Sidney aims for 2-0 start on road

After traveling the long road to Chadron to win its football opener 41-7 last week, Sidney High will aim to make it two straight road wins this week.

Sidney will take another long bus ride this Friday when it heads eastward to meet the Adams Central Patriots (0-1) in Hastings at 7 p.m. CDT (6 p.m. MDT). The Patriots play in Class B District 7 with McCook, Hastings and Lexington – all of which are on the Raiders' schedule this season.

Adams Central stumbled in its season opener against the Grand Island Northwest Vikings. The Vikes cruised to a 34-8 victory in front of their home crowd. When the Raiders met Adams Central in 2014, Sidney scored 43 first-half points en route to a 43-6 win at Weymouth Field. The Patriots finished 3-6 a year ago.

While the Pats have been traditionally a run-orientend team, expect to see a greater emphasis on the passing game on Friday. In last week's loss, senior quarterback Breckon Reed threw 44 times and completed 20 passes for 219 yards. Last season, Reed averaged about 19 pass attempts per game and clicked at just under 46 percent.

While Northwest's stingy run defense, which yielded just 12 yards on 14 carries, may have forced the Patriots' hand, they still prefer to pass first and run second.

"We've been very run oriented in the past, but we've largely shifted away from that," said Adams Central head coach Shawn Mulligan. "It's really about personnel. We made the switch because we believe it will give the athletes we have the best chance to succeed. But we still like to run right at people to keep some balance."

When Reed drops back, he often looks to senior Kyler Wormstadt or junior Cole Spady. Wormstadt led the team in receptions (19) and receiving yards (223) last year. While Spady did not figure greatly in the offense as a sophomore, he was Reed's favorite target last week with 77 yards on eight receptions.

Wormstadt pulled in five passes out of the backfield for 45 yards.

"The potential firepower of their offense is scary," said Red Raiders head coach Chris Koozer. "(Reed) looks like a really good athlete and (Wormstadt) and (Spady) can hurt us if we're not careful. They threw to Spady quite a bit last week. Their M.O. is to pass and they'll toss it around to five wide receivers."

When the Patriots run, Wormstadt (5-11, 185 lbs.) is most likely to get the ball. Though he ran for just three yards on one carry last week, he rushed for 1,004 yards in 2014. Dylan Glaser, a sophmore, led the rushing attack at Northwest with 20 yards on nine carries.

Sidney will counter the pass offense with a 3-4 front with linebackers more active in pass coverage. An extra defensive back, likely Alex Linneman, will also be part of the defensive package.

"With five wide receivers you're going to need some extra help in the backfield," Koozer said. "They're totally changed from what they used to do. They toss it around a bunch and throw to kids all over the field so we're going to have to know our assignemnts on defense."

When Sidney gets the ball, they will likely continue to do what it does best – run the ball.

Sidney's offensive line (Cody Hofrock at center, Patraic Hays and Dalton Schilz at guards and Dominic Beyer and Jake Olsen at the tackle spots) gave the talented Sidney running corps plenty of room to run last week. Sidney used Jake Heeren, Hunter Secrest, Alex Linneman and Derek Robb to great effect against Chadron.

"Absolutely we're going to spread the ball around," Koozer said. "Most other teams would have someone get 20 or 30 carries, but we have the luxury of having a lot of depth back there."

When quarterback Brady Radcliffe throws the ball, he will have his choice of the talented running backs or wideouts Tyler Wintholz or John Bramer. Wintholz was Sidney's top receiver in 2014.

Sidney came out of the Chadron game relatively healthy. Secrest, who plays linebacker in addition to running back, had to be helped off the field at Chadron early in the game but returned to finish. Starting tackle Dominic Beyer, however, is unlikely to play this week due to a hip issue.

"The good news is he had an X-ray and it looked good," said Koozer. "I'll be shocked though if he plays."

Should Beyer not be able to go, Cade Price will start at right tackle. Mathias Beyer, Dominic's younger brother and a freshman, will back up Price.