Football Preview: Chadron Cardinals vs. Sidney Red Raiders
Chadron has won five straight games at home (dating back to last season), while Sidney has won five straight on the road, but those streaks won't matter much on Friday. The Chadron Cardinals will host the Sidney Red Raiders at 7:00 p.m. The two teams have allowed few points on average, (Chadron: 10.1, Sidney: 7) so any points scored will be well earned.
Chadron is probably headed into the contest with a chip on their shoulder considering Gering just ended the team's seven-game winning streak on Friday. They fell just short of the Bulldogs by a score of 23-20. Despite 156 more yards than the Bulldogs, the Cardinals couldn't convert that extra yardage to scores.
Despite their defeat, Chadron saw several players rise to the challenge and make noteworthy plays. Bricen Wright, who picked up 115 receiving yards and two touchdowns, was perhaps the best of all. The dominant performance also gave Wright a new career-high in rushing yards. Another rusher making a difference was Quinn Bailey, who rushed for 156 yards and a touchdown.
Even if they lost, Chadron's defense still kept up the pressure with three sacks. Talon Jelinek was especially locked on to Gering's QB and sacked him twice.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Sidney). They breezed by Alliance at home to the tune of 48-14 on Friday. The result was nothing new for the Red Raiders, who have now won five matchups by 23 points or more so far this season.
Sidney didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off four passes before the game was over. The picks came courtesy of Reid Fiscus and Landon Riddle.
Having lost for the first time this season, Chadron fell to 7-1. As for Sidney, their victory bumped their record up to 8-0.
Friday's game might be decided in the on the ground. Chadron has been unstoppable on the ground this season, having averaged 311.4 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Sidney struggles in that department as they've been averaging 184. It's looking like Friday's match might have some serious battles in the trenches.
Chadron lost to Sidney at home by a decisive 40-21 margin when the teams last played back in September of 2023. Thankfully for Chadron, Luke Holly (who rushed for 180 yards and two touchdowns while picking up 7.2 yards per carry) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? There's only one way to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
