Outlaws win thriller against Stayton

The Outlaws defeated the Stayton Eagles 32-27 at home in Sisters in front of more than 1,400 enthusiastic and energetic fans on Friday, October 21. It was the biggest crowd the Outlaws have had all year, with bleachers filled to maximum capacity and hundreds more standing along the perimeter of the track.

All eyes were on the 3A contest between the No. 5-ranked Outlaws and No. 8-ranked Eagles. The match-up was the biggest 3A game being played in the state that night and fans knew the winner would have the inside track to the Capital Conference Championship.

Jakob Klient got the Outlaws their first possession when he recovered a fumble early in the first quarter. Sisters went on a 13-play drive for 55 yards. The drive stalled on the half-yard line with an incomplete pass and Stayton took over.

The Eagles gained momentum and went 99 yards down the field and scored with only one minute left in the first quarter.

Jeff Fitter made a 29-yard kickoff return and Sisters went 61 yards in 12 plays to even the score at 7-7. Andy Burke completed a pass to Nate Jackson on fourth and five for the first down. Burke ran in from the five-yard line to score and Matt Ruettgers’ kick for the extra point tied the game.

Sisters’ defense contained Stayton the remainder of the half. Blake Poynor recovered a fumble on the 47-yard line to give the Outlaws their next possession with good field position. Eight plays later the Outlaws scored again when Burke followed fullback Jeff Sampson into the end zone on an 18-yard run.

Jeff Fitter had a 15-yard reception on the previous play on third-and-15 to keep the drive alive. Ruettgers’ kick was good and gave the Outlaws a 14-7 lead.

With less than two minutes in the half Burke threw a 35-yard TD strike to Fitter to push the Outlaws to a 20-7 advantage. What appeared to be an attempt at a two-point conversion was in actuality a broken play on the extra point attempt.

“Our center stubbed the ball on the ground,” said Coach Bob Macauley, “and instead of a clean snap the ball bounced three times and Ruettgers had to fall on the ball for a loss.”

Stayton opened the third quarter with a touchdown. In three minutes the Eagles marched 87 yards in 10 plays and narrowed the Outlaw lead to 20-14.

Sisters took possession of the ball on their own 32-yard line and began what proved to be their only possession in the third quarter. The Outlaws went 68 yards in 10 plays. Key plays in the drive were a 20-yard run by Cory McCaffrey and a 22-yard reception from Burke to Fitter. Burke dove over from the two-yard line for the TD to extend the Outlaw lead 26-14.

Stayton got the ball back and controlled possession the remainder of the quarter and into the final quarter. One minute into the fourth quarter the Eagles scored to close the gap to 26-21. The Outlaws proceeded to go three-and-out and were forced to punt. Stayton took advantage of the good field position and with 4:49 left in the fourth scored to go ahead 27-26.

Fitter set the Outlaws up with a kickoff return on the 27 and Burke and the Outlaws offense went to work. There were three big plays in the drive: McCaffrey’s screen for 25 yards; Fitter’s 17-yard reception on third and nine with less than two minutes left in the game; then Burke broke a tackle and completed a 13-yard pass to Jeff Sampson who dove in over a couple of Stayton defenders to score the go-ahead TD.

The Outlaws pulled to a 32-27 lead.

The Outlaws defense came on the field with 1:54 left in the game. Sampson intercepted the ball on a Stayton drive to seal the win for Sisters.

Andy Burke had his best game of the season rushing 10 times for 52 yards and three touchdowns. Burke also threw for two additional touchdown passes and completed six of seven passes in the fourth quarter alone.

Fitter caught six passes for 62 yards including a touchdown and recorded nine tackles in an outstanding defensive performance.

Macauley singled out his offensive line of Trever Summers, Nick Pepperling, Blake Poynor, Sam Pyke, Ryan Schneringer and Jakob Klient.

“Those guys contributed consistently tough play that opened holes for all our running backs and our quarterback,” said Macauley.

McCaffrey had 104 total yards of offense on 20 touches.

The defense was led by Sam Pyke and Grant Dahl who recorded 13 and 10 tackles, respectively. Linebackers Sampson and Taylor Davenport each added nine tackles. Brian Knotts had eight tackles including an important third quarter quarterback sack.

Coach Macauley said, “Stayton returned 18 starters and I was impressed with our team’s composure against a very veteran team.

“Our fans were just awesome!” Macauley added. “They forced Stayton to call two timeouts because the players couldn’t hear the plays at the line of scrimmage. The fans energized the players and tonight they were the 12th man on the field. They were instrumental in the energy on the field. I think the leadership of Andy (Burke) on offense and the incredible homecoming crowd were two key factors in winning the game.”