The Nugget Newspaper - News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon

Seann Igoe tries to elude a Scapoose defender. Photo by Jordan Beck

The Sisters football team ran into a buzz saw named Scappoose in the state semi-final football game on Saturday, November 30 in Hillsboro.

The Indians are the No. 1 ranked team and two-time defending state champions, and they rolled over the Outlaws by a score of 48-20.

It was the third meeting of the two teams in the state semi-finals. The Outlaws defeated the Indians in 1998 and again in 1999 on their way to the state crown.

That was the last time Scappoose tasted defeat. Since that time, the Indians had won 37 games in a row. Make it 38 now, after their impressive performance.

"We came in with a good game plan," said Sisters coach Bob Macauley. "A couple of our key offensive guys got hurt early in the first quarter, and we had to scramble to fill their positions. We ended up not generating enough offense, and we left our defense out there too long."

Scappoose was dominant in the trenches.

"We didn't match up real well up front with them," Macauley said. "Their line is very good, and very big -- they might be the best 4A line in the state. And their quarterback Ken Wagner is a very good field general."

The game started off badly for the Outlaws.

On their first possession, a missed read by a wide receiver led to an interception of a Pat Burke pass, and the Indians were in business at the Sisters five yard line.

The defense made a heroic stand, and then blocked the field goal to dodge one bullet.

Sisters began driving on their second possession, but then injuries began taking their toll. Seth Teague hurt his knee on a 25-yard reception, and Seann Igoe suffered a hip pointer.

"We run a pretty complicated system, and we were trying to find wide receivers who knew all the sets," Macauley said. "Seth has been playing so well, and when he got hurt, we just couldn't get much going. We got out of sync.

"The thing that surprised me was that we scored at all."

Scappoose scored on an 11-yard run on their second possession to take a lead they never relinquished.

The Outlaw offense went three-and-out, and the Indians scored a second touchdown to go up 14-0.

Sisters responded with a Chris Wimer TD to draw within 14-6. The Indians answered with a score of their own to take a 20-6 lead.

Two turning points then sealed the Outlaws' fate.

The offense drove into the Scappoose red zone, but on fourth down and four at the 12 yard line with two minutes remaining in the first half, Burke was pressured into throwing an incomplete pass.

The Indians took over, and marched down the field to take a commanding 28-6 halftime lead.

"Our receiver was open, and if Pat has the time to hit him, we go into the locker room down one touchdown instead of three," said Macauley.

The back-breaker was when Scappoose took the second half kickoff and drove 80 yards to put the game out of reach at 35-6.

The Indians had used the big play in the first half, but this drive consumed seven minutes as they controlled the clock.

"It was our turn to score meaningless touchdowns with the game winding down," said Coach Macauley.

Jawan Davis caught a 49-yard TD pass, and Chris Wimer scored his second touchdown on a six-yard run to make the score more respectable.

"Our last two scores came against their second unit. The game was pretty much over by the end of the third quarter, but I was proud of the way our kids played -- they didn't quit," Macauley said.

Quarterback Ken Wagner of Scappoose completed 15 of 21 passes for 247 yards and four touchdowns. In addition, the Indians gained 235 yards rushing.

For Sisters, Pat Burke completed 10 of 30 passes for 173 yards, with one touchdown and two interceptions. Seth Teague caught six passes for 95 yards.

"Seth Teague couldn't play on defense, and we didn't make Seth go back in and play offense," Macauley said. "He iced his knee and just went back in. Seth with one leg is still better than most players are with two legs.

"And Seann Igoe, with his hip pointer, was in a lot of pain. He asked me to send him back in, but he couldn't even lift his knee," the coach said.

"By that time, the game was out of reach, but he didn't want to go back in for personal glory.

"They had that kind of drive because they didn't want to disappoint their teammates. Their character really came through."

Sisters finished the season with an 11-2 record.