Football kicks off league with win over Sweet Home

The Outlaws opened league play with a 28-14 win on the road at Sweet Home on Friday, September 25.

Chance Halley had 22 carries for 164 yards and three touchdowns to lead Sisters to the Sky-Em win. Halley scored two of the touchdowns in the second quarter to give Sisters a 14-0 halftime lead.

The first TD came after a long drive, and the second was set up by his interception at the 8:17 mark in the second quarter, where Chance ran all the way down to the three-yard line. Two plays later, he scored on a toss-play around the right side.

Halley's third score was a nicely blocked sweep play around the left side in the fourth period.

"Chance had a stellar game for us," said Coach Gary Thorson. "We slid him into the spot normally played by Logan Schutte, who sat out the game with an injury. In addition to his running, he also blocked very well, and did not get much rest all night."

Several other Outlaws made contributions in the game. Mitch Gibney had 16 rushes for 87 yards, and quarterback Tanner Head went four-for-seven for 80 yards, including a 67-yard touchdown pass to Tyler Head on a play-action pass on a key third down in the fourth quarter.

Hayes Moore had a standout game on defense. Moore tallied nine tackles and two assists, and also had a big onside kick recovery in the fourth quarter, which helped seal the win. Tyler Head recorded five tackles, and also knocked away several pass attempts by the Huskies.

Thorson said, "Without question, our defense was the key to the game, and kept us in the game early on, when the offense was struggling. We have a rotation of linebackers who are playing very well for us; Hayes Moore, Jacob and Jonathan Gurney, Ryan Cook, and Jaden Condel."

Special teams were also solid for the Outlaws. Ben Saba filled in as place-kicker, and went four-for-four on his PATs.

The Huskies did give the Outlaws some trouble at the start. They changed up some things defensively, and the Outlaws were slow in making adjustments, which hurt them offensively.

The Outlaws also accrued 115 yards on 10 penalties. The penalties hurt at crucial points in the game, both offensively in the form of stalling their drives, and defensively, extending the Huskies.

Thorson told The Nugget that penalties hadn't been a problem for the Outlaws in their first few games, but against the Huskies they just flat-out made some poor decisions on the field, and also might have been guilty of trying too hard to do

too much.

"Overall, I think we are getting a great effort from our players, but we have to clean some things up in order to get where we want to be," said Thorson.

The Outlaws are now 1-0 in Sky-Em play and 4-0 overall. Sisters will play on the road against Sutherlin on Friday, October 2. The varsity and JV will play in a double-header, with the JV game at 4 p.m. and the varsity kickoff set for 7 p.m.