Saturday, September 14, 2013
Sports News

The short-handed Railers fall short to Southeast

By Scott Kirby

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[September 14, 2013]  SPRINGFIELD -- The 0-2 Railers came into Friday night's matchup against the 1-1 Southeast Spartans looking for revenge. The Railers lost to Southeast last year on a last-second field goal by Herman Senor.

The Railers would have to do so without some key members of their squad. The Railers were without senior wide receiver Wes White and junior running backs Brent Metelko and Tim Jackson.

Injuries have been an issue from the get-go for the Railers. Adam Conrady injured his shoulder during practice before the season even started. With that being said, you still have to play the game, and Coach Mac would have to plug in kids with little or no varsity experience.

The Spartans got things going when B.J. Hill ran for a 24-yard touchdown to give the Spartans a 6-0 lead. Drew Palmer converted the extra point to make the score 7-0 with 7:42 to go in the first quarter.

Will Cook would fumble the ensuing kickoff to give the ball right back to the Spartans deep into their territory. The Railer defense tightened up and forced the Spartans to a three-and-out, which forced them to punt. Lincoln still couldn't get their offense going, and after running a few plays, Chris Doung fumbled the ball and Southeast was able to recover it. Luckily the Spartans couldn't get their offense on track either and were forced to punt again when Lincoln held them to another three-and-out.

The Railers found a little success on their next possession. They were able to move the ball on the ground, and Austin Krusz hooked up with Cook for a 13-yard pass play that resulted in a first down right before the first quarter ended.

As the Railers came out for the second quarter, their offense stalled again and they were forced to punt. Southeast took over and tried to throw a long pass downfield, but Cook was playing tight defense on the receiver and was able to make the interception deep into their own territory. After running three plays with no success, the Railers were forced to punt again. The Spartans returned the favor as they were unable to move the ball either and turned the ball over on downs.

Finally on the Railers' next possession they were able to move the ball downfield with a good run by sophomore Zach Podunajec and a key pass from Krusz to Letterle to move the chains. With 5.1 seconds on the time clock, Krusz threw a pass over the middle to Keaton Letterle for a touchdown. Letterle was guarded closely by the Southeast defender but was able to make a spectacular catch to pull Lincoln within one point. Grant Cooper converted the extra point to tie the game at halftime.

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The Railers came out of halftime rolling. The play that got things started was a halfback pass from Letterle to Cook for a nice gain. That play was followed up by some hard running from a new name on the field. No. 47 Griffin Pollock, a 180-pound junior, stepped in to fill the vacated spots of Metelko and White. Pollock pounded the ball up the middle to get all the way to the 3-yard line. Krusz called his own number and ran a quarterback sneak up the middle from the 3-yard line to put the Railers up 13-7. Cooper converted the extra point, and just like that, the Railers had their first lead of the game 14-7.

Unfortunately the lead was short-lived. Southeast received the kickoff and had a big return to Lincoln's 34-yard line. The Spartans drove the ball down to the 5-yard line, and Edwin Gales finished it off with a 5-yard run to bring them within one point of the Railers. The extra-point snap was mishandled, but Nick Rogers was able to corral it and throw a pass to Fred Epting for a 2-point conversion, giving Southeast the lead 15-14 with 4:51 to go in the third quarter.

Lincoln took the ball from there and put together a 17-play drive that ate up the rest of the time in the third quarter and several minutes in the fourth quarter. That drive came to a halt and Southeast took over on downs.

Lincoln's defense seemed to be worn down, and with 3:43 to go in the game, Southeast running back Rogers broke a couple of tackles and scrambled for a 50-yard touchdown to seal a victory for the Southeast Spartans.

The final score: the Southeast Spartans 21 and the Lincoln Railers 14.

Although the Railers lost the game, Coach Mac has to be pleased with the play of the kids who stepped in. Sam Tiffany changed his number and his position as he filled in at running back. Griffin Pollock and Zac Podunajec saw a lot of time at running back as well. Pollock was the leading rusher, with six carries for 38 yards. Keaton Letterle was leading receiver, with five receptions for 56 yards. Krusz was 11 for 21 for 93 yards passing, with one rushing TD and one passing TD.

The Railers are back at home next Friday against Chatham Glenwood. Kickoff time is 7 p.m.

[By SCOTT KIRBY]

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