Outlaws clawed by the Cougars

The Outlaws lost 12-10 on the road to the Cascade Cougars on September 9.

Cascade got on the scoreboard first with a long drive, which at one point was kept alive on a fake punt play. The Cougars, who are 1-1, took the lead on a three-yard run by Mitchell Bell.

On the following possession, Sisters' Minam Cravens put Sisters on the board with a 38-yard field goal. The drive was highlighted by a 32-yard run off the left side on a well-blocked play by the Outlaws.

Cascade dominated possession of the ball much of the first half, due largely to their run-orientated offense. It was a quiet second quarter, and at the half the Cougars held a 6-0 lead.

Late in the third quarter, Bell stretched the Cougar lead to 10 points with a 40-yard pass to Michael Biddington on a crucial third-and-eight situation.

With 38 seconds left in the final quarter, Christopher Luz rushed one yard into the end zone, Cravens' kick was good, and Sisters pulled to within two points of Cascade. The Outlaws were unable to get the ball back on an onside kick attempt and the game ended in a 12-10 loss for Sisters.

The Outlaws threatened to score several times throughout the contest, but just could not finish their drives.

Coach Gary Thorson said, "Overall, the defense played well after settling in and adjusting to Cascade's ground-and-pound offense. Linebackers Ryan Cook and Jacob Gurney both stood out for the Outlaws, as did Tyler Head from his rover position. After a rough start, the defensive line did well and we saw good things from Brady Wessel, Joel Miller, Austin Lake, Jaden Condel and Zack Gulick."

On the offensive side, Jacob Gurney had a good performance from his left tackle position, and his counterpart on the right side, Jake Welch, showed good improvement as well. Jacob Stevens was the leading rusher, and Tanner Head was the leading passer.

Cravens was a big help to the Outlaws in his kicking debut on the gridiron, and Zach Morgan once again had a great night punting.

Thorson said, "It was a very frustrating night for us offensively, as we are not clicking like we are capable of. We played the defending state champs tough in their own house, but need to clean some things up in a hurry as we head into league play in a few weeks. Our program does not hang everything on wins and losses, but we have the talent and ability to not be pleased with just moral victories against good opponents. Everyone in the program has to raise their game a bit to get where I think we could be in October and November, when things really start to matter."

The Outlaws will play at Crook County on Friday, September 16.