Raiders Drop Sixth Straight, 39-14

Sidney’s Red Raider Football team traveled to Imperial Friday night to face the Chase County Longhorns, and mistakes and turnovers again turned a close game into a lopsided loss.

Sidney started on offense, but both teams initially struggled to put together a drive until the Longhorns broke through with a fifty yard run for a score on their third possession. A botched point after kick turned into a successful pass in the end zone, and Chase County led 8-to-0.

Sidney’s offense could not sustain any momentum, and was plagued by penalties and miscues. The Longhorns scored on a short run by senior quarterback Bennet Bauerle, and went into the half leading 15-to-0. Chase County received the ball to start the third quarter and scored again to extend their lead 22-to-0. But the Raiders were finally able to sustain some offense, and scored on a Beau Wamsley 6 yard run, then capitalized on an Eli Ahrens interception of a Bauerle pass which resulted in an Ahrens 9 yard touchdown run.

Down 22-to-14, the Raiders were within one score of tying the game, but miscues again put the game out of reach for Sidney. Two sacks for big losses resulted in a Chase County field goal which was followed by a fumble on a pitch by Ahrens that resulted in another touchdown for the Longhorns. Chase County closed out the scoring late in the game with a pick-6 of an Ahrens pass to give the Longhorns the 39-to-14 victory.

Sidney Head Coach Chris Koozer said, “Again, we shot ourselves in the foot with the turnovers and the mistakes. We had some good things happen, like getting two interceptions, but our mistakes overshadowed everything. And Chase County did a good job in sustaining drives and keeping our defense on the field for a long time.”

Sidney finishes the season on Friday with a home matchup against the 4-and-4 Mitchell Tigers.

“Mitchell’s a strong team with a great quarterback, fast backs and good receivers. They’re also very big and have good team speed”, said Koozer.

For the final game, Koozer expects his team to go out on a high note.

“They put a lot of time into this over the season and over the years, and I’m stressing to them to make this last game memorable,” said Koozer.

“We need to start fast, get some turnovers and pressure them into making mistakes. We want to end with a win, and the key is for us to get a lead early,” said Koozer.