 This
year's football squad doesn't have all the talent that past teams
have had, but they do have heart and dignity. Most teams would have
folded up and given up on the rest of the season, but not this
squad.The Railers are led by seniors Austin Krusz, Wes White, Sam
Tiffany and Keaton Letterle, to name a few. These seniors give it
their all at practice and try to keep the rest of the team focused
for upcoming games.
The Railers traveled back to Springfield this week to take on the
Senators of Springfield High. The Railers have had some recent
success against the Senators, beating them 28-21 last year for
Lincoln's homecoming. The Senators went on to make the playoffs last
year but lost in the first round. The Senators have been struggling
this year as well, with their only win coming against the Lanphier
Lions. This was the Senators' homecoming, and the Railers were
looking to play the part of spoiler.
The Railers received the ball to start the game and had some
success moving the ball up the field on their first possession.
Krusz converted on a fourth-and-3 on the Railers' own 26-yard line
for a first down. Shawn Cannon followed with an 8-yard run and a
2-yard run to give Lincoln another first down. Lincoln's first drive
ate up a lot of the clock in the first quarter but came to a halt
with a 15-yard penalty that pushed the Railers back and forced them
to punt.
The Senators' offense took the field for their first possession,
and on the third play, running back Trey Burgess broke some tackles
and scrambled for a 24-yard touchdown. The PAT was good, and with
4:17 left in the first, the score was 7-0.
The Railers weren't able to get anything going on their second
possession and were forced to punt. Krusz was able to get a 43-yard
punt off to pin the Senators deep in their own territory.
The
Senators drove the ball right down the field with Tre Burgess and
Brinton Wilkey
and were able to get within scoring distance of the goal line. Wilkey
handed the ball off to Tony Williams, who fumbled it on the 1-yard
line.
The Railers were able to recover the ball, moving up to
their own 10-yard line on a run by Chris Doung and giving Lincoln a
little breathing room. But that is all they could muster. Krusz
tried going for it on fourth but was stopped, and the Senators took
over on the Railers' 15-yard line.
Springfield advanced it down to the
5-yard line, and Burgess finished with a 5-yard touchdown, his
second touchdown of the game, making the score 14-0.
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On the ensuing kickoff, the Senators kicked it out of bounds,
which is a penalty, so Lincoln took the ball on the 35-yard line.
The Railers were finally able to get in a groove and move the ball.
Krusz hooked up with Cook for two 19-yard completions. Krusz would
then use his feet to get the Railers down to the 6-yard line.
On the
next play the Railers would fumble inside the 5-yard line,
and the ball was recovered by the Senators. Springfield ran a couple of
plays and got out to their own 26-yard line, then gave the ball to
their running back Burgess, who ran for a 74-yard touchdown, his
third touchdown of the game. So just like that, instead of a 14-7
game, it was now 21-0 and a 14-point swing.
The Railers tried to get something going before halftime when
they ran a hook and lateral from Cook to Cannon for a big gain, but
that is all they could get before the half.
The second half started out like the first half ended. The
Senators got the ball to start, got a good return on the kickoff and
followed that up with a 35-yard touchdown by quarterback Wilkey to
make the score 28-0.
The Railers weren't able to find their offense and weren't able
to get on the scoreboard. Burgess finished up with two more
touchdowns, giving him five touchdowns for the evening. The fourth
quarter was played with a running clock because of the mercy rule.
The final score: Senators 42, Railers 0.
The Railers will be at home next Friday night for their
homecoming game against the Taylorville Tornadoes. The Tornadoes are
1-3 on the season and played a nonconference game this week against
Macomb. Game time Oct. 4 is 7 p.m. at Handlin Field.
[By SCOTT KIRBY]
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