Subsequently, Lincoln coach Jared Shaner has taken a no-excuses
approach with his defense in practice this week.
"I've pretty much told them that, at some point, you have to fix
things if you want to get a different result," said Shaner. "This
week, with Lanphier, they're a different type of team than
Jacksonville.
"If the defense shows up and we play well, we've got a chance to
make some good things happen, I think."
Shaner went as far to say that, with many of his players, he's
"called them out." "Pretty much, it's been, 'You have a choice. You
can keep getting embarrassed every week when we give up 50 or 60
points, or, you can do something about it,'" said Shaner. "We've
talked about it every night this week. The bottom line is, we've got
guys who need to step up. There are a lot of teams who play a 4-4
(defensive alignment), and there's no reason we can't play that way
and stop people, just like those teams do."
Containing Clemons is key: Unlike last weekend's matchup with
the pass-first Jacksonville Crimsons, the Lions will try to run over
the Railers.
![Misc](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2008/Jan/02/images/ads/current/bright%20idea%20bca%20020207.png) Specifically, halfback Everett Clemons will be the focal point of
Lanphier's offense. Thus far this season, Clemons has rushed for 329
yards on 67 attempts, with three touchdowns. Those numbers average
out to about 22 carries and 110 yards per game for the Lions'
workhorse.
"His speed," said Shaner when asked what stood out about Clemons
as a running back. "He's very quick. In fact, he'll be the fastest
running back we'll face all year. But really, he runs very hard too.
He doesn't go down without a fight. On film, you can tell that every
time he gets the ball, he's running to score a touchdown."
[to top of second column] |
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Keep it up, offense If the Railer defense improves, all the
Lincoln offense should have to do is continue what they've done for
the last two weeks: score over 30 points.
The Railers followed up a 49-point effort in a win over Canton
with a 31-point effort in last week's loss to Jacksonville.
Shaner's only complaint with his offense is that he'd like to see
them start stronger. "We've just got to keep sustaining drives.
And we've done a real nice job of that," said Shaner. "I'd like to
see us come out a little better on our first possession and take
control of the game. We've got to protect the ball and keep
sustaining those drives, especially early." Kickoff is set for 7
p.m. [By JUSTIN TIERNEY]
(Justin
Tierney's Railer
articles)
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