|
 And rightfully so. Railer receiver Darvez Stancle earned plenty
of publicity by scoring four touchdowns and setting a new receptions
record in last Friday's 40-20 homecoming win over Springfield
Southeast.
That's all fine and dandy by Lincoln coach Jared Shaner. But the
coach's philosophy hasn't changed in the wake of the attention paid
to the passing game: The Railers are still a running team, as Shaner
sees it.
"We're still very much a running team," said Shaner. "I think the
things that Darvez and the passing game have done really helped our
running game and that'll only continue.
"But we're still hoping to have some of those six- or seven-minute
drives that help us use the clock to our advantage. The last couple
weeks, I've been pleased that our kids have finished those drives
with touchdowns."
 Clock control key The ability to control the
ball could be where the game is won and lost against
Chatham-Glenwood this week. The Railers travel to Chatham, with
kickoff scheduled for 7 p.m.
The Titans feature not one, but two explosive running backs in
Devin Vonnordheim-Moore and Tony Giovannelli, who each have eight
touchdowns this season. Chatham's duo excels in footraces,
according to Shaner. "They're two really good running backs. They're
really, really fast kids," said Shaner. "I don't think we've seen
speed like they're going to have yet. These are kids who excel in
track and field in the spring, too." Aside from keeping them off
the field with a time-consuming offense, Shaner believes his defense
must control the perimeter of the field.
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If Vonnordheim-Moore and
Giovannelli get to the outside, it won't be long until they leave
the Railers behind. "We have to contain. That'll be very important,"
said Shaner. "They have a toss sweep play they'll run, and we can't
try to have a footrace to the corner against these guys, because
they'll win. They might sneak some counters in there too, so we have
to be ready for that as well.
"And these aren't just finesse runners either. Both kids run
hard. We have to be ready to hit them when we have the chance."
Krusz on the comeback trail The Railers are actually hoping they
don't benefit from the return of junior Andy Krusz this week.
That's because Krusz -- who served as a running back and linebacker
before suffering a shoulder injury -- has only been cleared to resume
his duties as a punter.
 "He will be our punter," declared Shaner. "But that's all he'll
do for us. He's only been cleared for that. "As much as we want
him on the field, we don't want to have him out there until we're
sure he can take and make hits in his other roles. But it's
certainly an encouraging step."
[By JUSTIN TIERNEY]
(Justin
Tierney's Railer
articles) |
