Brady Robb was the workhorse in Sidney’s win over South Sioux City Friday night in Valentine. The senior running back carried the ball 32 times for 150 yards and a touchdown to carry the Red Raiders to a 26-7 win over the Cardinals.

The game was a replacement game for both teams due to COVID-19 cancellations. Sidney was scheduled to be on the road at Yuma, Colorado, but when Colorado moved their Fall sports to Spring, it left the Raiders with an open date. Likewise, South Sioux City was scheduled to be at Omaha Northwest on Friday, however the Omaha Public Schools decided not to play football which left the Cardinals with a pair of cancellations on their schedule.

South Sioux City, who’s enrollment classifies them as a small Class A school in football, optioned to play in Class B for this two-year cycle while head coach Chris Stein rebuilds a program that went winless the two years before his arrival in 2019. South Sioux entered Friday’s game with one win in four outings so far this season.

Early it seemed like the Cardinals might be on the way to their second win. After neither team managed a first down on their opening possession, the Cardinals needed just four plays of their second drive to go up 7-0 just over four minutes into the game.

South Sioux City kept the Sidney offense in check through the first quarter, keeping the Raiders in their own end and forcing three Sidney punts. However, the Raiders got on the board two minutes into the second period as Sidney’s fourth possession stalled at the South Sioux 6. Connor Hartzler split the uprights from 23 yards out to cut the Cardinal lead to 7-3.

It was the first of three consecutive Sidney scores while shutting down the South Sioux City offense, with the help of a few Cardinal miscues. South Sioux punted twice, turned the ball over on downs when punter Christian Barajas went to a knee to field a low snap, and gave up a safety on shotgun snap that went through the hands of backup quarterback Christian Barajas and was recovered in the endzone. Sidney took a 19-7 lead into intermission.

The only score in the second half came with 3:43 to go in the third period when Brady Robb capped off a Raider 8-play, 55-yard drive with a 14-yard dash through the Cardinal defense.

Sidney will return home next Friday as the Red Raiders begin D1-8 District play against the 3-1 Chadron Cardinals. Kickoff at Weymouth Field is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.