Outlaws football falls to Elmira

The Outlaws lost 26-6 at Elmira on Friday, October 24. Sisters was roughed up in the contest and had a hard time controlling the line of scrimmage.

Sisters started off well and blocked Elmira's field goal attempt on their opening drive. The Outlaws took possession and drove all the way to the 20-yard line before they were stopped.

"That's kind of been the story of the season," said Coach Dusty Macauley. "We've been able to put good, long drives together against everybody we've played with the exception of Henley and Marist. We drive clear down to the 30- or the 20-yard line and then it seems we're stopped on the first down and we usually end up in a third and long situation and that's proved tough for us. We really struggle to execute when we get in that kind of situation."

Sisters and Elmira traded possessions for the remainder of the quarter and for the most part it was pretty even play. The quarter ended in a 0-0 tie.

The Falcons put a drive together and scored early in the second quarter. Sisters blocked the PAT but Elmira went up 6-0.

Sisters was forced to punt on their next possession. The snap went over the punter's head and the Falcons recovered the ball at the 40-yard line. Elmira went on to score the touchdown but were stopped in their two-point conversion attempt. With 6:30 left in the half the Falcons took a 12-0 lead.

Sisters made a nice drive to midfield on their next possession. At that point Kleint went to throw a slant and an Elmira defensive linemen jumped and caught the ball for an interception.

"I'm not sure how he caught the ball," said Macauley. "Chase (Kleint) threw it hard and the linemen was at least four feet away but somehow he caught it."

With two minutes left in the half, the Falcons threw a bomb over the corner's head to score. Elmira went for two and got it to make it 20-0 with 1:30 left on the clock.

The Outlaws got the ball back and Jeremy Bristow had a nice return to the 50-yard line. Sisters got down to the 20-yard line with 18 seconds left in the half. Kleint threw a nice slant route to Jordan Kolb, who broke two tackles and dove into the end zone to make it 20-6 at the half.

Sisters shut the Falcons down in the third quarter and held them to three and out to start the quarter.

"The defense played great," said Macauley. "They tackled well and Lucas (Reitman) and Andrew (Goodwin) played really great for us on defense."

The Outlaws had two opportunities to score but just couldn't capitalize.

By the start of the fourth quarter, Sisters' defense was worn out and the Outlaws had trouble containing the Falcons.

Macauley said, "Elmira's only score in the fourth came off a trick play on a halfback pass."

With that final touchdown Elmira pushed to a 26-6 lead to seal the win.

"It was a tough loss," said Macauley. "We had three or four opportunities in the second half inside the 20-yard line and just couldn't finish the job."

Levi Rowe was the Outlaws' go-to receiver with six receptions for 59 yards. Kleint threw 9/14 for 88 yards and rushed 13 times for 80 yards.

Kolb had one catch for 20 yards for his first touchdown of the season.

"Jordan played great," said Macauley. "He gave us a lift and a chance to get back in the game. I'm really happy and proud for him."

Macauley told The Nugget it was a tough night for the line.

"We had several missed blocks. Teams love to blitz us and we can't handle it and get stopped. But I've got to give Elmira credit. They're a big, physical team and they executed their game plan really well."

The Outlaws will wrap up league play at home against Cottage Grove on Friday, October 31.