Outlaws football edges White Buffs for a win

The Outlaws football team came out on top in a 13-12 decision at Madras on Friday, September 12, to record their first victory of the season.

Sisters turned the ball over early in the first quarter, and the White Buffs drove from deep in Outlaws' territory to score and take a 6-0 lead.

Mitch Gibney scored on a five-yard run in the second quarter, and Josh Andrade added the PAT to give Sisters a 7-6 lead to close out the first half.

The Outlaws got a break late in the first half, when Josh Andrade picked off a pass to keep Madras out of the endzone. Sisters' Tanner Head, who started at quarterback, notched his first touchdown (TD) pass in a varsity contest, when he hit Isaac MacKenzie for a 37-yard TD pass. At the close of the third quarter Sisters held a 13-6 advantage.

Madras scored their final TD in the fourth quarter but failed on the PAT.

Logan Schutte had a great game at running back, and rushed for 149 yards on 19 carries. Gibney added 63 yards on 12 carries.

Coach Gary Thorson said, "The offense is slowly improving each week, as they become more and more familiar with the offense."

The defense played as a cohesive unit. Thorson stated that the team improved greatly, especially the defensive-line play, which was led by Gibney, Devin Slaughter, Riley Papworth, and Rory Petterson.

Jacob Gurney led the team with four solo tackles and three assists. Shutte and Slaughter also had four tackles each.

Tristan Lewis stood up in a big way for the Outlaws. Lewis stepped into the role as starting inside-linebacker, and played defense for the first time.

"The defense had two huge stops for point after touchdowns (PAT) after both the scores, and that ended up being the difference in the game," said Thorson.

The Outlaws had two goals for the game: improve in the areas of alignment and assignments, and to have fun. Thorson told The Nugget they accomplished both.

Sisters will play at home against Crook County on Friday, September 19.