|
“They're really good,” Lincoln coach Matt
Silkowski said after Thursday's practice. “They have a really
good offensive line. A really good defensive line. One of the
top backs in the state of Illinois. They're the real deal.”
That is one of the truest statements of the 2017 season.
The Effingham Flaming Hearts, named because Effingham once
billed itself at 'The Heart of America', are 2-1 on the season.
Effingham is ranked ninth in Class 4A, and is in first place in
the Apollo Conference.
Their scheme is simple. They run the ball, over and over again.
“They don't do anything fancy,” Silkowksi said. “They line up
and do their thing. And they're good at what they do.”
Effingham comes into Friday night's match up against Lincoln
averaging 37 points a game. Their only loss came by a point in
week one.
Lincoln is averaging just over 15 points per game this season,
but has given up an average of 24.
And many of those touchdowns came from running plays.
“We see that they like to run the ball a lot, so we've switched
up our defense,” Junior safety Austin Sparrow said. “We've got
some different people playing linebacker this week. We hope to
stop the run a little bit better.”
Sparrow leads the Railsplitter defense in tackles so far this
year. He has 24 take downs, 18 of those all by himself.
Junior defensive end Andrew Schmidt has played well coming off
the edge for the Railers, particularly when quarterbacks linger
with the ball in their hands.
But this week Schmidt knows he's going to see more running plays
from Effingham than passes.
“We're going to keep some of it a secret, but we've changed a
lot on the line,” Schmidt said. “Expect to see more cuts inside.
We know we have to watch out for Effingham's runners.”
While the Railer players are game-planning for what could be
their toughest opponent of the year, Ralier parents are planning
for the longest road trip of the season.
Effingham is a nearly two hour drive, and there's not a direct
route.
The new fan bus which takes the Railer faithful to away games
will leave by 4 p.m.
Coach Silkowski said his team is ready for the long trip.
“We just plan to do everything that we do here, we'll just do it
there,” the coach added.
Lincoln is 1-2 on the season, Effingham is 2-1. Kickoff is
scheduled for 7 p.m. at Effingham High School.
 |
|
