Gandolfi leads disciplined Railer football team to 42-0 win over Taylorville

[October 16, 2021] [October 16, 2021]

Taylorville, Ill. – The start of the game has been foretelling lately for the LCHS football team.

On the first possession of the game against Effingham on October 8, Lincoln found its way into the end zone three times but each play was disallowed due to penalties called. That opening possession set the tone for a frustrating 34-22 Railer loss at Effingham, a loss which saw Lincoln gain almost twice as many yards as the Flaming Hearts (408-274) but get whistled 16 times for penalties totaling over 150 yards.

Elijah Pollice

A week later against Taylorville, the Railers jarred the ball loose on the opening kickoff and recovered the fumble 27 yards away from the end zone. Lincoln capitalized eight plays later when quarterback Elijah Pollice hit Isaac Decker for a 12-yard touchdown on a on fourth-and-6 situation en route to a 42-0 win over Taylorville.

Isaac Decker

While the Railers shined in all aspects of the game, running back Tony Gandolfi had a career night, scoring 4 second-half touchdowns and unofficially compiling 173 yards on 20 carries. The senior running back also notched Lincoln’s first score in the second half on a 68-yard TD run which gave the Railers a 20-0 lead. Gandolfi also scored on a pair of 1-yard carries in the third quarter as well as an 8-yard run in the fourth quarter to cap the scoring.

“I just kept my feet pushing and the next thing I know, I was in the end zone,” Gandolfi said of the 68-yard score. “It feels good. We worked all season for this. The next step’s the playoffs.”

The win moved Lincoln to 4-4 overall as the Railers hope to advance to the playoffs for the first time since 1984.

LCHS coach Matt Silkowski was elated with Gandolfi’s performance.

“That play was popping all night,” Silkowski said of Gandolfi’s 68-yard TD run. “He was running really, really tough, and I’m just super proud of him. Tony played great tonight. I’m so happy for him and all the seniors.”

Unofficial statistics showed that Lincoln outgained the Tornadoes with 436 total yards from scrimmage to Taylorville’s 66. The Railers compiled 340 rushing yards and 96 passing yards as Taylorville gained all its yards on the ground.

One statistic that was just as key to the Railers’ success as the yardage totals: Lincoln was called for only four penalties on the night.

“We did a much better job of playing disciplined football,” LCHS coach Matt Silkowski said. “We played much more inspired football. We didn’t really have a great week in practice, to be honest. [I] didn’t really know how tonight was going to go, but boy, did they play when we needed them to.”

Pollice had an efficient night, as the senior quarterback completed 5 of 9 passes for 96 yards unofficially and the touchdown pass on the Railers’ first possession. The senior also ran for Lincoln’s second TD with a 1-yard plunge into the end zone in the second quarter.
 

Gandolfi led all runners with 173 unofficial yards. The Railer ground game also got contributions from Ki’on Carson (13 carries for 69 yards), Decker (11/42), Pollice (8/27), Payton Johnson (2/16), Justin Wachendorf (3/10) and Tate Johnston (1/3).

Tony Gandolfi

Jaden Leadley led all receivers with 42 yards unofficially on one catch. Carson and Decker each caught a pair of passes for 36 and 18 total yards, respectively. Decker also picked off a pass on defense for the lone interception of the game.

Jaden Leadley

“Our kids like playing Taylorville,” Silkowski said of the Railers, who faced the Tornadoes as members of the Apollo Conference and from 1993 to 2014 when both were members of the Central State 8 before Taylorville departed the league. “We’re going to miss this rivalry.”

Railer head coach Matt Silkowski

The focus for Lincoln now turns to next week’s opponent, Triad High School, located in Troy. The Knights’ win over Waterloo this week improved Triad’s record to 6-2 overall and 4-1 in the Mississippi Valley Conference.

In looking at common opponents of Lincoln and Triad this season, Triad beat Jersey 38-13 and won 26-13 over Mattoon. Lincoln lost in Week 3 to Jersey 32-16 at Jerseyville and beat Mattoon 35-34 in Lincoln two weeks ago.

Lincoln hosts Triad on Friday in the regular-season finale for both schools. Triad clinched a playoff spot by earning its sixth win of the season Friday night in defeating Waterloo. According to the IHSA web site, Lincoln was still eligible to make the playoffs prior to the Taylorville games, as 94 teams has clinched a berth in this year's playoffs and 162 at-large berths remained. The Railers kept their hopes alive with the win over Taylorville. This sets up the most meaningful final regular-season game for Lincoln in several years.

“Triad’s going to be tough,” Silkowski said. “We know that they’re going to be really, really tough. We’ve just got to keep playing disciplined football, but I thought we did a lot of really good things tonight. There were a couple big runs we allowed defensively, so that’s something we’re going to have to cut down, because their [Triad’s] guys are going to flip that into a touchdown.

“They’ve got a lot of team speed, but it’s going to be fun waking up and getting back to work tomorrow morning. It’s kind of picture perfect, and there’s a lot riding on it, and I’m excited to get back to work with these guys.”

Lincoln’s game Friday at Handlin Field against Triad is scheduled to begin at 7 PM. The contest will also be the final regular-season game for the Railer football seniors.

[Loyd Kirby]