HOLDREGE – The Sidney Red Raiders wasted no time flexing their firepower Friday night, scoring on every first-half possession and rolling to a 40-7 win at Holdrege to stay unbeaten on the season.

Sidney (3-0) showcased balance on both sides of the ball, piling up 457 yards of offense while holding the short-handed Dusters to just 120. The Raiders led 40-0 by halftime before a running clock in the second half shortened the game. Holdrege (0-3), playing with eight players out due to injury, didn’t find the end zone until the final minutes.

The tone was set early. After the Dusters went backward on their opening possession, Sidney started at the Holdrege 43-yard line. Quarterback Alek Doty hit Lance Holly for 23 yards, and on the next play, Rhys Dorcey bounced around the right side for a 20-yard touchdown.

The Dusters went three-and-out and punted to the Sidney 38.  The Red Raiders struck quickly when Doty hooked up with wideout Kash Knobbe on a 62-yard score to make it 13-0. Holdrege was unable to move the ball on their third possession and Sidney took advantage with a 6 play, 60-yard drive that culminated with a 3-yard Doty to Dorcey touchdown pass and the Raiders were in full command 20-0.

Holdrege’s next possession end on downs at the Sidney 40. After a 9-yard pass from Doty to Keian Kaiser, Dorcey sprinted for 37 yards to the Duster 17. On the first play of the second quarter, Dorcey rushed for 17-yards and his third touchdown of the night.

On Sidney’s next possession, Kyle Jaggers stepped in to break a 47-yard dash that set up his own 5-yard touchdown to cap a 5-play, 67-yard drive to extend Sidney’s lead to 34-0. Sidney’s final first-half touchdown came on a quick strike: Doty hit Holly for 49 yards downfield, and Dorcey finished the drive with a 5-yard run, pushing the lead to 40-0 with just over three minutes before halftime.

At the break, the numbers were staggering — Sidney had rolled up 372 yards of offense while holding Holdrege to just 11.

With a running clock in the second half, the Red Raiders gave a lot of younger players valuable snaps. Holdrege finally broke through late, with Landon VanBoening’s rushing for a short touchdown run with 1:06 left— the first points Sidney’s defense has allowed this season.

Doty was sharp all night, completing 9 of 11 passes for 208 yards and two scores. Dorcey carried 11 times for 111 yards and three touchdowns, while Holly caught three passes for 92 yards. Overall, Sidney ran for 249 yards and threw for 208.

For Holdrege, VanBoening finished with 66 yards on 10 carries, and quarterback Lucas Johnson went 4 of 9 for just 10 yards against the smothering Raider defense.

Next up, Sidney heads north to face Mitchell (1-2) next Friday at 7 p.m. The game will be carried live on 1340 AM/95.7 FM Cheyenne County Country, online at theBigBoy987.com, and on the News Channel Nebraska app.