Red Raiders fall to powerhouse McCook, 35-13

Despite the energy flowing from more than 1,000 screaming Sidney Red Raiders' fans at Weymouth Field Friday night, the McCook Bison quickly stunned the crowd by returning the opening kickoff 87 yards for a touchdown.

While the energy from the crowd seldom abated, the momentum seized by the Bison on the game's opening play proved equally resilient as McCook went on to post a 35-13 victory in a battle of previously unbeaten football teams. The Bison advanced its record to 4-0 while Sidney slipped to 3-1.

"McCook is good program and they're always going to be a good prorgram," said Raiders' head coach Chris Koozer. "We can't get overwhelmed by who's on the other side of the ball. We just need to do what we do. I'm not saying the effort was bad, but we didn't do our jobs very well."

While the Raiders stumbled over the first 24 minutes with the Bison taking a 28-6 lead into the half, Sidney and McCook played the final half even at seven points apiece.

"The second half was OK, so it was nice to see that we could come back and play football," Koozer added. "But whether you lose by one point or 20 points it's all the same thing."

Following Joe Schlager's kickoff return, the Raiders mounted a promising drive which eventually stalled at the Bison 46-yard line. Some hard running by Hunter Secrest, Alex Linneman and Derek Robb – with a 9-yard completion from Brady Radcliffe to Tyler Wintholz thrown in – the Raiders moved the chains three times. Linneman finished the night as the Raiders leading rusher with 77 yards on 12 carries.

But when the Raiders were forced to punt, McCook responded with a 12-play, 71-yard march to put the visitors up 14-0 with 1:26 left in the opening quarter. McCook struck again 3:03 into the second quarter for a 21-0 lead before Sidney offered its first response.

"In the first half we just weren't ready," said Sidney center Cody Hofrock. "Maybe we were playing a little more scared than we should have. After that first quarter, I think we played a lot better."

Wintholz was the catalyst to the Raiders first score as he jumped on a McCook fumble at the Bison 39 with 6:35 left in the half. Radcliffe ran for 14 yards on a pair of carries while Secrest ground out a tough three before Robb was given the ball on a first-and-10 play at the 22.

As Wintholz turned his man to the inside, Robb scampered down the home sideline past a Linneman block to give the Raiders their first touchdown. While the Raiders still trailed 21-6, their ensuing defensive stand gave Raiders' fans hope of a comeback.

Josh Austad and Robb greeted the next Bison offensive series by dropping Schlager on first down after a one-yard gain. On the next play, Dalton Schilz stuffed Schlager back to the original line of scrimmage. A fumble by Bison quarterback Easton Gillen on third down resulted in a four-yard loss.

Though Sidney forced the punt with 2:40 left in the half, it couldn't capitalize with the ball at their own 46. McCook then responded with a 50-yard touchdown drive after getting the ball at midfield with 42.1 seconds left in the half.

Sidney gave new life to a comeback attempt to open the second 24 minutes. The Raiders took their first possession 80 yards on 13 plays to make it a two-score game at 28-13. The final five yards were covered by Robb, who fell in behind Austad who had pulled out of the line to lead the blocking. Wintholz again turned his man to the inside to give Robb more running room.

"We should have played them better than we did," said Schilz. "We played the No. 4 team in the state and tied them in the second half. If we keep playing like we did in the second half and keep improving, we're going to be very tough the rest of the season."

Sidney travels to Lexington (1-3) for its next assignment on Friday at 7 p.m. CDT. The Minutemen lost to the Raiders' district foe Alliance, 27-0, last week.

BOXSCORE

McCook 35, Sidney 13

Hastings 14 14 0 7 – 35

Sidney 0 6 7 0 – 13

M – Joe Schlager 87-yard kickoff return (Sam Smith kick)

M – Bret Baumbach 2-yard run (Sam Smith kick)

M – Easton Gillen 19-yard run (Sam Smith kick)

S – Derek Robb 22-yard run (kick blocked)

M – Dunncan Fassler 13-yard run (Sam Smith kick)

S – Derek Robb 5-yard run (Arik Doty kick)

M – Bret Baumbach 12-yard run (Sam Smith kick)