SISTERS — Mitch Gibney scored the game-winning touchdown Friday night with 45 seconds left in the fourth quarter as Sisters claimed a 21-14 victory over Sky-Em League rival Junction City.

Gibney, a junior running back, rushed for 80 yards and two scores on 16 carries to help the host Outlaws (3-0 Sky-Em, 4-2 overall) earn their third straight win. Logan Schutte ended the night with 150 yards and a touchdown on 22 carries as Sisters controlled the line of scrimmage against the Tigers (2-1, 3-3).

“Our defense played very well again,” Sisters coach Gary Thorson said. “That’s really the strength of our team.”

The Outlaws’ defense gave up just one score a week after shutting out Cottage Grove. One of Junction City’s touchdowns was an interception return.

“I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a team improve in a season as much as this one,” said Thorson, whose squad went 1-2 in its first three games. “We’re not where we want to be yet — we’ve still got a long ways to go — but the effort on Friday nights is phenomenal.”

With the score tied 14-14 late in the fourth period, Sisters marched approximately 60 yards before Gibney turned a routine off-tackle play into a decisive 13-yard run to the end zone.

“He was a beast,” Thorson said of Gibney. “A couple guys bounced off him.”

Sisters, which now sits alone atop the Sky-Em standings, is at Elmira next week.