Raiders put on show for fans in scrimmage

Before a crowd of several hundred, the Sidney High School football team took to the field Friday evening for its annual Gatorade scrimmage at Weymouth Field.

With new Red Raiders' head coach Chris Koozer on the sidelines, Sidney first put its freshmen and junior varsity squads on display before the varsity took to the field. For the Sidney varsity team, it will attempt to return to the Class B playoffs for the third time in as many years.

Despite the departure of some talented seniors who made large contributions to the success of the past two seasons, the new-look Raiders appear ready for another strong campaign. Among the personnel changes to the Raiders' offense, senior Brady Radcliffe has taken over the helm at quarterback.

Though the varsity portion of the scrimmage lasted less than an hour, Radcliffe shined in his time on the field. He threw for a pair of touchdowns and ran for another – showing some speed in a 40-yard run down the right sideline. On another occasion, Radcliffe stiff-armed a defender to buy extra time on a pass play while he rolled out to his right.

"We weren't working against the varsity defense, but still I thought we looked pretty good," Radcliffe said. "Our offensive line looked very good and they've been working hard for it. We still have a ways to go, but hopefully we can learn from the film and learn from our mistakes. We'll have to keep improving every week if we expect to be successful."

On the receiving end of Radcliffe's two touchdown passes was wideout Tyler Wintholz.

"There are a couple of things that need to be tweaked, but I thought the guys were pretty sharp," Wintholz said. "We'll learn more after we look at the film and I'm sure we'll need to improve some things. We're going to need work on special teams for one."

Among some other notable plays during the scrimmage, there was an 80-yard touchdown run by sophomore Derek Robb. He sprinted around the right corner and scampered down the sideline and didn't stop until he crossed the goal line. On another play, junior Alex Linneman went on a 30-yard jaunt around the left end.

Jake Heeren, the Raiders' leading rusher from a year ago, took most of his carries straight up the middle and piled up some physical yards. He will also continue in the roles as punter and placekicker. Also in at the running back position was sophomore Coby Haas. On one play, Haas took a short Radcliffe pass out of the backfield and turned it into a 20-yard gainer.

On defense, linebacker Hunter Secrest may have provided the biggest highlight. He picked up a fumble and ran it back the other way for a touchdown.

Following the scrimmage, Koozer gave his players the weekend off. The coaching staff, however, began their work on a game plan for the season-opener over those days.

The Raiders first opponent will be on the road at Chadron this Friday night. Sidney blew out the Cardinals 48-0 at Weymouth Field in the 2014 opener.

"We beat them 48-0, so they'll be gunning for us," Radcliffe said. "We have to prepare for them just like anyone else. I know they don't figure to be as good, but you never know. They might come out and surprise people. We'll be ready to go."