The Nugget Newspaper - News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon

The Sisters football team survived being down early in hostile territory and came back in impressive fashion to outscore Stayton 47-29 last Friday, October 4.

"It was a great high school game -- but the good guys won," Coach Bob Macauley said.

Stayton returned the opening kickoff 90 yards for a touchdown, and, just like that, the Outlaws were down 7-0.

"The game started off pretty bad. They were fired up and very emotional," said Macauley.

The Outlaws took over on their own 18-yard line and promptly drove 82 yards in seven plays. Seann Igoe caught a 52-yard touchdown pass from Pat Burke to knot the score at 7-7.

Stayton didn't slow down, and answered with an 80-yard drive of their own to go up by a score of 14-7.

The Outlaws had to punt on their second possession. The Eagles then marched 60 yards for a 21-7 first quarter lead.

"They had 120 yards of offense in the first quarter alone," said Coach Macauley. "They are a misdirection team with a lot of motion. They have a lot of team speed, and are very athletic. We don't face that kind of speed in practice, and it took awhile for our defense to catch up."

If the Outlaws were worried, they didn't show it. They came back with a 73-yard drive in eight plays. Pat Burke and Ian McAlister combined for a 24-yard scoring strike to draw within seven at 21-14.

The defense then stepped up and forced Stayton to punt, giving Sisters great field position. The offense took advantage, going 34 yards in five plays to tie it at 21-21. Seth Teague scored on a 10-yard run for the score.

The defense again held on fourth down at their own 33. With less than a minute to play, Burke went to the no-huddle offense and directed a textbook 67-yard drive. Seth Teague caught a 14-yard touchdown pass with five seconds left, and the Outlaws went to halftime with a 27-21 lead.

Taking the second half kickoff, the Outlaws marched briskly down the field, going 71 yards in nine plays. A 30-yard run by Teague and a 12-yard pass to Ian McAlister kept the drive alive. Burke scored on a one-yard quarterback sneak. The two-point conversion failed, making the score 33-21.

"That changed the momentum of the game," said the coach. "We scored touchdowns on five consecutive possessions -- three at the end of the first half, and the first two possessions of the second half. That, plus the defense started to really play well for us."

Stayton was forced to punt, and the offense took over in great shape at the 38. Three plays later, Teague rushed in from 1 yard out, making it 40-21.

Stayton tried to answer, but the drive stalled on fourth-down incomplete pass at the visitors' 25. Seth Teague capped the scoring for Sisters with a 55-yard touchdown run.

The Eagles scored their first TD since the first quarter and made the two-point conversion to account for the final 47-29 tally. The game ended with the Sisters JV driving for a score on Stayton's five yard line.

Coach Macauley had high praise for his offensive line.

"Josh Kelleher, Drew Herberger, Conner Burck, Nathan Teeney, and Matt Hodge opened things up for the offense," he said.

He also noted the defensive line of Matt Harp, Chris Boyle, and Ryan Harper.

"The line won it for us," he said.

The offense amassed 478 yards for the game compared to 261 yards for Stayton. Stayton's defense had surrendered only 50 points in four games this year.

Pat Burke was 15 for 21 passing for 275 yards and two touchdowns. Seth Teague caught six for 58 yards and one score. Ian McAlister had three catches for 47 yards and Seann Igoe caught two for 80 yards and six points. Seth Teague rushed 20 times for 148 yards and three TDs.

Nathan Powell led the defense with 11 tackles. Seth Teague and Andy Macauley each had nine stops.

"Chris Wimer did a great job of blocking on offense, and then had some key tackles. His hustle and leadership really got our guys focused," Macauley said.

"It was an important game for us. Stayton was the No. 11 team in the state. They have so much speed and athleticism, and for us to be down 21-7 on their field was a good test. We kept our composure and kept playing with confidence."

The Outlaws host Molalla on Thursday, October 10.