macauley led Outlaw tacklers with 14 tackles. Pat Bruce had 12 tackles and Mike Greene managed to tackle eight Indians.

The Outlaws coaching staff want to see Sisters' defense harass the opposing quarterback more and force him to make pressured decisions.

"Their quarterback had too much time to scramble and make plays happen," said Macauley.

On the other side of the ball, the Outlaws picked apart the Indians defense. But the Outlaws' own miscues punished them. After sacks, fumbles and penalties were deducted from the Outlaws rushing total, a measly 20 yards remained.

Sisters gained the majority of its yards through an air attack. Pat Bruce completed 15 of 33 passes for 247 yards and one touchdown, yet was intercepted three times. Greene completed four of seven passes for 82 yards and he also threw one interception.

Greene, Sisters' deadliest downfield threat, caught eight passes tallying 152 yards. Ian McAllister hauled in four passes for 81 yards and a touchdown. Seth Teague caught five passes for 101 yards.