The Nugget Newspaper - News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon

Coach Bob Macauley did double duty during the Homecoming game, escorting his daughter Misty.

The Sisters football team survived a scare in its homecoming contest against Molalla last Friday, October 11.

The Outlaws ultimately prevailed over the Indians by a 20-14 score to improve to 6-0 and remain undefeated for the season.

"We just didn't hit on all cylinders," said Coach Bob Macauley. "We weren't in sync."

The game started out well. The Outlaws controlled the first half. The defense shut down the Indians' attack and allowed only 51 yards in the first two quarters. On offense, Seth Teague took an option and rushed 18 yards midway through the first quarter for a 7-0 lead.

Then the offense sputtered and struggled.

"We dropped five passes, and three of those would have gone for scores, because they were behind the defenders. In addition, we had two touchdowns that were called back because of penalties," the coach said.

After a Sisters drive stalled at the Molalla 10-yard line, the defense once again held and forced a punt. Andy Macauley broke through the line and blocked the kick, and the Outlaws were in business with two minutes left in the half.

Chris Wimer scored on a three-yard run, and the Outlaws were up 13-0.

"Andy's block of that punt gave us a big lift going in at the half," said Macauley. "It was a huge play."

The third quarter was played between the 20-yard lines, with neither team scoring. Then came the pivotal fourth quarter, where things "got kind of nutty," according to Coach Macauley.

"We made it interesting for everybody," he said.

The Outlaws seemed to have things well in hand with five minutes to play when Molalla broke a couple of big plays to make a game of it at 13-7.

Sisters was quick to strike back. After recovering the on-side kick, Pat Burke hit Juwan Davis with a 53-yard touchdown pass to make it 20-7 with 2:57 to play.

The Indians then went 80 yards in less than a minute and scored a touchdown to draw within 20-14.

"We played a prevent defense, and they did a good job of going right at it," said Macauley. "I think 'prevent defense' means 'prevents you from winning.'"

With 2:10 left, things got even scarier for the Outlaws. Molalla tried another on-side kick, and successfully recovered this one. It looked as though Sisters' homecoming celebration was in jeopardy, but the defense stiffened and held the Indians on downs.

The offense took over and ran out the clock to end the game, and Macauley was able to finally breathe a sigh of relief.

"This was a 'get-by game,'" he acknowledged. "It was a game that you're just glad to get by. Molalla is a good team -- they were picked to go to state. Our first three league games of Stayton, Molalla, and Sweet Home are our toughest conference match-ups."

Sisters ended the game with 302 yards of total offense, compared to 272 for Molalla. Quarterback Pat Burke led the attack with 11 of 19 passing for 193 yards and one touchdown.

The Outlaws next have a date with Sweet Home on Friday, October 18.

"It will be a great high school football game. They have been our chief rivals for the past seven years, and this year, they are big, fast, and are scoring a lot of points," said Macauley.

"It should be the game of the year."