Sidney Herald

Good teams find a way to win, and the Sidney Eagles did just that to open their football season Friday night.

Despite having a tough time containing Williston’s running attack and trailing in the fourth quarter, the Eagles earned a 21-20 road victory. “It’s a win that gives them the confidence they might not had before,” Sidney Coach Mike Gear said.

The Coyotes gained a 20-14 advantage when Alex Haaland capped a 68-yard, 10-play drive with a four-yard scoring dash with 9:40 remaining.

Williston’s two-point conversion tried, however, failed when Cole Steinbeisser sacked Marcus Fearing.

A 12-yard kickoff return by Trevor Tracy put the Eagles in good position at the 36 to open their next drive. After a three-yard loss, Josh Torgerson broke loose for a 28-yard run on a reverse run to the Coyote 39.

Speedy Colten Herbert then took off for a 20-yard gain to the Williston 19 for another first down.

On the next play, quarterback Ryan Sullivan scored on a nifty run at the 7:50 mark. Torgerson kicked the extra point to put Sidney up 21-20.

Williston responded by driving inside Eagle territory, but solid pass defense plays by Zach Hoffman and Alex Irigoin ended the threat. After a nice punt, the Eagles took over on their own two with 5:17 left.

It was here that Sidney’s running offense put the contest away.

“That’s what we were most excited about. To take the ball from our two-yard line and run out the clock,” Gear said. “That’s what we were excited about.”

After runs by Herbert and Sullivan produced a first down at the 13, dashes by Tyler Schilling and Sullivan earned consecutive first downs to the 37.

A play later, Schilling came through with a 25-yard rush to put the ball at the Williston 39 with time clicking away. On third and 11, Herbert ended any Coyotes hopes when he made a nice cutback run for a first down at the 27.

The Eagles finished with 182 rushing and 176 passing yards for 358 total. Williston gained 228 rushing and 350 total.

Tracy finished with two assisted and eight unassisted tackles along with an interception. Irigoin accounted for six unassisted and two assisted tackles with an interception. Green had four unassisted and seven assisted tackles.

“The biggest thing is we were able to get some turnovers,” Gear said of the defense. “But we gave up a lot of yards.”

One big turnover led to the game’s first points when Irigoin intercepted a pass at the 18 and returned the ball to the three. Herbert scored on first down with 7:52 left in the second quarter.

The Coyotes responded by driving to the Eagle 10 only to lose possession when Randy Green caused and Tracy recovered a fumble.

The first half ended at 7-0, but Williston scored on a 25-yard run by Haaland with 8:39 left in the third quarter. Fearing hit Brady Lysne for the two-point conversion and an 8-7 lead.

The Coyotes increased their advantage to 14-7 when Fearing and Corey Langerud connected for a 36-yard touchdown pass with 5:14 left in the period. The kick attempt failed.

Three good pass plays by the Eagles led them to a tying touchdown. After hitting Tracy for a 32-yard gain to the 48, Sullivan fired a pass to Irigoin on a slant route for a first down to the 16. On second down from the 17, Sullivan passed to Torgerson for a touchdown with 2:33 left in the third quarter. Torgerson kicked the PAT for a 14-14 deadlock.

editor@sidneyherald.com