JV football team closes out season

The Outlaws' Junior Varsity football team improved tremendously this year. Last year, the Outlaws only had one win to their credit; this year the squad finished with six wins and three losses.

"I've got to give the kids a lot of credit," said Coach Gary Pepperling. "They practiced in the off-season, went to camp and did all the things they needed to do to get better. The thing that struck me the most about this group of guys was how well they played together as a team. They encouraged each other and did it all year long."

The heart of the team was the offensive line whose great blocking allowed running back Nick Head to have some pretty big games.

Making up the offensive line was Justin Oliver, Kevin Wistrom, Thomas Arends, Andrew Goodwin, Jordan Tandy, Tyler Miller and Andrew Enger.

Coach Gary Pepperling made note of several of his players.

"Nick Head showed huge improvement, especially in his toughness. He took some big hits and popped right back up. Quarterback Aaron Fagenbush did a good job of getting the ball where it needed to be and running the offense in general," said Pepperling.

Dylan McKenzie, Jordan Kolb and Cam Akaka were the receivers on the team.

"They did a great job of picking up the ball and getting the first downs when we needed it," said Pepperling.

The defense, made up of Lucas Reitman, Thomas Bennett, Sam Simone, John Connelly and Spencer Gardner improved their game all year long.

Pepperling said, "These guys got better at stopping the run which really played a huge part in our success."

Pepperling told The Nugget that the JV had its best game against Cottage Grove. The score went back and forth the entire game, and with less than a minute left in the game the Outlaws tied it up. Cottage Grove had to punt, and when they snapped the ball it went over the punter's head. Sisters recovered the ball on the 30-yard line with 49 seconds left on the clock. The Outlaws scored with seven seconds left to win the game.

"It was nice to see the boys keep it going and believing in themselves the whole game and then pulling off the win at the end of the game," said Pepperling.

The JV team got at least one quarter of playing time in each game at the varsity level all year long, which is very unusual.

"The kids got a lot of experience playing in the varsity games," said Pepperling. "That will make it a much easier transition for them next year. I honestly think these guys will play a huge role at the varsity level, especially the offensive line. These guys are already head and shoulders above other JV teams. Our sophomores run against our varsity starting defense and are able to move the ball, and most JV teams would not be able to do that."