Late TD saves day – season – for Sidney

The scoreboard clock was clicking down Friday night on Sidney High's game against Gering – and the Red Raiders' football season.

But a leaping touchdown catch by senior captain Tyler Wintholz salvaged a come-from-behind win over Gering and propelled the Red Raiders into the Class B state tournament.

Sidney quarterback Brady Radcliffe connected with Wintholz on an 18-yard scoring strike with three minutes to play that propelled the Red Raiders to a 13-9 victory and saved their season.

The win pushed Sidney's record to 5-4 and gave it just enough points to earn a wild-card spot into the 16-team playoff. The Red Raiders are the No. 14 seed and will square off on the road against No. 3 Elkhorn South (9-0) on Friday at 5 p.m. CDT. Sidney joins fellow District B-8 squads Scottsbluff (No. 9 seed) and Alliance (No. 16) in the playoffs.

"It's a great thing anytime you make the playoffs," said Sidney head coach Chris Koozer after the pairings were announced over the weekend. "The kids have the opportunity to extend their season. It's a neat thing being among the final 16 teams.

"Elkhorn South has some very good athletes," Koozer added. "They're an impressive looking team on film."

The postseason opportunity didn't come without plenty of uncertainty on a brisk Friday evening at Weymouth Field.

After all, the Red Raiders were taking on winless Gering – a Bulldogs team that has now lost 22 consecutive games dating back to Sept. 27, 2013. Sidney won last year's contest, 48-0.

A familiar face, however, was on the opposing sideline this time – former Sidney head coach Todd Ekart, who had previously coached the Red Raiders for the past five seasons and led the squad to berths in the state tournament the past two years. He took over the Bulldogs' program this fall.

It was Wintholz, a player whom Ekart coached for three seasons during his tenure in Sidney, who saved the Red Raiders' day.

"It definitely is a good feeling to catch the winning touchdown pass," Wintholz said. "At the end of the third quarter, I was starting to doubt that we would come back and win this game. I really regret that now.

"Once they were up at halftime, we were angry," he added. "But then we came out slow in the second half. We ended it on a good note though."

Koozer admitted that he let out a sigh of relief after the late TD pass.

"It was good to see Ty make that touchdown catch," Koozer said. "He's such a great kid. He's the one we knew we could go to at the end of the game and count on him to make a play."

The Bulldogs had playoff-bound Sidney on the ropes for most of the night, though.

After a scoreless first quarter, the Red Raiders got on the scoreboard first when John Bramer found the end zone after a 35-yard run with 2 minutes, 58 seconds left in the first half. The touchdown capped a 12-play (all runs), 81-yard drive that spanned 5:07 on the clock. The point-after kick attempt failed and Sidney held a 6-0 lead.

Gering grabbed the momentum soon after, however.

Though the Bulldogs' offense sputtered on the next series, Skylar Mueller got off a 40-yard punt that pinned Sidney back at its own 18 with 1:59 left until intermission.

The Red Raiders picked up one first down, but got bogged down with a 4th and 10 from their own 31 with 22 seconds remaining.

Sidney punter Jon Smith bobbled the snap and the Bulldogs' Julian Corona scooped up the loose ball and sprinted 16 yards into the end zone for the touchdown. Chris Bartow added the PAT to give the Gering squad a 7-6 advantage – its first lead of the season.

Gering managed the only points of the third quarter – albeit a safety – following another stellar punt by Mueller.

Midway through the period, Mueller launched a punt 44 yards that was downed at the Sidney 1. Three plays later, defensive back Antonio Murillo tackled Sidney running back Derek Robb in the end zone after a bobbled toss that extended Gering's advantage to 9-7 with 4:48 left in the third quarter.

The teams exchanged punts exchanged several times in the first part of the fourth quarter, but it was a costly kick-catch inference penalty after a Gering boot that helped put Sidney in a position to score the go-ahead touchdown.

Sidney used the free 15 yards to start its drive near midfield with 4:45 remaining in the contest. A 22-yard run by Robb on first down moved the ball to the Gering 29. After three more positive runs, the Red Raiders had the ball 1st and 10 at the 18 with a little more than 3 minutes to play.

Radcliffe hooked up with Wintholz in the left corner of the end zone for the 18-yard scoring strike on the game's next play. Arik Doty's PAT gave the Red Raiders a 13-9 advantage.

Following the kickoff, Gering's final drive of the night started at its own 21. The Bulldogs' offense couldn't muster much as they were forced into a pass-only game, and turned the ball over on downs at their own 23 with 1:57 to play.

Sidney ran out the clock from there to secure the victory and a spot in the Class B playoffs.

Ekart said it did feel a bit strange being on the visitor's sideline for the game.

"Once the game started though, things were pretty normal," said Ekart, who received well-wishes from many Sidney players and their parents on the field following the game. "We played so well tonight."

"I was able to talk some trash to some of them because I knew them by name," he joked. "They just have a few more athletes than we do. That was the difference tonight."

Robb finished with 101 yards on 17 carries and Hunter Secrest added 57 yards on the ground on 13 attempts. Radcliffe completed 5 of 11 passes for 58 yards, with one TD and one interception. Wintholz caught three of those passes for 46 yards.