The Sidney Red Raiders rolled up 265 yards of offense on a frigid, breezy Friday night, against a huge Mitchell defense, but came up on the short end of a 41-14 loss to conclude the Raider’s football season at 2-7. Sidney’s determined effort was overshadowed by a 5-touchdown performance by Mitchell’s Rylan Aguallo. The 190-pound senior running back amassed 283 rushing yards on 29 carries to send the Tigers into the playoffs with an 8-1 record.

The final tally was by no means an indication of how competitively the game was played most of the night. Prior to Aguallo breaking free for a 16-yard touchdown run with 3:04 to go in the third quarter, Sidney was within one score at 20-14. Aguallo’s fourth TD run, and 2-point conversion, gave the Tigers a little cushion at 28-14.

Sidney, who scored on a 7-play, 56-yard drive to begin the second half, could not sustain their offensive momentum. Two second half interceptions, deep in Mitchell territory, halted drives at the Tiger 14 and 2 yard lines, as a weary Sidney defense battled to contain the Tiger running game down the stretch.

Freshman quarterback, Isak Doty, completed 11 of 24 pass attempts, on the night, for 140 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. Freshman Luke Holly was the recipient of Doty’s 25-yard touchdown strike midway through the second period, while sophomore Micah Schneider grabbed 8 passes for 74 yards. Brady Robb again led the Raider ground attack with84 yards on 20 carries.

Mitchell returns to the playoffs for the first time since 2009. The Tigers will travel to 6-2 Wahoo next Friday for a 2:00 p.m. CDT matchup with the Warriors. C1-8 District members Chadron and Gothenburg also earned playoff berths. The Chadron Cardinals, at 6-2, will travel to 7-1 Kearney Catholic for a 2:00 p.m. CDT game against the Stars. District champion 6-3 Gothenburg is also on the road Friday when they travel to Lincoln to battle the 7-1 Lincoln Christian Crusaders.