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Sidney outguns Hastings on the road, 40-20

Anglin, Secrest lead Sidney to victory against Tigers; Red Raiders improve to 3-0 with 40-20 win

HASTINGS – Senior running back Chance Anglin exploded for 245 yards and four touchdowns on 21 carries, caught a 40-yard pass and even intercepted a pass, as Sidney High School outgunned Hastings in a 40-20 win Friday night. 

Junior running back Hunter Secrest also pounded out 76 yards and a score on 16 carries to help lead visiting Sidney to the victory. The Red Raiders are now 3-0 on the season and are ranked No. 15 in the state by MaxPreps.com.

Sidney head coach Todd Ekart says his team still has work to do, however, as Hastings managed 400 yards of offense in the loss.

"I was pleased with the win," Ekart said. "We need to get better up front on both sides of the ball and we need to be more consistent with our effort and execution. Some of that has to do with only having to play the first half of the first two games."

In the Red Raiders' first two wins of 2014 against Chadron and Adams Central, Sidney had those games in hand by the middle of the second quarter. Things weren't so easy at first on Friday night. But thanks to a Hastings fumble in the first few minutes of the game and a weak punt, Sidney's two first-quarter drives both started in Tigers' territory.

On Sidney's second drive, Secrest took the ball to into the end zone for a five-yard score that finished off a five-play, 38-yard drive. The Raiders, who appeared to be taking their time on offense in their first couple of series, only managed an 8-0 lead after the first 12 minutes.

The Raider defense was stingy throughout the first half, fully employing the "bend-but-don't-break" philosophy. Hastings was able to move the ball respectably with short, underneath screen passes by sophomore gunslinging quarterback Vinny Schmidt. But they couldn't find the end zone for the first 22 minutes of the game.

At one point in the second quarter, the Tigers got as close as the Sidney 3, but the defense brought pressure on Schmidt on fourth down to get the stop and prevent the TD.

Two possessions later, Anglin, who had been bottled up for the majority of the first half, finally busted out. With Sidney facing a second and 14 from their own 26-yard line, Anglin burst through the hole and got to the outside, out-running Hastings defenders for 74 yards down the sideline. The ensuing two-point conversion failed, but the Raiders held a 14-0 lead with 6:15 left in the first half.

Anglin read the defense perfectly and saw exactly what was in front of him.

"They (the Hastings defense) were really trying to take away the outside, so it left the middle wide open," said Anglin, who's averaging 142 yards per game this season. "The line did a great job with that too."

For a moment, it looked as though Sidney would run away with the game in the first half once again. On the Tigers' next possession, Schmidt was hit in the pocket and launched an ill-advised ball that landed right into the hands of senior defensive back Garrett Deer for an interception.

But then on the very next play at the Tigers' 34-yard line, senior quarterback Lane Harvey was picked off - his first of 2014 - by freshman receiver/defensive back Zack Khamouna, who also had six catches for 77 yards and two touchdowns in the game for Hastings. 

 The turnover set up Hastings on their own 5-yard line with under 5:30 left to play in the first half. Aided by a trio of Sidney penalties that handed Hastings 27 yards, the Tigers marched down the field and scored on an 11-play, 68-yard drive. The Raiders took a 14-7 lead into halftime.

Sidney started fast in the second half. On the second play from scrimmage, Anglin ripped off a 71-yard touchdown run. After another failed two-point try, Sidney went up 20-7.

Sidney scored again with 2:17 left in the third after an Anglin interception in the end zone. Harvey engineered an 80-yard drive and he crossed the goal line from four yards out or the score. That gave Sidney a 28-7 lead with the two-point conversion.

The Raiders would add another score 21 seconds into the fourth quarter on Anglin's 5-yard run. Again, the two point conversion was no good, but Sidney led comfortably, 34-7.

But the Hastings offensive line really picked it up and started to give Schmidt an eternity on ever snap. With extra pocket protection, the Tigers finally scored again with 9:42 left in the game. Schmidt completed passes of 29 and 34 yards to cut Sidney's lead to 34-14. 

Ekart recognizes the challenge of defending a pass-heavy team and all things considered, was happy with his defense' pass coverage. Schmidt completed 20 of his 40 passes on the evening for 286 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions. He threw for 427 yards last week against Scottsbluff.

Tigers' junior receiver Morgan Karloff, who caught 11 passes for 234 yards and two touchdowns against Scottsbluff, was held to just one reception for four yards on Friday night.

"Our coverage was excellent all game and we did get pressure and some sacks," Ekart said. "But we began to tire a bit and our pass rush was not consistent. Overall, we did a good job of stopping what they do a majority of the time."

Harvey was intercepted again by Khamouna midway through the fourth, on a ball that was deflected. Hastings took over at midfield, but Sidney forced a turnover on downs.

After junior running back Jake Heeren fumbled following a 14-yard run on Sidney's next play, the Tigers recovered and eventually scored on a Schmidt-to-Khamouna connection. The Sidney lead was now just 14 at 34-20 with 4:18 left to play.

Sidney needed to melt the clock and it did just that. The running game continued to move the chains and tacked on a dagger touchdown with 14 seconds left.

The Raiders will travel to McCook (3-0) this Friday. The Bison are currently the No. 6 team statewide in Class B according to MaxPreps.com.

After the game, Anglin referred to just how tough McCook will be for his Raiders.

"It was a ride," Anglin said of his big night. "But overall we didn't play too well. We need to play better because we've got a real tough game next week. We'll have to work real hard this week if we want to do anything against McCook."

 

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