Outlaws fall to the La Pine Hawks in first home game

The Outlaws football squad lost 26-14 to LaPine at home on Thursday, September 22. The game was moved from Friday to Thursday night due to a shortage of officials, but the change didn’t affect the Outlaws fan base or community support, and a large student section cheered on their team in their first home game of the season.

The Outlaws started off a bit slow and had some jitters that needed to be worked out at the start of the game, and as a result were down 0-14 at the close of the first period.

Sisters had two strong scoring drives in the second quarter, the first capped by a one-yard touchdown run by Tony Gonzalez. With six seconds left in the first half, quarterback Easton Moore threw a touchdown reception to Patrick Silva. The Hawks also scored six points in the quarter, and at the half Sisters trailed 14-20.

The Outlaws got the ball to start the second half, and put together a beautiful drive. Sisters marched all the way down the field to the six-yard line, and were ready to punch the ball into the end zone, but they fumbled the ball, and LaPine recovered.

Coach Clayton Hall said, “We really had LaPine on their heels and they were scrambling defensively. If we had scored, I believe the game would have had a different outcome.”

Despite the turnover, the Outlaws put their nose to the grindstone and continued to battle hard on both sides of the ball for the remainder of the contest, holding the Hawks to just six points in the second half.

Moore finished the night six-for-13 for 79 yards. Adam Maddox-Castle led the rushing effort with nine carries for 43 yards. Justin DeSmet had 11 carries for 39 yards and Gonzalez nine carries for 23 yards.

DeSmet, Maddox-Castle, Reese Larabee, Ben Cooper, and Silva all combined for a total of 79 yards receiving. Total offense for the night was 182 yards.

Jessey Murillo led the defense with 10 tackles, Maddox-Castle and DeSmet recorded five each, and Cooper, Gonzalez, and Mason Sellers added four tackles each. The defense also had four stops on LaPine’s two-point conversion attempts.

Hall said, “I think the biggest takeaways for this game is that we can compete with teams like LaPine, and we are so close to turning the corner in our program. It is fun watching our young men progress each week on the football field. I’m proud we never quit despite being down early in the game. That says a lot about their character and what we are trying to accomplish as a team.”

The Outlaws will play at home in a non-league game against 5A Thurston JV on Saturday, October 1. Kickoff is scheduled for 2 p.m.