Outlaws trample the Tigers

The Outlaws bounced back from their devastating loss last weekend to stomp the Junction City Tigers 52-42 on Friday, October 5.

Sisters scored on their first play of the game. Tristen Lewis handed the ball off to the left side to Ethan Luloff, who went 42 yards for the touchdown behind key blocks from Mitch Keranen, Kyle Wattenberg and Nate Kaping. Josh Andrade missed the PAT but Sisters took a quick 6-0 lead.

In less than one minute the Tigers answered with six points to tie it up at 6-6.

On Sisters' next possession, Jacob Heath, Riley Tapworth and Lane Adams opened a seam in the middle of the field and Luloff ran 65 yards for a TD. Unfortunately, the extra point was blocked.

Junction City (JC) ran back a kick-off to close out the first quarter and capture the lead with a score of 14-12.

Four minutes into the second quarter, the Tigers scored on a two-yard run, executed on a two-point conversion and extended their lead to 22-12.

Sisters stopped the Tigers at the Outlaws' 16-yard line later in the quarter and regained possession of the ball. On the first play of the drive that only took 36 seconds, Luloff took a handoff from Lewis and ran 84 yards down the sidelines and into the end zone for the TD. The extra point was blocked but the Outlaws regained the lead and entered the half 25-22.

The Outlaws tacked on another TD at the start of the third quarter. Lewis was under a lot of pressure from the Tigers and threw the ball to Nate Kaping in the end zone. Kaping leaped up into the air and was hit hard but managed to hold onto the ball and push Sisters to a 32-22 lead.

The Tigers responded with two consecutive touchdowns and a two-point conversion to snatch away the Outlaws lead and go up by four. At the close of the third quarter JC held a slim 36-32 lead.

Sisters would not be stopped, and battled hard in the fourth quarter. With approximately nine minutes left in the fourth, Lewis made a great read on the ball which resulted in another TD. Lewis faked a handoff to Kaping and then pitched it out to Luloff on the sideline. Cole Moore made a great block and Ethan ran 58 yards to score. Andrade's kick was good and Sisters regained the lead 39-36.

Junction City answered with a 30-yard TD run and went back on top 42-39.

Luloff scored his fifth TD of the night on the Outlaws' next possession. Moore faked a block, ran up the side and caught the ball in stride and continued 55 yards to get Sisters to their 10-yard line. Three plays later, Luloff scored on a three-yard run. The extra point failed but Sisters again took the lead, 45-42.

With four minutes left on the clock, the Outlaws kicked the ball off and headed downfield. Moore caught JC behind and knocked the ball loose. Scott Nelson was there, picked it up and went 22 yards for the TD. Andrade's kick was good and Sisters opened up their lead to 52-42, and held the Tigers off for the remainder of the game.

Luloff rushed for 355 yards and five touchdowns. The Outlaws' receivers, in particular Isaac Jackson and Cole Moore, made some great catches and adjusted quickly to the ball. Jackson had two catches for 69 yards and Moore had five catches for 99 yards.

Lewis was 10/16 for 178 yards, two touchdowns and one interception.

The Outlaws finished with 557 yards of total offense compared to JC with 350.

Sisters' defense did an outstanding job the entire night, and Mitch Saba led the team with 13 tackles.

"Our defense was great," said Coach Gary Hedin. "We had three defensive stops inside our 15-yard line, which is pretty impressive. It was great to see.

"This was a big win for us," added Hedin. "In our last two losses we were ahead at the half and then we lost the game in the second half. Tonight we kept battling back. It was a great learning experience for us. We got the kids to believe we can do it."

Sisters is 1-1 in league and 3-3 overall. The Outlaws will travel to Elmira on October 11.