Outlaws fall in football playoffs

Sisters made the long trek to Lincoln City on Friday, November 8, and took on the Taft Tigers. 

The Outlaws battled back from a big first half deficit to tie the game late in the fourth quarter, but were unable to keep the Tigers out of the endzone, and ultimately suffered a heart-wrenching 34-27 loss in the final minutes of the contest. 

The Outlaws had a difficult time at the start of the contest and were unable to stop the Taft passing attack, and quickly found themselves down 0-21 just two minutes into the second quarter.

Sisters players kept their composure despite adversity and mistakes. Late in the second quarter they got on the scoreboard. Spencer Davis started the drive with a 40-yard run, and Kolbi Cotner caught a 23-yard pass to put the Outlaws deep in Tiger territory. Ethan Eby had a short carry and then busted his way into the end zone on first and goal. The PAT (point after touchdown) failed, but the Outlaws were on the board 6-21.

On Taft’s next possession they were forced to punt. Sisters blocked the punt to set up a first-and-goal, but sadly were unable to convert on four plays, and turned the ball over on downs. Taft ran out the clock and at halftime the Outlaws trailed 6-21.

The tide turned for Sisters in the second half. The Outlaws drove down the field, and Eby capped the drive with a two-yard run to cut the lead to 12-21. The Tigers got a timely pick-six immediately after Sisters forced a Taft punt to put the score at 12-27 with just seconds left in the third period. 

The Outlaws didn’t waver, but held on and got the ball back, and scored twice in the final quarter.

The first touchdown (TD) came at the start of the quarter when Kayl Mock ran it in for the score. Eby scored on the two-point conversion and the Outlaws narrowed the gap to 20-27. Eby scored again when he ran it up the middle for a touchdown to knot it up 27-27 with just over three minutes left in the game. Sisters was able to move the ball with ease and put the Tigers on their heels.

Taft took the kickoff return to the Outlaws 43- yard line, and on the next play the quarterback got free down the sideline and ran it in for another TD. Sisters was down by seven, 27-34, which was the difference in the game.

It was a valiant comeback from Sisters, but costly mistakes, and the early lead, were too much to overcome.

Sisters finished the contest with 255 yards rushing, and 115 yards passing for 370 total yards of offense. Taft finished with 91 yards rushing, 123 yards passing for a total of 214 yards offense.

Quarterback Hunter Bronson went 7/13 for 115 yards and one interception.

On receiving, Dawson Roberson had two catches for 50 yards, Cotner one catch for 23 yards, Hudson Beckwith one catch for 39 yards, and Kale Gardner one catch for six yards.

In the rushing category, Mock had 23 carries for 134 yards and one TD, Davis nine carries for 66 yards, Beckwith seven carries for 27 yards, and Eby six carries for 28 yards and two touchdowns.

Coach Gary Thorson commented on the defense: “Gardner had a good game with several tackles and quarterback pressures, and all the seniors, Kolbi Cotner, Dawson Roberson, and Hudson Beckwith, did well in coverage.”

Thorson reflected that, “It was a very disappointing way to end a great season and we did not see it ending that way. Going into the game we had a great week of practice and seemed very dialed in and ready to go, but the first part of the game was a disaster. We had a tremendous amount of mistakes, particularly in the first half, and the amount of penalties added to that was too much to overcome. The players played very hard and did a great job battling back several times when it would have been very easy to quit — and I think a lot of teams would have. Overall, we kept battling hard to the end. I am very proud of them for that.”

Thorson added, “This team was carried all year by the leadership of the seniors who I cannot say enough good things about. Their attitude and effort in doing the right thing on and off the field was some of the best I have seen in all my years of coaching, and that is going to be tough to replace next year. Our entire staff is very grateful to have had the opportunity to coach that group as well as the entire team. This was a very fun and good year for the program, and while this last loss was a tough one to take it does not wipe away all that this team accomplished this fall.”