Sidney Ready for Cozad Craftiness

"This team (Cozad) has a very good and very experienced coaching staff, and they're only a few years removed from a State Championship", said Sidney football head coach Chris Koozer.

Although on paper Sidney has a significant edge in size and speed versus Cozad, which is reflected by Sidney's 3-and-0 record and Cozad's 1-and-2 mark in the season, the Red Raiders need to be on guard against a Haymaker team that is well coached and able to execute different schemes and plays every week on both offense and defense.

"They're going to give you new schemes you haven't seen before every week, it's what they do", said Koozer, then added, "no doubt about it, they are going to surprise us-we just have to be ready to roll with the new things we'll see during the game."

The Cozad Haymakers have had a rough start to their 2018 campaign, dropping their first two games to Ord and Gothenburg, but won their first game last week, beating Chase County on the road in a close contest.

The Haymakers lines are not as large as Sidney's, but coach Koozer knows that Cozad's 300 lb senior DT Josh Stallbaumer is going to require special blocking schemes and double teams to keep him out of the backfield.

"Offensively, Cozad's got a good running back and a good quarterback, and they use lots of variations in their offense which makes them dangerous. They're a very adaptable team." said Koozer.

Koozer noted, "We have to stay disciplined and aligned correctly. They run all kinds of misdirection plays and they can pass, so we have to be prepared. We haven't been handling offensive adjustments as well as we should be and will be working on that."

After last week's four touchdown, 237 yard performance by senior RB Cade Lewis, Koozer expects the Haymakers defense to key on stopping Lewis and making Sidney go to secondary options.

"We're going to keep with what works with Cade, meaning a lot of sprint options", said Koozer noting that senior QB Arik Doty's ability to be patient with that play and wait until the last possible moment to decide to pitch or run has resulted in big gains for Sidney.

Another unfamiliar element in this game, which is new for this season, is the long bus ride the Red Raiders will take this afternoon out to Cozad. Sidney used to do at least four of these 3 hour long bus rides each season, but with their change of Class, this will be their only long bus ride of the year.

"It's a long time to sit on a bus, three hours, and then there's a time change when we get there so by gametime we have to be sure we're mentally and physically focused. The boys need to be mature and keep loose during the ride, and then get fired up for gametime. We definitely don't want to come out flat against this team", said Koozer.