ALLIANCE - The Sidney Red Raiders continued their dominant march through the Class C1 season Friday night, rolling to a 49-6 win over the Alliance Bulldogs to remain unbeaten at 8-0. Sidney’s balanced offense racked up 441 total yards while its defense once again clamped down, limiting Alliance to just 166 yards and only one score that came long after the game was decided.

Alliance won the coin toss and deferred, but Sidney immediately seized control. The Red Raiders’ first play from scrimmage set the tone when senior quarterback Alek Doty reversed direction on a run and broke free for 25 yards to the Alliance 40. Doty would later cap the 7-play drive with a 1-yard touchdown pass to Kale Kaiser, and his own PAT made it 7-0 less than three minutes into the game.

Alliance’s first possession went nowhere, and after a short punt, Sidney went back to work. Doty again made things happen on the ground, sprinting 22 yards up the left side to cross midfield. He then connected with Grahm Santero for 26 yards to the Alliance 14, but the drive stalled at the 6 when Sidney turned the ball over on downs.

Sidney’s defense held Alliance’s first 2 rushing attempts to just 1 yard. Bulldog quarterback Jay Shelmadine found slot receiver Jackson Devlin for 9 yards to the 16. A measurement showed the Bulldogs were inches short of a first down. Boldly, Alliance went for it on fourth down, but Keian Kaiser stuffed the run for a 1-yard loss and Sidney took over at the Alliance 15. Three plays later, Rhys Dorcey took a handoff around left end and scored from eight yards out to double Sidney’s lead to 14-0 late in the first quarter.

Sidney’s defense forced another Alliance punt to start the second quarter, Sidney’s offense struck quickly again. Doty hit Kash Knobbe for a 37-yard gain down the right sideline, then followed with a short pass to Lance Holly over the middle for seven more. Dorcey finished the 5-play drive with back-to-back runs, the second a 5-yard touchdown that made it 21-0 with 9:43 left in the half.

Sidney’s defense kept smothering the Bulldogs, forcing a 13-yard kick that set the Red Raiders up at the Alliance 46, Doty took matters into his own hands. On second down, he burst through the middle untouched for a 46-yard touchdown run stretching the margin to 28-0 which is where the half ended.

Second Half was more of the same story. Alliance opened the third quarter with its best drive of the night, picking up a couple of first downs behind short passes from quarterback Jay Shelmadine. But on a third-down throw near midfield, Shelmadine’s pass sailed high and was intercepted by Sidney’s Lance Holly at the Red Raider 48.

Sidney wasted no time turning the turnover into points. Doty engineered a seven-play drive, highlighted by a 17-yard run from tight end Keian Kaiser, who lined up in the backfield for the play. Doty capped the possession with a 15-yard touchdown run, his second of the night, giving Sidney a 35-0 lead and triggering the running clock with 5:55 to go in the third quarter.

After another Bulldog punt, Doty connected with Kaiser on a 25-yard strike and then hit Holly on a perfectly timed 27-yard touchdown pass as the third quarter expired. Sidney’s lead ballooned to 42-0 heading into the final period.

Alliance avoided the shutout early in the fourth when Shelmadine connected with senior Espen Lanik on a 64-yard touchdown, just the fourth score Sidney’s defense has allowed all season. The Bulldogs’ two-point conversion attempt failed, leaving the score 42-6.

Sidney immediately answered in spectacular fashion. On the ensuing kickoff, Keian Kaiser knocked the ball down along the Sidney sideline, picked it up off the turf, and sprinted 75 yards for a touchdown. Doty’s PAT made it 49-6 with just over ten minutes remaining. The teams traded punts the rest of the way as Sidney’s reserves closed out the win.

Doty finished with 330 total yards, 163 rushing and 167 passing, and accounted for four touchdowns. Dorcey added 46 yards and two touchdowns on nine carries.

Sidney’s defense was once again extraordinary holding Alliance to 166 yards of total offense, 65 of which came on the Bulldogs' TD pass in the fourth quarter. The Red Raiders limited Trini Trejo, who was averaging 147 yards rushing per game, to just 46 yards on 15 carries. Shelmadine went 10-of-16 through the air for 110 yards and one touchdown.  

With the win, Sidney improves to 8-0 and remains atop the C1-7 district standings. The Red Raiders will look to finish the regular season undefeated when they host Chadron (6-2) next Friday at Weymouth Field. The Cardinals are coming off a heartbreaking 21-20 overtime loss to Gering. Kickoff is scheduled for 6:00 p.m.