BIG FOOTBALL FRIDAY

It's been a great season for football here in Cheyenne County as all the local football teams have qualified for the post-season playoffs. November 1, 2024, will be a big day for football in Cheyenne County as the Leyton Warriors host the Diller-Odell Griffins in Dalton for a 1 pm kickoff, Sidney hosts the Omaha Roncalli Catholic Crimson Pride at Weymouth Field for a 4 pm kickoff, and Potter-Dix travels to Red Cloud to take on the Warriors with a 5 pm kickoff.

First up, the Leyton Warriors had a very successful return to 6-Man Football, and put up a 6-and-2 record with big wins against rivals Potter-Dix and South Platte. Head Coach Cody Gamble took over the team that had to transition from the 8-Man game to the 6-Man game, and Gamble's experience in 6-Man was limited to just the junior high school level. But he has a solid team of good athletes, with several standouts, and was able to weather the season and compile a 6-and-2 record and secure a playoff berth. The team is led by junior Alec Watchorn who completed 43 of 59 passes for 884 yards and 18 touchdowns, with just one interception. He compiled a 147.4 QB rating for the year. He also rushed for 861 yards and 13 touchdowns, putting up a 123-yard per-game average. But Leyton isn't a team with just one standout athlete. Austin Beutler has also been a standout, completing 36 passes for 471 yards and 5 touchdowns and had 14 receptions for 298 yards and 6 touchdowns. The young team has talented offensive players in juniors Jeremiah Hajek and Kaleb Miller, sophomore Kaleb Miller freshman Colt Van Anne. The Warriors are well-balanced offensively but rely a bit more on their passing game than their rushing game due to their talented receivers. Their defense is strong and is good in coverage and they have a knack for intercepting the ball.

Diller-Odell has a strong rushing attack and has scored 29 touchdowns on the ground. Braydin Wendland usually passes the ball, and he's thrown for 926 yards and 19 touchdowns on the season. Teghan Rosebaugh is their main rushing threat, and he's gained 857 yard on the season with 14 touchdowns. The Griffins have a solid defense that is good at generating turnovers with 10 fumble recoveries and 10 interceptions on the year. Not turning the ball over is a big key for a Warriors win in this match up.

Leyton Head Coach Cody Gamble said, "Diller-Odell has a good combination of size and speed.  They are fairly balanced offensively.  They have a really good receiver with great size and speed.  Defensively they slow play everything and run a zone behind it.  They really rally to the ball.  They are a good football team and we cannot turn the ball over and stay in this game."

The big story this season has been the Sidney Red Raiders, with a historic 9-and-0 regular season, and each win coming decisively and earning the number one seed. Their game against number 16 seed Omaha Roncalli Catholic kicks off at 4 pm at Weymouth Field. The Raiders' strength has been their offensive and defensive lines, dictating the pace of play and punishing opposing lines. Coupled with their outstanding talent at quarterback, running back, and their game-changing receiving corps, opposing teams know they're going to have a problem against this tough Sidney team. Another big factor in teams' success has been their discipline and lack of mistakes during games. Sure, there are lapses here and there, especially with penalties, but this team keeps those lapses at a minimum. Credit Head Coach Ryan Smith and his coaches for this team's smart play, awareness, and discipline.

Junior quarterback Alek Doty had been outstanding, completing 98 out of 149 passes for 1776 yards and 23 touchdowns, with just 3 interceptions on the year. Doty throws a great deep ball and is disciplined enough to not try to force passes into tight coverage. He is also an outstanding runner, with 738 yards on the season and 11 touchdowns. Senior Owen Gillham is the main running back and has rushed for 668 yards this season with 2 touchdowns. Deceptively quick and powerful, he's a great option to take it up the middle and consistently get five yards per carry. When tackled, he always seems to fall forward for a few extra yards. The receiving corps of Landon Riddle, Lance Holly, Reid Fiscus, Patrick McCartney, and Keian Kaiser are also outstanding. Riddle is a speedster with the ability to get behind defenses and make difficult catches. Excellent body control and focus make him a threat on every passing down. Lance Holly has great speed also, and has been used successfully on jet sweeps the entire season. Fiscus, McCartney, and Kaiser are all tough receivers with good hands that are difficult to bring down after the catch. This group is also the hard-hitters on defense, punishing runners who get through the line with big hits and making them think twice about going through the Sidney defensive backfield a second time.

The Crimson Pride comes into the contest with a 5-and-4 record, but this is a much better team than the record shows. They have a strong passing game, with sophomore Brady McGill under center. He's thrown for 1866 yards and 16 touchdowns on the season. The Pride do not have a true featured running back and they distribute the ball evenly with a cast of athletes. However, look for most of the runs to be McGill pulling down the ball and running from the quarterback position. The Pride has a tough defense with good tacklers. They get good penetration into the opposing backfield. They generate a lot of fumbles and have had 8 interceptions on the year. Line anchor Austin Christensen and his mates will have a tough task protecting the quarterback in this game.

Sidney Head Coach Ryan Smith said, "Right now our guys feel pretty good.  They are always working hard to get better and feel confident, but not overconfident.  They understand the playoffs are different in terms of it's a win or be done situation.

Roncalli is not a typical 16 seed.  They are very good and have played some of the top teams in the state very well.  They have lost a couple of toss-up games that easily could have gone their way.  They have suffered some injuries to some of their top-level players.  Any time you lose a starter, it takes the back-up a game or two to get up to varsity speed, and it appears those guys are just now rounding into form.  They can be a very explosive offensive team and have the speed to score from anywhere on the field and their defense creates a ton of turnovers.  This is going to be an exciting game."

The final game on tap pits the Potter-Dix Coyotes with a 6-Man road matchup against the Red Cloud Warriors. The Coyotes have to make a long trip for this matchup, and that could be a factor in the game. The Coyotes have had a challenging season but were able to get enough wins to earn their playoff spot.

Led by the outstanding junior Dylan Tabor, the Coyotes also have a good group of athletes who can move the ball well and play good defense. Tabor is their main passer with 35 completions for 647 yards and 12 touchdowns. He's the big rushing threat with 907 yards and 15 touchdowns on the season. Junior Landon Gasseling is also a threat throwing, running, and receiving. Senior Dawson Monheiser is a big rushing threat who's difficult to tackle and keeps going well after it seems he should have been taken down. The tough runner has rushed for 338 yards and 6 touchdowns on the season. Unfortunately, Monheiser suffered a serious leg injury and will not be available for this game, and most likely future games if the Coyotes advance. The Coyotes go into the game short on players due to injuries, and their defense will be challenged in this game by the Warriors, a 7-and-1 team that plays a tough schedule. They have outstanding junior Gage Ely who averaged 114.5 yards rushing per game, and junior Hunter Englehart who rushed for 14 touchdowns. The Coyotes will have their hands full in this contest and will have to give their very best effort to come away with a win.

Head Coach Dale Frerichs said, "They are a quality team with their only loss to undefeated Pawnee City. They have good team speed with two quality running backs. Injuries and other circumstances will have us with 10 available players. It will be important for some of our young players to step up and make plays."