Trojans, Warriors set for battle in the semis

The Greene Trojans and the Sidney Warriors battle on the playing field every time they meet. Most of the games come down to a final play or possession to determine a winner.

Greene, currently 5-3, will square off with the undefeated Warriors (8-0) in the Section IV Class D semifinal Johnson City High School Saturday afternoon.

The two teams met in week one of the season and Sidney came out on top again with the three point win as Liam Matthews was able to intercept the Trojans’ pass thrown by quarterback Nate Erickson.

Nearly the same play happened around this time a year ago when the Greene and Sidney met in the Class D semifinals at Binghamton High School.

As the Trojans have a balanced offensive scheme between running plays and passes thrown, their defense will need to be ready for the air attack of the Warriors.

Paaaaassss....

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If planning to attend the game Saturday, get used to hearing “Pass!” shouted from the Greene sidelines. Sidney has racked up 2,485 yards through the passing game this season compared to their 1,038 yards on the ground, accounting for 70.5 percent of their total offense.

Their quarterback, Ryan Harris, is in his first year as a starting quarterback after a season off from football a year ago. While Harris has thrown for 2,324 yards himself, he only recorded 312 yards on 47 attempts against the Trojans earlier this season. Completing 30 passes in the game, Harris had his second lowest completion percentage against Greene.

Liam Matthews is Sidney’s top receiver this season with 41 receptions for 843 yards and 14 touchdowns scored but the Warriors have two other weapons for the deep ball. Peyton Mosher and Colby Finch both have over 400 yards receiving for Sidney to go along with Matthews.

Against other teams this season, the Warriors have averaged 310 yards passing but haven’t attempted as many passes as they did against Greene in the beginning of the year.

Something about the Greene

In the past three seasons, Sidney holds the record at 4-1 over Greene but the Trojans defense has found a way to hold the Warriors to their lowest point scored throughout the season.

Last year, Greene allowed Sidney just two touchdowns in the semifinal game and 28 points in their first meeting earlier in the season.

A year earlier, the Warriors scored 32 but the Trojans were within 10 points, losing the game 32-23. In week four of 2016, Greene handed Sidney their last divisional loss with a final of 30-20.