Back at full strength, Sidney heads into duel with Seward

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 motivation to play their game, be fundamentally sound and play hard shouldn't be an issue at all for this team.

No matter the result of Friday's game, now is an exciting time for the program, which is on an upswing after making the playoffs in two consecutive seasons.

"I'm just looking forward to another big game and having a chance to watch our kids compete," said Sidney head coach Todd Ekart.

For some of the younger players who didn't experience last year's playoff run, there's could be an entirely different mindset. That doesn't mean they shouldn't be ready to go at a moment's notice. This is the playoffs and anything can happen.

"I haven't told the younger guys much, except this is not a vacation," Ekart said. "We have a big game and a tremendous opportunity and they (the younger players) should prepare like they are going to play."