Railers get '2' seed in Collinsville tournament

By Jeff Benjamin

[December 15, 2009]  At the risk of aging myself, how many of you remember the song "Afternoon Delight" from the Starland Vocal Band? Well, if you do, you'll get the idea of when the Lincoln Railers will be in action in the upcoming Collinsville Holiday Classic.

The pairings, released Monday, show the Railers received the No. 2 overall seed and will take to the court at 2:30 in the afternoon on Monday, Dec. 28, against Decatur MacArthur. If Lincoln wins that contest, they will not be back in action again until, that's right, 2:30 on Tuesday afternoon, facing the winner of Belleville East and Highland.

If the seeds hold true, the Railers' road to the title is not an easy one. Wins on the first two days would put Lincoln in a semifinal matchup with a team they have already beaten this season, Belleville Althoff. A win there and it could be the top two seeds facing off, as the Railers might be facing No. 1 seed Quincy on Wednesday evening.

The top four seeds were handed out to Quincy, Lincoln, Belleville Althoff and Marion.

For more information on the tournament as a whole, you can check out the tournament Web site at http://www.collinsvilleholidayclassic.org/index.html.

[Special report by JEFF BENJAMIN]