2015 Nebraska Class B State Tournament: Raiders-'Cats rivalry heats up

In 1926, the Orin J. Weymouth-led Sidney High School football team needed a win over Scottsbluff on a field frozen with ice and snow to win a Western Conference championship. The 7-7 tie that resulted that afternoon ultimately cost the Raiders a title.

On a Saturday night about 85 years later in the Scottsbluff gym, unranked Sidney knocked off the top-ranked Class B boys' basketball team in the state, 56-54. That game is still one of senior Lane Harvey's favorite basketball memories from his four years as the Red Raiders' starting point guard.

Though the Bearcats got the best of Sidney on three of four occasions and went on to win the 2012 state championship, the Raiders secured their own little piece of glory on that Jan. 28 evening four years ago.

More recently in the fall of 2013, the Raiders' football squad defeated the Bearcats 30-20 at Weymouth Field to win the District B-8 title in front of an overflowing home crowd. One year later this past October, Scottsbluff exacted its revenge, 37-28, .

In the long history of athletic competition between Sidney and Scottsbluff high schools, there has always been a strong rivalry. Whatever the sport, whatever the stakes – whether it's boys or girls, varsity, JV or middle school – it's always an event when Sidney meets Scottsbluff on an athletic field of battle.

"It's always good to beat Scottsbluff," said Raiders' freshman basketball player Emily Secrest after her late 3-pointer helped sink the Bearcats earlier this season.

Despite their long association, it is likely the two are now scheduled to meet on the grandest athletic stage on which they've ever met

At the Pinnacle Bank Arena in Lincoln at 9:45 a.m. MDT on Thursday, the Raiders and Bearcats will play out the latest chapter in the storied history of their rivalry in the 2015 NSAA Boys' State Basketball Championships.

"Both teams know each other so well," said Raiders' third-year head coach Erik Kohl. "I think Coach (Tony) Siske could come and coach my team and I could go coach his team.

"And it would probably be somewhat fluid because we know all the players so well. That makes it kind of fun," concluded Kohl.

While the Raiders have won just four of their last 14 contests against the Bearcats, three of those have come in the past two years. Perhaps the most disappointing loss in recent times was Sidney's defeat in the 2014 District B-6 semifinal game. Sidney led most of the way before the Scottsbluff shooters heated up in the fourth quarter to post a 57-50 win at Cougar Palace in Scottsbluff.

While the Bearcats and Raiders are known to have had some fierce battles over the years, they also share a special kinship as well.

"What I think is going to be nice is that we're going to go down there in front of people who may not be familiar with western Nebraska basketball," said Kohl. "They're going to see two outstanding western teams play each other and I think we're both going to be proud to be representing panhandle basketball."

While the Bearcats have won the majority of contests between the two schools, Scottsbluff – at least in modern times – has had a special advantage. While Nebraska Class B has 32 teams, Scottsbluff High School has an enrollment that is more than twice that of Sidney High.

According to NSAA figures, the enrollment at Scottsbluff is 613, which places it sixth-largest among Class B institutions. Sidney, by contrast, has an enrollment of just 255 and placing it third from the bottom.

"Never mind who we're playing, it's a pretty special thing for a school as small as ours to be going to the state tournament," Kohl said. "It's not something that happens very often, so I made a point of making sure these guys know how special their accomplishment is."

NEBRASKA CLASS B STATE TOURNAMENT

Thursday, March 12

At Pinnacle Bank Arena, Lincoln

No. 2 Beatrice (21-1) vs. No. 7 Plattsmouth (16-8), 9 a.m. CDT

No. 3 Sidney (20-4) vs. No. 6 Scottsbluff (21-4), 10:45 a.m. CDT

At Devaney Center, Lincoln

No. 1 Gretna (24-2) vs. No. 8 Mount Michael (13-9), 7 p.m. CDT

No. 4 Elkhorn South (18-5) vs. No. 5 Adams Central (21-4), 8:45 p.m. CDT

Friday, March 13

At Pinnacle Bank Arena, Lincoln

Semfinals

Beatrice-Plattsmouth winner vs. Sidney-Scottsbluff winner, 2 p.m. CDT

Gretna-Mt. Michael winner vs. Elkhorn S.-Adams Cent. winner, 3:45 p.m. CDT

Saturday, March 14

At Pinnacle Bank Arena, Lincoln

State championship game

Semifinal winners, 1 p.m. CDT