The Nugget Newspaper - News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon

The Outlaws boys lacrosse team buckled down, took care of business, and crushed Hillsboro 12-3 at home on Saturday, April 9.

In the first quarter Eli Johnson got the Outlaws on the scoreboard early with two goals. Kyle Pilarski and Max Palanuk also scored to give Sisters a 4-1 lead at the close of the period.

The Outlaws added three goals in the second period, one each from Cooper Merrill, Eli Palanuk, and Adam Maddox-Castle, and at the half were on top 7-2.

Sisters continued their scoring streak with three additional goals in the third quarter. Eli Johnson scored his third goal of the contest for a hat trick to highlight the final quarter.

The team had a great offensive effort with seven different players scoring. Johnson led the team with three goals. Pilarski, Max Palanuk, and Eli Palanuk scored two goals each, and Merrill, Maddox-Castle, and Wyatt Maffey added one goal each.

Coach Paul Patton noted that Pilarski’s goals were noteworthy as Kyle is a long pole player and spends most of his time on the defensive end of the field.

The Outlaws also did a great job on defense and held Hillsboro to just three goals, and totally shut them out in the final quarter.

Twenty players got time on the field, and many of those were ones who had to step in for sick or injured starters. Freshman Bodie Schar and sophomore Eli Palanuk got their first varsity starts at attack, as did sophomore Scotty Henderson on defense.

Maffey had a strong overall game at middie and led the team with eight ground balls, scored one goal, and played solid defense all four quarters. Pilarski also was solid in the middle on defense, and finished with six ground balls.

Tanner Pease won 10 face-offs to their seven, and his face-off wins really helped the Outlaws keep control of the game. Justin Blake played big in the goal with eight saves in the game, and helped keep Hillsboro’s score down.

Coach Patton said, “The team was hit hard this week with a cold/flu-like illness that depleted us to just 14-16 guys out of 28 on the roster who were able to practice on most days. Without some of our usual starters other boys had to play different positions and also play through the fatigue of being out there for more minutes. Weather conditions were also challenging with cold temperatures and snow flurries off and on throughout the game.”

Sisters was scheduled to play at Sprague on Tuesday, April 12. The Outlaws will be play at home against Corvallis on Friday, April 15, and at home against West Salem on Saturday.