Red Raider seniors have grown from 2013 playoffs

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 coach Todd Ekart says the seniors – most of whom played major roles in 2013 – learned quite a bit from last year's playoff run and have grown significantly since last November.

"They (the seniors) have really created a great environment for success in football and in other sports," Ekart said. "They have really matured into leaders and this senior class has been a big part of our rise to a Class B contender."

Sidney played Gretna – one of the best teams in the state last year – down to the wire in its quarterfinal loss last year. Ekart said that game was an eye-opener for both he and his players.

"This team can play with anyone in the state," Ekart said, when asked what he and his team learned after the loss to Gretna. "No matter what size school or record, we can hang with the best."

Ekart isn't merely honking his team's horn.

This season, the Red Raiders have proven they can line up with almost any team in the state.

Sidney fell to McCook, who was the then-No. 6 team in the state according to Max Preps, 20-19 on the road in mid-September, but had a chance to win it in the final seconds. The Red Raiders fell at home to Scottsbluff 37-28 three weeks ago, but played the entire game without running back Chance Anglin, who's presence could have made a difference.

McCook and Scottsbluff are the No. 3 and No. 4 seeds respectively in this year's Class B state tournament.

In many ways, this year's senior class is at the helm of a team that is much improved from last year.

Defensive back Garrett Deer has been asked to take on a greater role in the secondary this season and has played very effectively. Along with Deer in the secondary, Anglin and quarterback Lane Harvey have combined for five interceptions on the season. Michael Muggli, who didn't play football as a sophomore or junior, has emerged as a true all-purpose threat.

Senior linebackers Brian Rolls and Kevin Jurgensen have formed a rock solid defensive core that has limited the opposition to 20 or fewer points in six of its nine games. Jurgensen leads the team in tackles this year with 73 for an average of 8.1 per game. Rolls is the team's second leading tackler with 61, including four and a half for a loss.

The experience of a strong offensive line that includes Kane Taylor and Jake Sager, has provided the blocking needed to feed a multi-faceted running attack that has been the motor of Sidney's offense all season.

But as stellar as this senior class has been in 2014, it also is well aware of that trembling feeling that comes with being a senior – knowing each game played from here could be the last.

Ekart says his players understand that reality and they are given time to share it with their younger teammates.

"We have a 'What It Means to be a Raider' time before the last game where they (the seniors) can reflect and let the younger guys know what it (their Sidney football careers) has meant to them," Ekart said.

"It usually hits them at that point that this chapter in their lives is coming to an end."