Raiders Fall to Central City, 29-12 Sidney Season Ends in Competitive Playoff Loss

SIDNEY--The Sidney Red Raiders ended their season Friday night with a loss against the visiting Central City Bison, 29-to-12. The contest was a battle through three and a half quarters until the tides turned against the Raiders midway through the final quarter and ended their season. The Red Raiders finish the year with an 11-and-1 record and a season to remember as being one of the best in Sidney High School history.

A huge crowd turned out for the game on both sides, and many of the Sidney faithful were still buzzing over the previous night's parade, bonfire and car smash-up which got everybody in red fired up for the game. The Central City fans came out in big numbers, making the four-hour drive west and then packing the stands across from the hometown cheering section. Additional bleachers were set in the end zone for the kids, and there was a huge amount of energy in the air as the game started.

There are lots of football cliches that could be used to describe this game, and the first is the final score did not indicate how competitive a contest this game turned out to be. Central City won the coin toss and deferred, meaning Sidney received the ball first, and on their opening possession, junior quarterback Alek Doty attempted a third-down pass to senior Patrick McCartney that was deflected and intercepted. The Bison took over with great field position, but the stout Sidney defense shut them down, forcing a punt. Sidney was able to gain a first down on their next possession, but the Bison defense stopped the Raiders and forced a punt. The Central City offense ran a no-huddle style of attack, putting the Raider's defense on their heels. The Bison were successful with a swing pass, and a Sidney defender slipped and fell, giving the Central City receiver an open lane and he trucked all the way to the Sidney endzone. After a successful two-point conversion, the Bison led 8-to-0 with 3:14 left in the first quarter.

After a short kickoff, Sidney sophomore Rhys Dorcey scooped up the ball and brought it back to the Central City 47-yard line. Senior Owen Gillham, Doty and senior Landon Riddle combined for runs to bring the ball down inside the five-yard line, before Gillham crashed into the end zone for the touchdown. Sidney missed a two-point conversion attempt and trailed 6-to-8. Central City started their next drive on their own 25-yard line and had some success until a holding penalty pushed them back. Soon after, Bison junior quarterback Parker Zikmund attempted a pass over the middle that Sidney junior Keian Kaiser intercepted. Sidney was in great field position and moved closer to the end zone with a combination of running plays. On a third-down pass, Doty found senior Reid Fiscus in the end zone under the goalpost for a touchdown. The Raiders again missed the two-point conversion, but held a 12-to-8 lead in the second quarter.

There would be no more scoring in the first half, as both defenses dominated the action. Sidney was able to move the ball with running plays, but the Bison defense and secondary shut down the Raider passing attack. The Raider defense was also giving the Bison's passing attack problems, although they continued to have success with a swing pass play that Sidney had trouble defending. The teams went into the half with Sidney leading 12-to-8, and the evenly matched contest would have to be decided in the second half.

Central City had the ball to start the second half, and did what Sidney had been so successful at all season--score on their opening drive of the third quarter. Bison junior Corbin Kyes started to gain traction with his running, and the Bison kept the chains moving with their swing passes. They capped off their drive with a 15-yard touchdown pass and kicked the extra point to take a 15-to-12 lead. Sidney had plenty of time left, but their offensive drives were frustrated by turnovers and misfires. The teams battled until the middle of the fourth quarter when Sidney drove into Bison territory. The Sidney passing game was ineffective, but Gillham was gaining yards rushing and moving the Raiders into scoring position. Sidney had big problems passing all night as the Bison defense was pressuring Doty and forcing him to throw on the run, causing overthrows and incompletions. As the Raiders moved into scoring position, Doty tried a shovel pass to Gillham who ran through the line and was even with the Bison linebackers. Gillham was unable to corral the toss and the ball deflected into a Bison defender's hands for an interception. The Bison were able to drive, and then a long touchdown run by Kyes put the visitors up 22-to-12. Sidney got the ball back with time running out, and a Doty scramble ended with a fumble and a Bison recovery, allowing Central City to punch the ball in one more time and secured the 29-to-12 victory.

A well-played and tough contest ended with a lopsided score due to two costly mistakes by the Raiders. Nevertheless, the Sidney team was in position to win this game as their final drive was draining the clock and steadily marching them into scoring position. However, a victory was not in the cards for the Raiders this night, and the Bison are moving on to the State Championship game against Wahoo in Lincoln next week.

Although the Sidney defense did a great job against a Bison team that averaged over 40 points per game through the season, the Central City team made great adjustments in their passing game, opting for quick-timing routes to minimize the Sidney pass rush. The Bison did a great job pressuring Doty, who uncharacteristically was off-target all game long and ended the contest with five interceptions. Although the home team lost, the consensus from the fans was not only was it a great season overall, but the final game was a hard-fought contest that could have been won if a few bounces had gone the Red team's way.

After the game, Sidney Head Coach Ryan Smith said, "Central City is just a very good team.  Essentially, they made a couple more plays than we did.  Congratulations to them.  Our guys did what they always do though.  They continued to fight the entire game.  I'm very proud of how well our guys responded to each potential problem throughout the year.  Every time we had a little adversity, we found a way to fight through it and get better.  We are really going to miss this group of seniors as they can proudly stake claim to a lot of school bests that have taken place over the last couple of years.  It's going to take quite an effort to surpass what they have accomplished.  They have set the bar high for Red Raider football, and I know the groups that are coming up are more than excited to live up to the standards that have been set."

Doty went 12-for-26 for 97 yards and a touchdown passing and rushed 12 times for 34 yards on the night. Gillham had his first 100+ yard game of the season, rushing 32 times for 159 yards. Many of his carries featured him running over Bison tacklers. The Raider receivers were held to just 97 yards receiving and one touchdown on the night.

The Red Raiders will be back next year and looking to make the next step and get to that Championship game in 2025.