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Wednesday, October 13, 2021 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
Outlaws snap losing streak
By Rongi Yost
Correspondent
The Outlaws football
team9s hard work and
dedication finally paid off
this past week with a big win
over Pleasant Hill. Sisters
snapped their four-game
losing streak with a final
score of 28-26 in their road
win over the Billies.
Sisters started off strong
and in the first quarter, with
Wyatt Maffey scoring on a
one-yard run. The TD was set
up by blocks on the right side
of the line, which allowed
Wyatt to walk into the end
zone. The PAT failed, but at
the close of the period the
Outlaws held a 6-0 lead.
In the second quarter
the Outlaws scored again.
The snap was bobbled, but
quarterback Griffin Gardner
made a heads-up play and
forced his way into the end
zone on a one-yard run.
Sean Alvarez9s kick for
the PAT was good and the
Outlaws extended their lead
to 13-0.
With 4:20 left in the
half Maffey scored on a
65-yard run that was a
sweep around the left side
of the Outlaws9 line with a
convoy of blockers. The play
was set up from key blocks
from pulling-guard Hudson
Symonds and fullback Adam
Maddox-Castle.
Alvarez ended the first
half scoring when he split the
uprights for a 32-yard field
goal with four seconds left
on the clock. Time expired
and the Outlaws closed out
the half holding the Billies
scoreless 22-0.
<Our boys came out red-
hot on offense and executed
on both their run and their
pass game,= said Coach
Clayton Hall. <The offensive
line did an outstanding job
creating holes and lanes for
the Outlaws9 running backs
to go through. The O-line
also did a great job protecting
our quarterback.=
Momentum shifted in the
second half. The Outlaws
had two costly fumbles that
set up the Billies to score and
gain the momentum. Pleasant
Hill scored 26 unanswered
points, 13 in the third quarter
and 13 in the fourth, and took
the lead from the Outlaws at
26-22.
When the Outlaws got
the ball back on their own
32-yard line with 5:57 left in
the contest, fans were on the
edge of their seats until the
final buzzer. Mason Sellers
started the drive when he ran
the ball on a fly-sweep around
the left side for 15 yards to
the 47-yard line, followed by
Gardner, who ran the ball for
13 yards down to the Pleasant
Hill 40-yard line.
Gardner ran the ball again
on the next play, but got
called for a personal foul on
an offensive targeting call,
which resulted in a 15-yard
penalty from the spot of the
foul. That penalty moved the
ball to the Billies9 45-yard
line. A 39-yard run from
Maffey, and a three-yard
run from Gardner put the
Outlaws on their 36-yard
line.
Adam Maddox-Castle had
a nice 27-yard run down to
the nine-yard line, but on the
next two plays the Outlaws
were charged with penalties
that put the ball back on the
21-yard line.
Gardner finished the drive
with a beautiful touchdown
pass to Josh Buettner to put
the Outlaws back on top
with 1:09 left on the clock.
Gardner threw a great pass
and Buettner made a great
catch as he created space
from the corner and caught
the ball while falling to the
ground in the end zone.
Buettner described what
happened.
<When Coach Hall called
my number I knew I had to
come through for the team,=
he said. <I gave the corner a
step inside and I was off to
the back of the end zone. I9m
just happy we could get the
win. Go Outlaws!=
The crowd erupted as the
Outlaws regained the lead at
28-26. With 16 seconds left in
the game, the defense sealed
the win with an interception
by Gardner.
Quarterback Gardner
went 8 for 22 for 221 yards
passing, and recorded one
passing TD.
Gardner said, <Everyone
finally felt the feeling of
winning that we9ve been
working for since July and I
think everyone is ready to go
get another win.=
The Outlaws recorded 190
total yards rushing. Wyatt
Maffey led the team with 17
carries for 132 yards rushing.
Adam Maddox-Castle had
three carries for 24 yards
rushing, and Mason Sellers
had two carries for 17 yards
rushing. Gardner tallied three
carries for 17 yards rushing.
M a ff e y c r e d i t e d h i s
rushing success to his
linemen, who he stated did
their job with confidence and
made big plays.
Maffey said, <We built off
last week9s game, and I feel
like we really came together
as a team. We encouraged
and strengthened each other
as the game continued. We
really believed we would
win and we fought until the
very end. I remember feeling
a spark being lit between
us at the beginning of the
game and we just took it and
ran with it. To me the win
was seeing our team come
together, and that9s what it9s
all about.=
Riley Sellers had two
receptions for 64 yards
and Josh Buettner had two
receptions for 50 yards,
including one touchdown.
Maffey had two receptions
for 45 yards, Jamen Schwartz
added one reception for 35
yards, and Maddox-Castle
one reception for 27 yards.
Henry Rard led the
defense with seven tackles.
Maffey, Jesse Murillo, Ben
Cooper, and Reese Larrabee
all finished the night with
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Outlaws running back Wyatt Maffey had a strong game for the Outlaws.
six tackles each. Maffey also
forced a fumble and had two
fumble recoveries. Sellers
and Gabe Bailey also forced
a fumble, and Austin Ekern
tallied one fumble recovery.
Defensive Coordinator
Hayden Hudson said, <Our
defense played well against
the spread. The defensive
line and linebackers did a
good job maintaining the run
and the secondary was step-
by-step with the wideouts all
night.
<The defense played a
great first half and when
met with some adversity in
the second half, held strong
and fought till the end. The
defense as a whole made
huge strides in the last two
weeks and we look forward
to next week and a rematch
with the ground-and-pound
of the Tigers.=
Hudson noted standout
secondary players Schwartz,
and Riley and Mason Sellers,
who were in the right position
all night and made plays on
the outside.
Hall told The Nugget he
was proud of his players for
not folding under pressure.
<Many teams would not
have had the fortitude to
overcome what we did,=
said Hall. <Our backs were
against the wall, but we chose
to fight on and win the day.=
The Outlaws will hit the
road for Junction City on
Friday, October 15.
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