Tigers Rally Past Raiders

Sidney's Red Raider Football team ended their season at home with a 26-to-13 loss against the visiting Mitchell Tigers in a game that had Sidney leading at halftime.

The Raiders gave up a 20 yard touchdown run on Mitchell's first drive to fall behind 6-to-0, but quickly rebounded with a scoring run of their own to tie the game at 6-to-6. In the second quarter, the defense played well, limiting the Tiger's offensive production and allowing no points while the offense again cashed in on sophomore Nathan Kennedy's touchdown reception to take a 13-to-6 lead into the half.

But the Tiger's jumped on the Sidney defense on the first play of the third quarter with a 60 yard touchdown run to narrow the Sidney lead to 13-to-12.

Sidney Head Coach Chris Koozer said of the play to start the second half, "We talked about that play during halftime and we were ready for it. They just were able to beat our guys and take it all the way for a score. It wasn't that we weren't expecting the play, but (junior Ryan) Aguallo is a quality running back with great speed, and we couldn't contain him."

Sidney also again struggled with miscues, penalties, and inconsistency on offense, and Mitchell was able to take advantage and pull away, scoring two more touchdowns in the second half while shutting the Raiders out. The game ended with a final score of 26-to-13, ending the Raider's season with their seventh straight loss and a 2-and-7 final record.

"We had more takeaways than Mitchell, but we weren't able to take advantage of their mistakes while they did a great job of making us pay for ours," said Koozer.

The Raiders did play well on defense, but were unable to score enough for the victory. Senior Eli Ahrens, junior Zack Burke and Kennedy each had an interception in the loss, while senior Zak Wieser led the Raiders with 14 total tackles.

Koozer acknowledged the hard work put in by the seniors over the years, saying, "Eli Ahrens, Wieser, the Hofrocks and the rest of the seniors played their hearts out and put a lot of work into the team every year. The record doesn't reflect it this year, but these guys should be proud of all that they have accomplished with the program."

Koozer expects a rebound next year, saying, "The good thing for us is that we got a lot of underclassmen playing time that's going to really help us next year. We're going to plug up some holes during the offseason and be ready to go with a more experienced group that's eager to win. And they'll have the support of the great community here, win or lose."