Ground game dominates in Outlaws football win

The Outlaws dominated play in their 50-20 win over Pleasant Hill on senior night at home on Friday, October 18.

Sisters forced PH to punt on their opening possession. Sisters took over and went on a long 10 play drive. Kale Mock had three nice runs in the drive and Kolbi Cotner a catch that took them to the 28 yard line. Hudson Beckwith followed with a 20 yard run to the six and Spencer Davis capped the drive with an eight yard run around the right side for the score. Reid Woodson kicked the PAT (point after touchdown), Sisters went up 7-0, and that score held until the close of the quarter. 

The Outlaws scored 30 seconds into the second quarter on a 10 yard run from Davis, this time on a well-blocked sweep play around the left side. Woodson’s kicked failed to make it a 13-0 contest.

PH answered with a long drive of their own with 6:00 on the clock, aided by three defensive penalties on the Outlaws. Their kick was good and they narrowed the gap to 13-7.

Sisters came right back and scored on an eight play drive that was capped by a Mock six yard run off the left tackle. Ethan Eby ran it in for the two-point conversion and Sisters went up 21-7.

The Billies scored with 26 seconds left after a long drive that included a big first down off a busted play. The PAT failed and at the half the Outlaws held a 21-13 lead.

Sisters scored on the opening drive of the third quarter with a short two-play drive that was sparked by a long 56 yard run by Davis. On the following play, Eby scored off tackle from six yards out, and then ran it in for the two-point conversion to make it a 29-14 contest.

PH answered with a TD on their next possession, converted on the PAT, to close the gap to nine, 29-20, with 7:41 left in the period.

The Outlaws got good field position on the ensuing kickoff, and put together another long scoring drive that featured some hard physical runs from Eby, and was capped off by a 21 yard TD pass from Hunter Bronson to Woodson. Eby scored on the two-point conversion and the Outlaws pushed to a 37-20 advantage. That scored held to close out the quarter.

At the start of the final quarter, Cotner scored on a two-yard run off the left side. Gardner scored the two-point conversion and Sisters took a commanding 45-20 lead.

Dawson Roberson intercepted the ball on the Billie’s next possession and once again Sisters took control. Cotner scored again, this time on a nice 33 yard run. Woodson hit the PAT and

Sisters went up 52-20.

The Outlaws final score came off a long electrifying 84 yard run by Hudson Beckwith. Time expired and Sisters posted the 58-20 win.

Cotner led the defense with seven tackles. Dawson Roberson added four tackles and an assist and also had an interception. Kale Gardner and Sean Moffat also contributed four tackles each. Sophomore transfer Atom Fetteroff had an interception and a long run back to end the game. Jozua Miller played well on the defensive line and defensive backs Roberson, Beckwith, and Landon Scott all played well.

Sisters held PH to 102 yards rushing and gave up 179 yards passing.

The Outlaws had a huge night on the ground, rushing for 500 yards on 40 carries. Bronson was five-for-seven for 64 yards and a TD, and Scott had two catches for 28 yards.

Leading rushers were Davis who was 10 for 128 yards, Mock 11 for 135 yards, Beckwith five for 123 yards, and Cotner and Eby each added 59 and 62 yards respectively.

Coach Gary Thorson told The Nugget that the Outlaws had great blocking from Scott at wide receiver and the offensive line had their best game of the season led by Miller and Garrett Sager.

Trent Gordon did a great job kicking for the Outlaws in place of Woodson, who is still battling a leg injury, although Woodson was able to kick the PAT’s. Gordon also blocked a kick to keep the Billies off the scoreboard in the first half.

Thorson said, “It was a nice win for the program on senior night. We have had some outstanding leadership from this group of seniors going all the way to last spring, and it was great to see them get some success on what could have been their last night at Reed Stadium. Some of them have played on that field since grade school, and there were some strong emotions in the locker room prior to the game.”

Of the Outlaws offensive and defensive performances Thorson said, “Defensively we had some breakdowns in coverage that hurt us, but we were good against the run. Offensively, this was our most productive game and we took advantage of what they were giving us and from an execution standpoint we took a nice step on that side of the ball.”

Thorson added, “We still have a long list of things that we can get better at and will continue to work hard in practice these final two weeks. Our kids are playing very hard and often with that come more penalties, but we need to be more disciplined in that area. Madras has the potential to give us some problems in terms of matchups, so we will have our work cut out for us this week and are on the road for the final two games.”

Sisters will travel to Madras on Friday, October 25.