News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
Three Sisters Outlaws earned honors last week for an outstanding football season, which ended with a run at the state 4A title.
Coach Bob Macauley won Coach of the Year standing for the state of Oregon. Record-breaking running back Cory McCaffrey was named Offensive Player of the Year, and linebacker Dominic Nieri earned Defensive Player of the Year accolades.
"I think it's just tremendous," said Macauley of his players' achievements. "One because it happened to two great athletes who work really hard in the off-season, but (also because) these are great team players. Really, the team success drives individual honors."
Nieri confirmed that point of view.
"If it wasn't for the rest of the team - the D-line doing their job - I wouldn't have been able to make so many tackles," he said.
Macauley was quick to credit his team with his personal success.
"Again, it's a product of great players," he said. "And you look at our coaching staff - a lot of colleges have staffs like that. It's really kind of a staff award, I guess."
McCaffrey, who was earlier named Gatorade Player of the Year for the state of Oregon, racked up a huge career total of 8,460 yards rushing. He put 46 touchdowns on the scoreboard for the Outlaws this year.
Both Nieri and McCaffrey are successful in the classroom as well as on the gridiron, maintaining 3.8 and 3.7 grade point averages respectively. They are both highly regarded leaders, noted for their character.
"I just like it when the good guys win," said Macauley of their achievements.
Nieri said he will always carry the lessons of "the Outlaw way of life" with him - the principles of teamwork, leadership and grace under pressure he learned on the field. And he'll remember his teammates as friends.
"I always enjoyed going to practice because we had such a good time together," he said.
Many of those teammates also received all-state recognition. Taylor Davenport earned second-team status. First-team honors went to: Jared Hasskamp; Cory McCaffrey; Dominic Nieri; Evan Eady; Tyson Edmunson; Chad Kernutt; Nate Jackson; and Carroll Gryder.
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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