Sidney Rally Falls Short, Drops Heartbreaker in OT

Sidney's Red Raider Football team dropped to 2-and-2 on the season with a loss 28-to-27 loss against the Cozad Haymakers Friday night at Weymouth Field. It was Homecoming and the pre-game festivities had the boisterous home crowd eager for a Sidney victory. Sidney's defense held on the first series, forcing a three-and-out and energizing the Sidney faithful. But Sidney senior quarterback Eli Ahrens misfired on a third down pass attempt, and the Haymakers intercepted and took over with great field position. Cozad was quickly able to drive and score a touchdown, and the visitors opened an early 7-to-0 lead. Sidney was able to move the ball in their next possession, but were forced to punt and Cozad again went on a long drive. The Haymakers advanced down to the Sidney 13 yard line, but the Sidney defense was able to hold on fourth down, forcing a turnover on downs and a big momentum shift.

Again the Raiders were able to move the ball, but were unable to to get past midfield. Another punt had Cozad back on offense and they again began to drive on the strength of big runs by sophomore quarterback Nolan Wetovick and junior running back Matthew Schuster. Wetovick scored on a run up the middle when the Sidney secondary was pulled to the sidelines in pass coverage, getting past the Sidney secondary and outrunning the defense for one of his three rushing touchdowns on the day. Early in the second quarter, the Raiders found themselves in a 14-to-0 hole.

Sidney Head Coach Chris Koozer said, "We saw that (isolation) play coming, but couldn't adjust quickly enough to cover the middle and he got behind the secondary. The Cozad team did a great job of switching their looks causing our defense to miss assignments."

Sidney received the ball but could not muster any yardage, and punted the ball away again. Cozad again drove the ball, with Sidney unable to contain the edges and giving up another long touchdown run to fall behind 21-to-0 with 2:47 left to play in the half. Sidney was forced punt away again, and Cozad was able to drive and threatened to score again. But sophomore Dietrich Lecher and senior Nathan Hofrock met in the backfield for a sack, putting Cozad in a third down and long position with 32 seconds left in the half. Wetovick threw incomplete on third down, and Cozad elected not to attempt a field goal, and completed a pass on fourth down, but fell short of the end zone as time expired.

Koozer rallied his team at halftime, refocusing his players and getting them to put the first half behind them.

"We were a little deflated, but that stop at the end of the half pumped us up a bit. I told them we're giving the game away with mental mistakes, penalties, and poor execution. They took advantage of us getting too deep in their backfield on defense and getting around the edges on their runs," said Koozer

The second half started with Sidney having some success on a drive, Ahrens was able to complete an 18 yard pass on third down and 19, but a Sidney pass interference penalty negated the gain and forced a punt. But this time, Sidney's defense held and forced a three and out, despite losing Ahrens for the series on defense after he re-injured his ankle. After the Cozad kick gave the Raiders good field position at the 47 yard line, the offense returned with Ahrens back in the game after his ankle was wrapped. Ahrens battled through the injury, and on a third and two handed off to Wamsley who was able to turn the corner and sprint down the sideline for a Sidney touchdown, finally putting the Raiders on the board at 21-to-7. Cozad got the ball back and was able to put together a drive, aided by offsides and false start penalties by Sidney. But Sidney was able to hold again, with senior Cayden Jobman coming up with a big sack on fourth down to get the Sidney offense back on the field.

Both offenses could not gain any traction, with both teams going through a series of three and outs and turnovers on downs as the third quarter expired and the fourth quarter started. The Raiders were finally able to get consistency from their running game, with Wamsley and senior Zak Wieser combining for runs and picking up first downs. After a pass interference penalty gave Sidney a first down on the Haymaker's 27 yard line, Ahrens found Wamsley on a wheel route up the sideline streaking towards the end zone. Wamsley got a step on the Cozad defender, and Ahrens dropped a perfect pass into Wamsley's hands, narrowing the Haymaker's lead to 21-to-14.

Sidney again forced a three and out, shutting down the Haymaker's rushing game and getting great pressure on the Cozad quarterback. Sidney drove again, relying on the running game and methodically moving down the field. Finally, with 1:39 left in regulation, Wieser was able to break through the middle for a 10 yard touchdown run to tie the score 21-to-21, sending the game into overtime. Sidney had the first attempt to score, and after getting the ball down to the two yard line, Ahrens punched it in for the touchdown. Sidney converted the point after kick, but was flagged again for a false start penalty. On the second attempt, the snap was low, and the kick was never attempted. The Raiders were hurt all game long by penalties, but this one proved the most costly as the Haymakers were able to convert for a touchdown on their overtime series, and with a successful extra point kick the Raiders comeback fell short and the game ended in Cozad's favor 28-to-27.

Coach Koozer focused on the positives, saying, "We really fought back and played a great half of defensive football. We showed resilience and the ability to come back, but again mistakes and penalties cost us the game. It's just something we need to keep working on.

Next up, Sidney travels to Chadron to take on the rival Cardinals and Koozer knows this will be the team's biggest challenge to date.

"They have a great wide receiver, a great running back, and a very good quarterback. They have a very good coaching staff that gets their team prepared and develops good game plans. On defense, they run a base 3-4 scheme that makes them flexible and unpredictable. This is going to be a big challenge, and we're going to have to start fast and eliminate mistakes to be successful. If we can keep focused and play within ourselves and limit the penalties, we have a great chance for a good result for us." said Koozer.