Lincoln needs every second to beat Charleston

[September 29, 2018]  By Benjamin Yount

CHARLESTON – With 1:48 left to play, and clinging to a one point lead Friday night, Lincoln head coach Matt Silkowski said something you almost never hear a coach tell a defense.

Let them score.

“I told them if Charleston was to run the ball up the middle, go ahead and let em,” Silkowski explained after Friday night's game. “That'll give us more time to play with.”

And Lincoln needed every bit of time that Charleston left them.

Lincoln's night started poorly.

Charleston scored on their third play of the night. One play later Lincoln quarterback Dreyden Pozsgei tossed an interception that went back for a touchdown.

Lincoln trailed 13-0, and just 1:47 had come off the clock.

The Railsplitters calmed down and responded.

Pozsgei connected with Alex Bogdanic for a first quarter touchdown to cut Charleston's lead to 13-7.

After a tough defensive stand that stopped Charleston on fourth down, Colton Holliday took a jet sweep off the edge for Lincoln's second touchdown of the night. The score at the point was 14-13, Lincoln.

Charleston would tack on a second quarter touchdown to once again take the lead, 19-14.

That's where score would stay for almost the next two quarters.

A couple of questionable calls, and some dropped passes, erased at least two touchdowns for the Railers.

But a Pozsgei to Bogdanic pass with 4:54 in the third quarter would put Lincoln on top again, 20-19.

Lincoln's defense then took over. The Railers played with a bend, not break ferocity that stopped Charleston four straight times, and forced a third down and 13 with 3:50 left to play in the game.

But Charleston tossed a 40-plus-yard strike to put the ball at the 15. Three plays later, Charleston had the ball at the one and Silkowski had a decision to make.

“They still had an opportunity to kick a field goal,” Silkowski explained after the game. “Their kicker was solid. What we saw on film, what we saw pregame, he was fairly consistent. I made the decision [to let Charleston score] and obviously it paid off.”

Charleston ran the ball into the end zone on the next play and took a 25-20 lead.

Alex Bogdanic celebrates after Lincoln's third quarter touchdown put the Railers up 20-19 Friday night. 

Lincoln received the final kickoff of the fourth quarter with 1:48 on the clock.

“I told the guys in the huddle that we have the playmakers to win,” Pozsgei said.

Pozsgei helped his own cause with three key scrambles to turn fourth downs into first downs and keep Lincoln's hopes alive as the clocked ticked below a minute.

With :17 left in the game, Pozsgei dropped back and tossed a long arching pass to Holliday inside the 10 yard line.

With :06 left Holliday let a dart slip through his hands in the end zone.

With :03 left in the game, Charleston's crowd smelled its first victory of the year. Silkowski said he knew Colton Holliday was about to earn his place on the team.

“When Holliday came out on August 6, I told him 'I have use for you. At some point you're going to come up big for us at the goal line',” Silkowski said.

Pozsgei tossed the ball into the back corner of the end zone, and Holliday at 6'5” out-jumped the Charleston defender to pull the ball into his belly and secure the win with no time left on the clock.

“Dreyden told his was going to throw it up, and that I'd better catch it,” Holliday said after the win. “I just jumped up there and caught it.”

Silkowski told hi team after the game that this is the second straight week that they overcame adversity and played some of their best football of the year.

“Out kids were so calm, and cool, and collected when it mattered,” Solkowski said. “It's a true testament to our kids and where we want to get to as a program.”

The win lifts Lincoln to 2-4 on the season, Charleston falls to 0-6.

The Railers will host Woodstock North High School next Friday at Handlin Field in Lincoln.

[by Benjamin Yount; photo by Sherri Sparrow]