Raiders Rock Longhorns, 35-12

IMPERIAL--No matter if they're at home or on the road, the 2024 Sidney Red Raider Football team looks unstoppable after another dominating win against a district opponent. On Friday, October 11, the Red Raiders and the Sidney faithful drove out to Imperial for a match-up against the Chase County Longhorns. And again, Sidney captured an early lead, built it up, and cruised through the second half for another lopsided win by a final score of 35-to-12.

Sidney opened on offense to start the game, after a good kickoff return to their own 35-yard line. Junior quarterback Alek Doty had a big run to move Sidney down to the Chase County 40 yard-line, and after converting on a fourth down and one try, the Raiders were deep in Longhorns' territory. From the 18-yard line, Doty rolled out and hit senior Reid Fiscus with a great pass to the end zone, and after Doty converted the extra point kick, the Red Raiders were up 7-to-0 at the 8:07 mark of the first quarter.

The Longhorns returned the ensuing kickoff to their own 25 yard-line and tried to get through the Sidney defense, but after gaining a few yards on first down, they next had a run stopped in the backfield for a loss, and then an incomplete pass to force a fourth down punt. Sidney continued their streak of forcing a three-and-out on their opponents' first possession, now at seven games. The punt was short, and Sidney took over at the Chase County 39 yard-line. Sidney had a big play on first down, with Doty finding senior Landon Riddle with a pass, and the speedster took the ball down to the Chase County 10-yard-line. On the next play, Doty found junior Keian Kaiser open in the end zone and delivered another great pass for a touchdown, and after another successful extra point, the Raiders were up 14-to-0 with 5:54 left in the first quarter.

The Sidney defense shut down the next Longhorn possession, forcing another three-and-out. After the punt, Sidney started on their own 46 yard-line. Doty ran for a first down, then junior Lance Holly had a big end run down to the Longhorns' 20-yard line, but a penalty brought the ball back to the Chase County 48. Sidney's drive stalled, and they turned the ball over on downs after an incomplete pass on fourth down. The Longhorns had their first big gain of the first half with a hook-and-lateral play on the ensuing first down. A completed pass on the sideline was quickly lateraled to a trailing player who broke free for a big gain down to the Sidney 36-yard line. But the Longhorns had no more trickery in their repertoire, and their drive quickly stalled, forcing another punt. This time, Sidney started deep in their own territory, and methodically drove with runs and a long pass down into scoring position again. A fourth and eleven pass was broken up in the end zone, and the long drive produced no points but drained a big chunk of time off the clock.

Chase County took over, and on second down completed their second big play of the half, when a Longhorn receiver got past the Sidney secondary and reeled in a pass then ran it down to the Sidney 10-yard line. A Longhorn penalty brought the ball back to the Sidney 25-yard line, but Chase County looked to be in position to score. A run for a loss followed by three incomplete passes gave Sidney the ball back. Sidney started their drive with a few short runs, then Doty found senior Patrick McCartney with a pass and McCartney chugged down to the Chase County 44 yard-line. A few plays later, McCartney caught another pass and broke multiple tackles on his way to the Longhorns' 27-yard line. On the next play, Doty kept the ball and ran for a touchdown, converted the extra point kick, and Sidney was up 21-to-0 with 1:12 left in the half. Sidney quickly stopped the next Chase County drive, and with time slipping away, tried to score again before the half ended. They got close, and Doty found Lance Holly in the corner of the end zone, but Holly was out of bounds when he caught the ball. The half ended with Sidney up 21-to-0.

Chase County finally put up six points in the third quarter and added another six points in the fourth, but Sidney scored two more touchdowns in the third quarter to snuff any chance of a Chase County comeback. The game ended with Sidney winning 35-to-12, in a game which was decided by the end of the first quarter. Doty continues to impress, going 11-of-19 through the air for 238 yards and three touchdowns while running 17 times for 140 yards and a touchdown in the victory. Senior Owen Gillham rushed 15 times

for 77 yards and a touchdown. Holly, Fiscus, and Kaiser all had touchdown receptions in the win. The Sidney team is doing a great job utilizing all of their offensive weapons and not relying on one or two big playmakers. The Sidney defense was solid, making it difficult to run for the Longhorns. Except for a few big plays, the Sidney defensive backs shut down the Chase County receivers. Junior Zech Roggasch had a fumble recovery that stopped a Longhorn drive.

The Raiders are cruising and return home on Friday for a match-up against the 1-and-6 Alliance Bulldogs. Look for Sidney to continue their winning streak with another lopsided victory against the struggling Bulldogs.