Serving proudly since 1873 as the beautiful Nebraska Panhandle's first newspaper
Serving proudly since 1873 as the beautiful Nebraska Panhandle's first newspaper
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The Sidney High volleyball team is currently sitting at 10-20 with an 0-5 record in B district 8 play. This season just hasn't gone the way that head coach Sarah Wilson inteded it to when the first ball was put in play back in September. But none of that matters now. Wilson and the Lady Raiders know they have a clean slate to work with when the district tournament starts Tuesday afternoon in Alliance. Season records and district records go out the window. It's all about the next couple of games...
The Peetz Bulldogs football team (9-1) used a 30-point second quarter to blow away Hanover (8-2), 60-14 at home in the first round of the Colorado six-man state tournament on Saturday afternoon. In what was expected to be a high scoring dogfight between two elite offenses, the Hornets never even showed up. Hanover was held scoreless in the first quarter and Peetz led 38-8 at halftime. The Bulldogs used a balanced attack to fire off their 60 points. Sophomore Cody Wilson led Peetz in rushing with 73 yards on seven carries. Senior quarterback Bra...
Seward High running back Chance Stevenson was just too much for Sidney on Friday night at Concordia University Stadium. He ran for 143 yards and two scores on offense and intercepted two passes on defense as the Bluejays defeated the Red Raiders 24-14 in the first round of the Nebraska Class B playoffs. Sidney certainly didn't help itself with four turnovers – three of them interceptions – as well as a series of short kickoffs that handed the Bluejays free yards on nearly every possession. The R...
If you’re a fan of offensive shootouts, Saturday’s showdown between Peetz High and Hanover may be worth checking out. The No. 3-seeded Peetz Bulldogs (8-1) are set to face to the No. 6 Hanover Hornets (9-0) of in the first round of the Colorado Class A six-man tournament. Both teams are averaging more than 60 points per game. Kickoff is scheduled for Saturday at 2 p.m. at Peetz High School. The Bulldogs lost their season opener to No. 1 seed Arickaree/Woodlin, 69-46, but won their remaining eight games. Over the seven other games they pla...
The Sidney High football team should have all of its weapons at its disposal when it heads into Condordia University's stadium to face the Seward Bluejays on Friday night in the first round of the NSAA Class B state tournament. Kickoff is at 6 p.m. MDT. For many of Sidney's seniors and a few juniors, the game is a second chance, . Last year's 24-17 quarterfinals loss to Gretna in the final seconds of regulation stung and many of Sidney's leaders still feel the burn from that game. Finding the...
Sidney High football head coach Todd Ekart and Seward High head coach Jamie Opfer go way back. As high school seniors, they lined up against one other – Ekart in Superior and Opfer in Geneva. In 1993, they both enrolled as freshman at Concordia University, Nebraska in Seward. They didn’t know each other very well at the time and lived in different dorms on campus. But it wouldn’t take long for that to change. For the next four years, the two took the field together in Bulldog uniforms – Ekart as a defensive back and Opfer as a linebac...
After failing to make the NSAA Class D2 state tournament in 2013, Potter-Dix High’s football team is back in the playoffs after going 5-3 with a 4-1 record in district play. The Coyotes are the No. 9 seed in the bracket and are set to face No. 8 seeded Paxton (4-4) in their first round game Thursday night. Kickoff is slated for 6 p.m. MDT in Paxton. The two teams played in the regular season back on Sept. 19, with the Tigers winning 55-32. Potter-Dix head coach Dale Frerichs is excited to have his program back in the hunt for a state title. T...
The Sidney High volleyball team defeated the Kimball Longhorns (14-13) in four sets to close out its regular season Tuesday night in Kimball. The Lady Raiders won the match by scores of 25-21, 18-25, 25-21, 25-19. With the win, Sidney finished the regular season with a 10-20 record and a 1-5 posting in district play. The Lady Raiders will get a clean slate for the B District 8 tournament, which will start Tuesday, Nov. 4. Game times and locations will be released later this week. Senior right setter Erin Bown paced Sidney with a very nice...
For the Sidney High football team's senior class, Friday night's game against Seward in the first round of the Class B state tournament is a chance for redemption. Last season, Sidney's seniors – headlined by standout running back Logan Lewis – led the way to a 6-3 regular season and the first playoff berth for the school in the last two decades. The Red Raiders blazed a trail to the state quarterfinals, beating Blair, 36-26 in the first round, but they fell to Gretna in heartbreaking fashion, 24-17 in the second round. This season, head coa...
Mankind is fiercely competitive by nature. We are programmed to fight for what is ours, to never go down without a fight and to feel the heat of battle when challenged by someone or something. It's what makes sports fascinating. But sometimes, we lose track of the lessons we can learn from the sports world. Sometimes it's just too easy to focus on who won, who lost and by how much. But every once in a while, we regain a sense of who we really are and recalibrate our understanding of some of the...
It was an emotionally draining Friday afternoon for the Sidney cross country teams at the Class C state meet in Kearney. Between a strong finish for the girls' team, a disastrous ending for the boys' team and heartwarming scene at the end of the boys' race, Sidney's and other supporters from around the state experienced a roller coaster of an afternoon. The girls' team placed third out of 12 teams with a team score of 58, behind second-place Wayne and champion Boone Central/Newman Grove. The...
The Sidney High volleyball team never found a real spark Thursday, as it was swept, 3-0, by Alliance at the Cabela's Athletic Facility. Sidney lost 25-18, 25-13, 25-19. With the loss, the Lady Raiders' record fell to 8-18 and 1-5 in Class B District 8 play. Sidney head coach Sarah Wilson was impressed with Alliance's game against her team. "Alliance ran a pretty strong offense and were very scrappy defensively," Wilson said. "They sent things at us aggressively which made it tough for us to set...
After using a 22-point fourth quarter to take down Alliance in a dogfight last week, the Sidney High football team heads to Gering tonight for its regular-season finale. The Red Raiders (6-2, 1-1) need a win to clinch a spot in the Class B state playoffs. The 16-team state tournament starts Friday, Oct. 31. The eight division winners are guaranteed a spot in the field, but the seeding is done strictly by power points. Scottsbluff would lock up the District 8 title with a victory tonight against Alliance. Sidney – fighting for second place in t...
Here’s how I see the 2014-15 NBA season playing out. For the sake of brevity, I’ve listed only teams that I think will make the playoffs, followed by my playoff predictions. EASTERN CONFERENCE 1. Cleveland Cavaliers: The Cleveland Heat? Might as well be. LeBron James came home and is now teamed up with Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving to form by far the league’s most talented starting five. They’re the favorites for now. Can they put it all together in year one? Stay tuned. 2. Washington Wizards: A very hot pick in the east this season, the Wiz are...
The Sidney High volleyball team gave a valiant effort, but eventually fell to district-rival Gering (15-14, 6-1)Tuesday night on the road. The Lady Raiders won the first set in dominant fashion, 25-14, but dropped the next three by scores of 25-18, 25-23 and 25-22. Sidney opened the match with intensity – it appeared to be the hungrier team that really needed an important district win. The Lady Raiders did just about everything well – their passing was pinpoint and they found open areas on the...
Winning is nothing new to the Leyton High volleyball program. In the past seven years, the Warriors have compiled a record of 178-37-1. Under the direction of head coach Jodi Craig – now in her 17th season with the program – Leyton (18-6) has put together another superb season. Leyton went 30-3 a year ago – 2013 was its second consecutive 30-win campaign. But it lost two standout players – Kelsey Waite and Kassandra Harris – to graduation. "We did lose some very talented players," Craig sai...
Sidney High football head coach Todd Ekart had a simple message for his team at halftime of last Friday's game at Alliance. He reminded them during the intermission, "We lose and our season is done after next week." That was all the Red Raiders needed to hear. After taking a tie into the break, Sidney used a 44-point second half surge to get a critical win against district-rival Alliance, 58-36. Junior running back Jake Heeren finished with 207 yards rushing on 28 carries and four second-half...
The Sidney High varsity cross country teams swept the Class C-4 district meet at West Winds Golf Course in Ogallala on Thursday afternoon. With the wins, both the Sidney boys' and girls' teams qualified for the Class C state meet next Friday in Kearney. The boys' team earned a score of 24, as it placed all six of its runners in the Top 18 out of the field of 59 male runners. The girls' team represented half of the Top 10 finishers, posting a score of 23 – a whopping 30 points ahead of s...
Very quietly, the Sidney High football team (5-2) will face a pressure situation tonight in Alliance. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. and a berth in the state playoffs is at stake. Sidney, which lost last week at home to Scottsbluff, is 0-1 in the district B-8 standings. Alliance is coming off a 39-21 road win against Gering and is sitting at 1-0 in the district. The Bulldogs are 2-5, but have won two games in a row and, even in their losses, have hung close with several respectable teams. The...
Sidney varsity football players work on a tackling drill during Tuesday afternoon's practice at West Elementary. Head coach Todd Ekart said his team needs to shore up its defense following its loss to Scottsbluff last week....
Two future first ballot NBA hall-of-famers – Dirk Nowitzki and LeBron James – are both in favor of a shortened regular season. The NBA has played an 82-game season since 1967, when the San Diego Rockets and Seattle Supersonics joined the league as the 11th and 12th teams. Since then, the regular-season format has never changed. Now Nowitzki and James, among other players, are all for reducing the season to an amount of games in the mid-60s range – a slash of about 20 percent of the current slate. Let’s be up front though: as appealing as this...
The Sidney High girls' golf team took fourth place in the 12-team field in the Class B state tournament at Pioneer Golf Course in Lincoln. As it usually is, consistency was Sidney's best friend in the tournament. After the first round, the Lady Raiders sat comfortably in fifth-place with a team score of 395. In the second round, the team shot a 396 and was able to slide into fourth after Aurora, who was in fourth after the first round, played a poor second round. For Sidney head coach Dani...
The Sidney High volleyball team was swept, 3-0, by the Chadron Cardinals on the road Tuesday night. Chadron won by scores of 25-10, 29-27 and 25-16. With the loss, the Lady Raiders fell to 8-16 on the season. Sidney will return to action on Tuesday when it goes on the road to face district rival Gering at 6 p.m. It will be a critical match for the Lady Raiders, who are currently last place in the B district eight standings with a 1-3 record. Sidney led Gering one set to none on its home court when the two teams played Saturday at the Western...
After a windy and rainy first day of the Class B state tournament at Pioneers Golf Course in Lincoln, the Sidney High girls’ golf team is sitting in fifth place with a team score of 395. Scottsbluff was the leader after day one with a team score of 374. Omaha Skutt Catholic was second – seven shots back – at 381. Aurora (391) is third, followed by Plattsmouth (394) and Sidney. District-rival Gering is in 10th among the 12 teams. Junior Rachel Blauert led the Sidney team on day one with a first round score of 94, good for a tie for 18th overall....
The Sidney High varsity volleyball team took fifth-place among six teams in the Western Conference Tournament in Gering on Saturday. The Lady Raiders went 1-2 in the event, making them 8-15 overall and 1-3 in district play. The Chadron Cardinals won the tournament with a 3-0 record, taking down Scottsbluff in three sets in the championship match. The Lady Raiders were swept by the Chadron in their first match of the day, 25-13 and 25-19. In its second match, Sidney got off to a good start against host Gering in thrilling fashion, 26-24. But...
