Outlaws fall in heartbreaking loss to Huskies

Sisters suffered a heart-breaking 20-13 loss to Sweet Home (SH) for Homecoming on Friday, October 24. The league championship was on the line for both teams, and the game came down to the final five minutes of play.

Sisters kicked off to start the contest and held off Sweet Home on fourth-and-two. The Huskies faked a punt, and tried to run around the left side and were stopped by an aggressive Outlaws defense.

Coach Gary Thorson commented on the Outlaws' first possession.

"We moved the ball extremely well that drive, mixing the run up to several running backs, and quarterback Tanner Head had a nice run around the outside for 10 yards to get us down inside the 10-yard line."

Mitch Gibney capped the drive with a two-yard run for the TD, and Josh Andrade added the PAT to give Sisters a 7-0 lead.

Sweet Home answered back on the next possession. After a missed tackle, Ryan Adams ran it up the middle 45 yards for the score. Hunter Jutte kicked the PAT to tie the game at 7-7.

The Huskies missed a field-goal attempt with 53 seconds left in the second quarter and at the half the score remained a tie at 7-7.

Sisters moved the ball very well at times in the second quarter and the Outlaws' offensive line controlled the line of scrimmage. However, the Outlaws were plagued by penalties, which halted several drives.

The third quarter was a defensive struggle, and neither team was able to do much on offense. At the close of the quarter the score was still even.

Sisters marched down the field early in the fourth quarter, to the Huskies' 35-yard line, but were stopped short on fourth down.

Sweet Home took over, drove down the field and Brandon Keenan ran it in for the touchdown. Jutte added the PAT to put the Huskies on top 14-7 with 3:21 left on the clock.

The Outlaws took over possession, and on their third play of the drive, Logan Schutte broke loose around the right side and scored Sisters' second TD of the night on a 57-yard scamper. Sisters had opportunity to tie the game but missed the PAT.

Sisters went for an onside-kick and after a mad scramble in which the Outlaws had several attempts at the ball, it finally went out of bounds, which gave the Huskies possession at midfield.

Several plays later, Sweet Home's Keenan broke loose for another long 45-yard run for a TD which gave the Huskies a 20-13 lead.

The Outlaws had a chance again and moved the ball past the midfield on their final possession of the night, but fumbled and SH ran down the clock.

Gibney tallied 91 yards on 19 carries and Schutte recorded 84 yards on 19 carries.

Chance Halley and freshman Brady Wessel led the Outlaws with six tackles each. Devin Slaughter played well at defensive-end and had a sack, which helped the defense put pressure on the Sweet Home quarterback.

Thorson said, "With the exception of Sweet Home's first TD early in the game the defense held them in check for most of the night until later in the fourth quarter.

"This was a heartbreaking loss as we were just a few plays away from a league championship," said Thorson. "The program came so far so fast, but just fell short in a very big game and that hurts. Once again, I cannot say enough about the effort of the team and their will to battle and play hard.

"Our leadership has slowly improved throughout the season, and when you have a young team like we do that is crucial."

Sisters still has a shot at getting into the playoffs if they can secure a win at Henley on Friday, October 31, in a play-in game.