The Nugget Newspaper - News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon

Ian McAllister heads upfield. Photo by Steve Post

The Sisters Outlaws football team completely dominated previously undefeated and No. 2 ranked Marist, beating the Spartans 35-8 on Saturday, November 23.

The Spartans' last defeat had come at the hands of the Outlaws in last year's state quarterfinal when they missed an extra point for a 27-28 loss.

The reigning Sky Em League champs had plenty of incentive for revenge in this year's rematch, but the Outlaws thoroughly outplayed them on their home field in Eugene.

The Outlaws controlled all phases of the game, but the defense was especially impressive.

"Our defense has really been playing well recently," said Coach Bob Macauley, "but that was their best game of the year."

Quarterback Pat Burke made his only mistake early in the game by throwing an interception on the Outlaws' first possession.

The Spartans took advantage of the field position to drive down to the Sisters 25-yard line. The defense stiffened, and Marist missed a field goal.

The Outlaws took over on their own 20-yard line, but the drive stalled. Burke pinned Marist deep in their own territory with a punt.

Seth Teague then intercepted a pass from Spartan QB Ryan Coldren at midfield, and Sisters was in business.

The drive culminated with a 13-yard play-action pass to tight end Andy Macauley for a 7-0 lead.

The defense continued to keep Marist in check in the second quarter. Following a punt, the Outlaws offense went 86 yards in five plays.

A 45-yard pass reception by Jawan Davis was the key play.

Burke capped the drive by scoring on an 11-yard trap and Sisters was in front, 14-0. The defense continued to play tough and give the offense good field position.

Sisters continued to score and went to the locker room with a commanding 21-0 lead at the halftime break.

The Outlaws took the second half kickoff and began running time off the clock.

After another punt pinned Marist deep in their own territory at the 5-yard line, the Spartans drove 85 yards all the way down to the Sisters 10-yard line.

But on fourth-and-one, the defense knocked running back Dale Morris out of bounds six inches short of a first down, and the offense took over.

"They drove 85 yards, and took six-and-a-half minutes off the clock, and had no points to show for it," said Coach Macauley. "It was the key turning point in the game."

Marist had only two possessions in the third quarter -- and the second one ended in Seth Teague's third interception of the game.

Burke capitalized on the turnover by engineering a 50-yard drive that consumed precious time.

He took it in himself on a one-yard run, and the score was 28-0 with 9:18 left in the game, effectively ending any hope of a Marist comeback.

Burke then helped his own cause by intercepting a pass at the Spartan 11-yard line.

Chris Wimer punched it in for a one-yard TD run, and the Outlaws were up 35-0 with 3:32 left in the game.

Coach Macauley substituted with the JVs, and Marist scored a meaningless touchdown and two-point conversion with 48 seconds remaining to account for the final score.

"We had an outstanding defensive performance from our line," Macauley said. "We gave up an average of 56 pounds per person up front, but we played stingy defense. Matt Harp had 12 tackles; Scott Kramer had five tackles, one sack, and one fumble recovery, and Nathan Teeny had four tackles.

"Andy Macauley led the team with 14 tackles, and our DB coverage was outstanding also. We put a lot of pressure on their quarterback."

For the Outlaws, Burke was 16 for 31 for 236 yards and two touchdowns, with one interception.

In addition to three interceptions on the defensive side, Teague had 9 receptions for 113 yards of offense. He also ran nine times for 58 yards.

"We only threw four passes in the entire second half," said the coach. "The offense controlled the clock, and the punting won the battle of field position. But the defense was the key to the game."

Macauley extolled the support of Outlaws fans.

"The crowd and the band and the cheerleaders were awesome," he said. "We had as many people there as Marist."

After knocking off No. 2, the Outlaws next face No. 1 Scappoose in the state semi-finals. The Indians are the two-time defending state champions, and have won 37 games in a row.

"The last game they lost was to Sisters in the state playoffs," said Macauley. "They broke Sisters' record of 29 consecutive wins, so there must be some symmetry there.

"Scappoose is extremely large and fast, but there are some things that we can do against them, and we'll have a plan. We're playing our best football of the year."

The game is on Saturday, November 30, 3 p.m. at Hillsboro Stadium.