Outlaws fall in first round of football playoffs

Sisters suffered a devastating 21-14 loss at home to the North Marion Huskies on Friday, November 6, in the first round of the state playoffs. A combination of injuries, penalties, and missed assignments on offense proved to be more than the Outlaws could handle.

The Outlaws squad has stayed fairly healthy all season long, but the injury bug hit and hurt them badly in the game against the visiting Huskies, and was a major factor in the loss.

Coach Gary Thorson told The Nugget that the day before the game he got word that their starting quarterback, Tanner Head, was diagnosed with a blood clot in his shoulder, and received the bad news he was done for the season.

The Outlaws suffered another significant loss in the first quarter when Logan Schutte went down with a shoulder separation.

Lightning struck a third time at the close of the third quarter, when quarterback Zach Morgan went down with an ankle sprain, and forced the Outlaws into a tough situation.

Sisters had to put in a quarterback who had not taken snaps in a very long time.

At that point, the Outlaws offense started to bog down, and they were shut out for the remainder of the game.

North Marion scored the first touchdown of the night with approximately three minutes left in the first quarter and took a 7-0 lead.

Sisters dominated play in the second quarter, had their run-game clicking, and picked up two touchdowns. The Outlaws marched down the field at the start of the period, and after a four-minute drive scored to tie it up 7-7. Mitch Gibney and Chance Halley both were instrumental in the drive, which was capped off with a Gibney four-yard run for the TD. Jadon Bachtold kicked it straight through the center of the uprights for the PAT.

The second TD of the quarter was set up after a bad snap by North Marion on a punt. A key play was a 25-yard pass from Zach Morgan to Ben Saba, who made a great catch at the one-yard line. Gibney ran it into the end zone for his second score of the night. Bachtold hit the PAT and the Outlaws took a 14-7 lead.

Sisters threatened to score, and made a good drive with a few minutes left in the half, but missed a field goal, and entered the half with a 14-7 advantage.

With four minutes left in the third quarter, the Huskies scored to tie it up 14-14. With the game deadlocked, Halley broke away on a spectacular run for 75 yards for a touchdown off a toss, but unfortunately it was called back on a costly holding penalty that helped stop the drive. The Outlaws gave up a long 75-yard punt return that gave the Huskies the lead in the game, and proved to be a back-breaker for the Outlaws.

North Marion held on to the 21-14 lead and time ran out on the clock.

Mitch Gibney had a big night, and rushed for 155 yards on 21 carries, and scored Sisters' two touchdowns. Chance Halley added 52 yards on 11 carries.

Sisters' passing game was poor, as they were only able to muster 39 yards in the air.

The Outlaws' defense played well most of the night. Halley was the leading tackler with seven tackles. Johnny Gurney and Tyler Head added four tackles each. Gibney and Austin Cantwell each contributed a big sack as well.

Coach Gary Thorson said, "It was a very disappointing ending to a good year for us. I am very proud of the effort our guys gave every Friday night, and this was no exception. Our coaches and I wanted more for this team, for the hard work and dedication they showed the program. As disappointing as this loss was, when we look back at how far we have come in just a very short amount of time, we have a lot to be thankful for.

"The senior class was a big reason for the turn-around for this program from where it was a few years ago, and their effort on the field and in the weight room, and off-season work, has set the bar very high for the classes coming up below them. I will miss this group of seniors, and am very grateful to have had the opportunity to work with these young men."