UNDEFEATED!

CHADRON--It was supposed to be a Clash of Titans - that was somewhat spoiled by Gering last Friday when the Bulldogs knocked off the previously undefeated Cardinals in a close contest. However, even if the Cardinals pulled out that win, from the looks of Friday night's contest, the Red Raiders' defense would have exposed them as not being quite the powerhouse they seemed.

Coming into the game against the undefeated Red Raiders, all the talk was about how Chadron standout Quinn Bailey would handle the relentless Sidney defense, and how would the Cardinals' vaunted rushing attack adjust to losing one of their best blockers due to injury? The Red Raider defense answered those questions with an exclamation point.

Bailey had been averaging over two hundred yards per game rushing. The Sidney defense held Bailey to a little less than half that total, 100 yards on 23 carries. The Cardinals are not known for their passing attack and were unable to do much against Sidney, gaining just 41 yards on eight completions.

As it has been all season long, the success of the Red Raiders started and ended in the trenches, with both the offensive line and defensive line, anchored by 6' 4" 340 lb. Senior Austin Christensen, dominating the pace of play and wearing down the Cardinals. Although the Cardinals played tough and Sidney was not able to score on their defense at will like other opponents, the Red Raiders' line seemed to always be able to open the hole necessary to pick up the yards to move the chains, and the defensive line was able to shut down Bailey when necessary.

Sidney kept its streak of not allowing a first down on their opponent's opening drive intact. Although Chadron was able to stop Sidney's initial drive, after shutting down the Cardinals for a second time, the Sidney offense went to work. A long and efficient drive marched the Raiders smartly down the field, and a touchdown run by Sidney's outstanding junior quarterback Alek Doty gave Sidney the 7-to-0 lead, which turned out to be all the points they would need in this game. A touchdown catch by junior Tight End Keian Kaiser as time wound down in the second quarter would give Sidney a 14-to-0 lead, and end the scoring for the night.

Although the Cardinals did a good job keeping Sidney out of the end zone for most of the night, the long Sidney drives took their toll on the Cardinals. And when the Chadron boys were on offense, the relentless rush and hard hits by Christensen, Kaiser, senior Reid Fiscus, senior Patrick McCartney, and others limited the Cardinals to just 141 total yards. Statistically, it might seem that this was a close contest, but by the third quarter, Sidney was clearly in command. For the rest of the contest, it seemed that only a big breakaway play or a costly Sidney mistake would give the Cardinals any chance of a comeback. Neither happened. Along with their outstanding line play, the other attributes that have made the Sidney team so successful are their lack of mistakes and their discipline. Head Coach Ryan Smith has done an outstanding job with this group, and as a reward, his team will get home-field advantage in the playoffs.

After the final gun, the tallies don't jump out of the page, but the most important factor in the victory is how Sidney was in control of the contest from the start. Doty went 8-for-12 for 93 yards and a touchdown; numbers that don't seem impressive, but in the context of the game were exactly what were needed for the win. More importantly, Doty's 103 yards rushing on 21 carries kept the Sidney offense in control of the game. Senior Landon Riddle had a good night, grabbing four passes for 57 yards, with one of those another leaping circus catch for 32 yards, which set up Sidney's second touchdown. Senior Owen Gillham was outstanding running the ball with 90 yards on 17 carries.

The Sidney defense was tremendous, seemingly in the offensive backfield on every play. The coaches schemed very well against Bailey, and although they didn't stop him, they contained him and that was all that was necessary for the victory. Reid Fiscus grabbed another interception in the win.

Sidney starts their playoff drive at home on Friday as they host the Roncalli Catholic Crimson Pride out of Omaha. The Crimson went 5-and-4 in the regular season, and on paper, this contest looks like an overmatch in Sidney's favor. However, the Crimson play tough teams, are battle-tested and have a good passing attack. However, the Sidney lines, especially their defense, will be hard for the visitors to overcome, and a Raider victory is expected in this game.