Lincoln Railers win Homecoming Game 19-12 over the Urbana Tigers

[October 07, 2017] 
by Teena Lowery

What a sweet victory it was Friday night for the Lincoln Railers on Homecoming Night.

Lincoln wasted very little time getting on the board first thanks to a touchdown by senior Titus Cannon, who was set up by a very long run by sophomore Isaac Dewberry. Dewberry was running faster than lightening down the field before he was taken down by the Tigers defense.

 Cannon’s touchdown was a one-yard run that put Lincoln up 6-0 at the 6:52 first quarter mark. Cannon and Dewberry combined efforts again late in the second quarter for another touchdown. Dewberry threw the touchdown pass for 38 yards to Cannon and the score was 12-0 with 1:09 left in the second quarter. Alex Bogdanic kicked the extra point good here for the Railers 13-0 lead going into halftime. Lincoln extended the lead to 19-0 with 7:49 showing on the clock in the fourth quarter as Cannon scored his third touchdown of the game, this time it was a 13 yard run.

Literally fourteen seconds later the Urbana Tigers would finally get on the board with their first touchdown of the game. Lincoln’s lead was cut to 19-6 with 7:35 remaining in the game. At the 3:27 mark the Tigers roared back with another touchdown, really making the game intense with the score 19-12. Urbana had the ball with 1:44 remaining in the game but the Lincoln defense stepped up and was able to hold the Tigers back.

With 1:15 remaining there was a penalty flag just short of the first down for Urbana. Then there was a holding called on Urbana. Finally it was the Lincoln defense with the big play stopping Urbana on the 4th down and the crowd erupted upon hearing it was Railer ball! Urbana had no timeouts left and the clock just ran down while the fans began to celebrate.

A 19-12 homecoming victory was pretty sweet for the Class of 2018, which features four seniors on the squad. Those seniors are Titus Cannon, Isaiah Bowers, Issac Dueringer and Braiden Tisdale.

Cannon had another spectacular night on the field as he scored three touchdowns and his 29 carries was good for 121 yards. Cannon also had two receptions for 44 yards. One being the 38 yard touchdown. Dewberry was nothing short of spectacular either with his 9 carries and 85 yards. Sophomore Noah Funk also had a really key interception for the Railers.

 

As a team Lincoln had 12 first downs to only three first downs by Urbana. Urbana also had many penalties throughout the game.

The atmosphere was so fun at Handlin Field Friday night as fans, family and friends, you name it, had a great time celebrating the win. But perhaps no one was happier than the players and coaching staff. At the helm of it all is Lincoln Head Football Coach Matt Silkowski. Coach Silkowski was very upbeat and soaked after the win and rightfully so. His team, particularly players Dreyden Pozsgai and Devin Gibbens, grabbed the water cooler following the win and made their way to the coach. The ice cold water didn’t stop the coach from smiling from ear to ear as he was obviously so proud of his team’s victory.

"It was a great performance,” said Coach Silkowski. "The kids came out really hard and we were up 19-0 at one point. Obviously, we kind of let up some big plays there at the end but I am really proud of our defense. You know, that’s back to back weeks that they’ve really responded after a couple weeks of us not playing very well on that side. On offense we made the plays when we had to. We are still fighting through some injuries but guys are stepping up huge. I am just really proud of our kids and it’s really exciting to get them a victory on their homecoming. I know it’s always more special when it’s on your homecoming. I’m just happy for them and proud of them. We’re looking forward to getting back at it next week and getting ready for Mahomet.”

Lincoln’s record is now 3-4 on the season and according to some students the last time Lincoln won on Homecoming Night was 2012. Congratulations to the Railers on the memorable win!

Lincoln will take their two-game winning streak on the road next week at Mahomet.

[story by Teena Lowery]