Luz leads win over Cowboys

Christopher "Pherry" Luz was the star of the first half in the Outlaws' 24-14 win at home over the Crook County Cowboys on Friday, September 15.

Luz scored on a 30-yard pick-six to get the Outlaws on the scoreboard with just over two minutes left in the first quarter, and midway through the second, scored again on a 64-yard fly sweep pass to put the Outlaws on top 14-0.

The Outlaws scored twice more in the second quarter to go up 24-0 at the half. Pherry threw the ball to Turner Stutzman on a fly sweep pass for a 57-yard TD with 3:48 left in the quarter, and Luz wrapped up the first-half scoring at the buzzer, when he scored on a 73-yard fly-sweep pass.

Sisters missed two PATs and failed on two two-point conversion attempts.

The Cowboys scored twice in the second half, a one-yard TD run by Knutzon in the third, and another by Knutzon with 1:50 left in the game. Time ran out and the Outlaws recorded the win.

Sisters brought up sophomore Taylor Fendall to play quarterback, and he did a great job in his varsity debut against the Cowboys.

Outlaws starting quarterback, Zach Morgan, separated his shoulder early in the first quarter of last week's game against Cascade and will be out for six to eight weeks. Luz had been stepping in to fill the position, but Coach Neil Fendall told The Nugget that Pherry was getting too beat up at quarterback, and the team needed him at receiver.

Coach Fendall said, "Taylor didn't throw a lot in his first varsity game, but we thought he managed the game well, and he showed a good knowledge of our calls and formation."

Fendall was pleased with the team's overall play, but did note areas where the squad needs work.

"Overall, we played better in a lot of areas than a week ago, and our overall performance has improved," said Fendall. "But we had 10 penalties in the second half, which slowed us down. We need to get that cleaned up for sure, and our defense in the secondary still needs improvements."

The Outlaws kick off league play at Sweet Home on Friday, September 22, at 7 p.m.