Football season opens with a shutout

The Outlaws shut out the Hilanders 23-0 at Burns on Friday, September 2, in their season opener. It was a hot bus ride over to Burns, and 91 degrees at kickoff, but none of that derailed the Outlaws’ focus.

Sisters started their scoring in the second quarter. Easton Moore made a 10-yard touchdown run on a quarterback keep, set up by a seven-yard run by Tony Gonzalez and an eight-yard run by Adam Maddox-Castle. Brody Duey kicked it through the uprights for the point-after, and the Outlaws took a 7-0 lead that held until the buzzer sounded the end of the first half.

With three minutes left in the third quarter the Outlaws’ defense forced a fumble, which was recovered by Gonzalez. Maddox-Castle made a nice 13-yard catch to put Sisters within field goal range, and Duey was good on the three-yard field goal attempt. At the end of the third the Outlaws were on top 10-0.

Approximately four minutes into the final quarter Ben Cooper made a 43-yard reception, which was followed by a four-yard touchdown run by Justin DeSmet to put the Outlaws up 16-0. The Outlaws kicked off, and DeSmet recovered a live ball in Hilander territory. Gonzalez put the icing on the cake with a 30-yard run down the right sideline for the touchdown. Duey made the PAT and the game came to an end in a final score of 23-0.

Quarterback Moore went 7-15 passing, with 103 passing yards and one rushing touchdown.

Gonzalez carried the ball 17 times for 104 yards, with one rushing touchdown and one catch for four yards. Maddox-Castle also helped carry the load on offense with 11 carries for 53 yards, and three receptions for 21 yards.

Coach Clayton Hall said, “Adam has a great ability to get yards after contact, and he did a great job tonight.”

Justin DeSmet also pitched in on offense. He had six carries for 30 yards, one rushing touchdown, and one reception for 17 yards. Ben Cooper helped out with a timely 43-yard reception in the third quarter, which set up the DeSmet touchdown. Mason Sellers made two receptions for 18 yards.

Brody Duey did a fantastic job with extra points, a field goal, and punting for the Outlaws. Duey was two-for-three on PATs and one-for-one on field goals.

Hall said, “Brody did a great job pinning down the defense deep into their own territory on kickoffs and punts.”

Sisters finished the night with 293 yards of total offense: 190 yards rushing and 103 yards receiving.

The defense was exceptional, holding the Hilanders scoreless. They flew to the football and tackled well. Triston Madron came up with a big interception in the second quarter, and both Tony Gonzalez and Ben Cooper came up with fumbles.

Jessey Murillo and Mason Sellers led the Outlaws with five tackles each, followed by Maddox-Castle, Ben Cooper, and Dolan Pool, who each had four.

Hall noted he was impressed with Sellers’ run and pass defense in the flat, and stated he flew to the football and made great tackles.

Gonzalez and Murillo commented on the game.

Gonzalez said, “Our team played great! We were very positive even when someone made a mistake. We just said, ‘next play’ and kept it going.”

“We got off the bus fired up and ready to go,” said Murillo. “We started off a bit sloppy in the first half, but we took charge during the second half and showed them what we’re about. This team put in a lot of hard work this summer and this was a great win to start our season.”

Coach Clayton Hall said, “I felt that our boys played a complete game and it was a great team win. Our defense played extremely well. Coach DeSmet, our defensive coordinator, called a great game and had the Burns offense flustered all night. It’s always great to start the year with a shutout on the road.”

The Outlaws football team will travel to Madras on Friday, September 9.