Outlaws taken down by Tigers

The Outlaws football team fell 22-50 at Junction City on Friday, October 15, in a hard-fought contest. The Sisters squad lost just two weeks ago to the Tigers, and knew they’d be in for a battle against a very big and physical Tiger squad ranked fifth in the state.

Junction City boasts very strong, physical players, and outweigh the Outlaws by 50 pounds or more at every position on both the offensive and defensive lines. Despite the weight difference, the Outlaws battled hard the entire game.

Sisters scored twice in the first quarter of play, the first a TD by quarterback Griffin Gardner on a four-yard run. With just 12 seconds left in the period, Adam Maddox-Castle scored on a 47-yard run, and Wyatt Maffey scored the two-point conversion on a three-yard run. Junction City scored three times in the quarter and was up by seven, 21-14, at the close of the period.

The Tigers added a TD in the second period and held a 28-14 at the half.

Junction City kept their scoring spree going in the third quarter with another TD and a two-point conversion. With just 29 seconds left in the period Maddox-Castle returned an 80-yard kickoff for a TD, and Maffey was good on the two-point conversion attempt, which narrowed the Tigers’ lead to 22-36 to close out the period.

Sisters was unable to score in the final quarter, while the Tigers tacked on 14 additional points to seal the win.

Gardner went 10-for-25 yards passing. Maffey had 16 carries for 58 yards, including two two-point conversions. Maddox-Castle had seven carries for 54 yards, and Gardner had six carries for 24 yards, including one rushing touchdown.

Jamen Schwartz led the Outlaws with four receptions for 73 yards, and Maffey followed with four receptions for 38 yards.

Coach Clayton Hall noted the play of Adam Maddox-Castle and Jamen Schwartz.

“Adam played very well for us,” said Hall. “He ran the ball hard on offense and had a great kickoff return. Jamen did a great job early in the game and made some phenomenal catches that put us in position to score.”

Hall told The Nugget that the Outlaws had opportunities to score more points throughout the game, but just couldn’t capitalize. Sisters lost the field position battle several times, which put their defense in difficult situations.

“Our special teams hurt us with poor tackling, blocking, and not taking appropriate pursuit angles to the ball,” said Hall. “Despite the loss, I feel that we are improving each week and becoming competitive in each game we play. We intend to improve in all three phases of our game this week, because we have a bye week.”

The Outlaws will wrap up their season at LaPine on Friday, October 29. Hall told The Nugget the Outlaws plan to play the Hawks tough and go home with a victory.