SISTERS — It was not pretty — in fact, it was downright ugly — but Crook County football escaped with a 35-32 victory over Sisters on Friday. On a chilly night at Reed Stadium, the Cowboys overcame myriad penalties and turnovers to hold off the Outlaws’ comeback attempt.

At first, it appeared Crook County had a blowout victory on its hands. Sisters sputtered on its first two offensive possessions, allowing the Cowboys to go up 15-0 on two touchdowns by quarterback Brody Connell — one with his feet from 4 yards out, and one with his arm from 24.

But the Outlaws rallied in the second quarter. At the 11:13 mark, quarterback Taylor Fendall marched his team downfield and found Trey Stadeli for an 8-yard touchdown. The deficit was whittled down to one with 6:41 left in the half on an 8-yard TD run by Gator Haken.

A Crook County fumble — one of three on the night by the Cowboys — provided the Outlaws with an opportunity to take the lead late in the first half. On the first play of the drive, though, Fendall threw an interception to Crook County’s Kyle Knudtson.

Cowboys coach Ryan Cochran was not pleased with the turnovers and 13 penalties his team committed Friday night.

“We need to play clean football,” Cochran said. “We cannot have those situations where we’re playing behind the (first-down) sticks all night.”

At the half, Crook County led 21-14 thanks to a late touchdown grab by Garett Bernard, but Sisters cut it to 24-17 on a 30-yard field goal by Wyatt Hernandez late in the third quarter.

The Cowboys and Outlaws traded four total touchdowns in the final quarter of play: A 12-yard QB keeper by Connell, a 52-yard catch by Korbin Sharp, a 3-yard run by Knudtson and 1-yard grab by Haken.

Sisters needed just one more score to pull off the comeback. The third fumble of the game by Crook County set up a potential game-winning drive, but the Outlaws were hampered by penalties of their own in the game’s final moments.

As a result, Sisters did not even get close to field-goal range. A pass fell incomplete on a fourth-and-21 play with less than a minute to go.

Coach Neil Fendall’s team was shorthanded and inexperienced, he said, but the game provided “great situational experience” for the Outlaws.

“That’s a good ballclub, and I don’t think they executed their best,” he said of the Cowboys. “We talk about our culture daily. It’s connect, care and compete. Our kids did that tonight, even in a losing effort, and I’m proud of them for that.”

The 5A Cowboys moved to 2-1 with the victory while the 4A Outlaws fell to 0-3. Crook County lineman Caleb Parrott lauded the effort of his teammates, but he acknowledged that there is still room to grow.

“A lot of penalties and errors that we need to clean up,” Parrott said. “I think this could be a very good team — very deadly team — if we take care of ourselves and play like we should.”

—Reporter: 541-383-0307; rclarke@bendbulletin.com