The Nugget Newspaper - News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon

Seth Teague runs past Cascade defenders. Photo by Steve Post

Playing almost flawlessly on their home field on Friday, November 1, the Outlaws wrapped up the regular season with a 49-7 rout of Cascade.

The game put an exclamation point on the regular football season and provided momentum going into the post season.

"It was our best defensive game of the year," said Coach Bob Macauley. "We played with great enthusiasm. Our defense was aggressive and disciplined."

The team made generous use of the big play.

On offense, the Outlaws wasted no time showcasing an explosive attack.

Seth Teague took the opening kickoff and lateraled the ball to Seann Igoe, who motored to the Cougar 45-yard line.

Quarterback Pat Burke hit Ian McAlister with a 23-yard pass. On the second play of the game, Burke completed a 22-yard touchdown pass to Juwan Davis. Just 45 seconds into the game the Outlaws had a 7-0 lead.

The defense held Cascade's first possession to three plays-and-out and gave the ball back to the offense near midfield.

Burke again hit pay dirt in a hurry. Employing a bit of trickery, Burke threw a short pass to Juwan Davis, who then lateraled the ball to Seth Teague.

Teague ran it in for the score, and the hook-and-ladder had worked for a 49-yard touchdown.

The Outlaw defense forced a Cascade punt. Taking over on their own 22-yard line, Sisters again struck like lightning. The 78-yard drive took just one play.

Pat Burke and Seth Teague teamed up, and Sisters had exploded for a commanding 21-0 first quarter lead.

The Outlaws put up another 14 points before the halftime buzzer.

Macauley was enthusiastic in assessing the performance of his troops.

"We ran only 14 offensive plays in the first half, and had 35 points," he said. "And the defense played outstanding. They allowed only 74 yards of total offense in the first half."

The Cougars took the second half kick off and returned it for their only score of the night.

"They made a good play, and three of our guys got bunched up. We'll correct it when we look at the film," said the coach.

The Outlaws answered back almost immediately. Seth Teague returned the kick off 58 yards to the Cougar 30-yard line.

Burke hit Juwan Davis with a 30-yard scoring strike on the Outlaws' first play from scrimmage in the second half. The teams had tallied two touchdowns within the first 45 seconds after the intermission.

The Burke-to-Teague combination clicked one more time. The 43-yard TD toss in the third quarter finished up the scoring and provided the final margin of victory.

"The JVs went in and did a great job against Cascade's varsity," said Macauley.

Quarterback Pat Burke had a monster game. He was 10 for 14 passing for 347 yards. Six of the 10 completions were for touchdowns.

"Six TD passes in one game is a school record," said Coach Macauley, who also praised the offensive line. "Nathan Teeny, Josh Kelleher, and Matt Hodge did a great job of protecting the quarterback. We had no mistakes offensively -- no interceptions, and no sacks."

He noted the key to the game.

"Cascade gambled by loading up the line," he said. "They tried to stop the run and thought they would get to our QB. They left our receivers in one-on-one man coverage. They probably want to rethink that."

Despite the explosive display on offense, Macauley reserved his highest praise for the defense.

"It was Scott Kramer's first start as a defensive lineman, and he had 10 tackles, one sack and recovered a fumble. Matt Harp (seven tackles) and Josh Kelleher (seven tackles) also played outstanding on the line.

"Linebacker Andy Macauley led the team with 14 tackles. We rotated the defensive backs and Nathan Powell, Tel White (nine tackles), Seth Teague, Adam Sommerfield, and Ian McAlister all played very well."

The 10th-ranked Outlaws finished second place in the Capital Conference at 4-1 and 8-1 overall.

The state playoffs begin Saturday, November 9. At 1 p.m. Sisters plays host to Banks, the third seed from the Cowapa League.