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 Sacred Heart Griffin and Rochester are each multiple-defending state
champions.
Chatham Glenwood, Decatur MacArthur, and Southeast all made the
playoffs last year.
And then there's Springfield High and Lincoln.
The Railers and the Senators are nearly equal at the bottom of the
best football conference in the state.
Springfied High won just two games last year. Lincoln hasn't won a
game in two seasons.
Springfield High has scored just 22 points this year, the only team
with less is Lincoln.
It is because of that kind of parity that Saturday's game in
Springfield has so much meaning for the Railers.
“I'm hoping (the team) has the expectation to win,” Coach Seth Bass
said Thursday. “Cause that's what we really need right now.”
Bass, two games into his first season, is trying to turn a program
mired in losses into a program that can at least compete on Friday
nights in the aforementioned best football conference in the state.
“Any kind of victory, any kind of positive momentum is going to
benefit us. I really think that's been our biggest issue right now,
we're so tense.”
The Railers have plenty to be nervous about.
After Saturday's game against Springfield High, the Railersplitters
play Decatur Eisenhower, then SHG and Rochester back-to-back.
Bass preached the fundamentals this week at practice to calm his
team's nerves.
“Football is a difficult game, but it's not an impossible game,” the
coach explained.
Much of the focus this week has been on hands and feet. Blocking and
tackling.
“This week was a lot of working on pulls and traps,” Senior center
Sage Conrady said.
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Bass intends to run the ball this weekend, he said his offense
finally feels in tune.
Junior h-back Andrew Yount sounded more than just in tune when he
opined about Springfield High's defense.
“Their lineman are nothing special. Neither are their linebackers,”
Yount disdainfully said of the Senators. “Their lineman are actually
undersized, and the linebackers are just regular backers.”
But braggadocios underclassmen aside, the Railers are looking are
taking this weekend's match-up seriously
“A lot of us are pretty excited. A lot of us think we can beat
them,” senior linebacker Ryan Rutschke said Thursday.
Rutschke and the rest of the class of 2016 were freshman the last
time Lincoln won a varsity football game. That 2012 season was also
the last time Lincoln won a game in the Central State Eight. The
Railers beat Springfield High 28-21 that year.
Last year SHS sealed their victory after the Railers committed a few
fourth quarter mistakes.
The senior captain, Conrady, said for his classmates Saturday's game
is the last, best chance to come away with a win and a sense of
accomplishment.
“Last year was really close, and we know this is a game where we can
compete,” Condrady added.
Lincoln and Springfield High School kickoff Saturday at 7 p.m. at
Memorial Stadium in Springfield.
[Ben Yount] |
