Serving proudly since 1873 as the beautiful Nebraska Panhandle's first newspaper
Serving proudly since 1873 as the beautiful Nebraska Panhandle's first newspaper
Sidney-Scottsbluff tilt will feature run games
Sidney running back Hunter Secrest will help lead the Raiders' running attack against Scottsbluff on Friday night.
Sidney head football coach Chris Koozer knows he won't have to do much to get his Red Raiders fired up this week. A quick look at the schedule shows the next foe: Scottsbluff.
Enough said.
When these rivals meet, you can – as the adage goes – "throw out the records."
This Friday night's game at Scottsbluff (7 p.m. kickoff) marks the start of District B-8 play – an important three-game stretch with the team that emerges on top earning an automatic berth in the Class B state tournament.
"You can put all records aside," Koozer said. "Both teams are 0-0 going into this one with that automatic playoff going to the team that wins district. Being a rivalry game just adds a little extra to it.
"It's obviously a big game for us," Koozer added. "I'm trying not to hype this one more than I need to. The kids will be ready."
Sidney (4-2) is coming off last week's 27-20 loss to Grand Island Northwest. Meanwhile, Scottsbluff (3-3) is riding a two-game losing streak – falling to GINW 38-35 and Aurora 26-7 the past two weeks.
In each of the Red Raiders' two losses this year, they've been plagued by slow starts. Last week, they fell behind 20-6 after the opening quarter and never quite recovered.
"We're going to look to jump on them early," Koozer said. "We seem to play really well when we're up. We'll try to go out and get a lead and go from there.
"If we can do that, we can get them to do things they didn't necessarily want to do," he added. "If we can force them into passing the ball, I think they'll be uncomfortable."
Like Sidney, the Bearcats have relied primarily on the run this season.
They average 328 yards per game on the ground, compared to just 60 yards a contest through the air.
Senior Brad Johnston is Scottsbluff's go-to back. He's carried the ball 102 times for 723 yards and eight touchdowns.
Quarterback Traceton Halley (62 carries, 308 yards, 3 TDs) and and Ben Heggern (22 carries, 253 yards, 4 TDs) are also threats out of the backfield.
Through six games, Halley has only thrown the ball 33 times, completing 15 passes for 360 yards. He has four TDs passes and one interception.
On defense, junior Isaac DeLosSantos has a team-high 50 tackles.
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