Mt. Zion hands Lincoln “disappointing” 41-14 loss
 

[September 24, 2022]  Mt. Zion–The road to the IHSA playoffs got a bit more bumpy for the Railer football team Friday night as Mt. Zion defeated Lincoln 41-14 in a disappointing setback for Lincoln’s hopes of playing in the postseason for the first time since 1984.

“It was a very disappointing night,” Lincoln head coach Matt Silkowski said. “We came out really well, playing really good offense. We just didn’t play very good defense [and gave up] a lot of big plays on stuff we worked on all week. They [Mt. Zion] did what they showed on film, we just didn’t execute on either side of the ball well enough to stick around with these guys.”

Paytan Bunner

With a rain-soaked turf beneath them—a turf that became more soaked as rain fell throughout most of the night—the Railers appeared to be firing on all cylinders early as Lincoln began the game with a 50-yard touchdown drive capped when Paytan Bunner found the endzone on a 17-yard run. Angel Haro kicked the extra point to the Railers a 7-0 lead.

Mt. Zion took the ensuing kickoff down the first for the first of two first quarter touchdowns. After denying Mt. Zion to reach the end zone on two consecutive quarterback sneaks, Makobi Adams finally scored the first points for the Braves on a third quarterback sneak with 3:54 left in the opening stanza.

Jaden Leadley

The Railer offense stalled near midfield on the following drive, and after a Jaden Leadley punt pinned Mt. Zion back at its own 15-yard line, things appeared to be going Lincoln’s way. Mt. Zion threw an incomplete pass, then was thrown for a loss on a running play to put the Braves in a 3rd-and-12 situation. Adams then hit receiver Grant Mcatee on a 47-yard pass play to move the ball to Lincoln’s 40-yard line with just under a minute remaining in the first quarter. On the next play, Brayden Trimble got the ball on a short pitch and ran for the second Mt. Zion touchdown of the quarter, and the Braves held a 14-7 lead at the end of the period.

On Lincoln’s first drive of the second quarter, the Railers appeared to be finding their footing against the Braves. Isaac Decker carried the ball for a short gain before Darren Stevens hit Ki’on Carson for 12-yards and a first down. After short runs by Carson and Decker and a delay of game penalty, the Railers were facing 3rd-and-12 when Stevens hit Kani Carson on a 56-yard touchdown pass play, as Carson snagged the ball despite good coverage by a Mt. Zion defender. The PAT by Haro was good, and Lincoln pulled even with the Braves 14-14 with 9:55 remaining in the first half.

Kani Carson

Unfortunately for the Railers, that was the last time Lincoln would score. Mt. Zion scored another touchdown on a 22-yard pass play to hold a 21-14 advantage at halftime en route to a 41-14 victory. The loss drops Lincoln to 2-3 overall and 1-2 in the Apollo Conference.

“We allowed a lot of big plays to them in the first half, and defensively we did not play very well,” Silkowski said. “They only had 21 points, but we did not play very well. They had a lot of big plays in the run game and the pass game. We keep struggling playing the screen. We knew it was coming all night; that’s kind of what they showed on film. We were just struggling stopping that play.”

Paytan Johnson

Paytan Johnson had a strong showing as he led Lincoln with 68 yards on seven rushing attempts while leading the Railer defense with six tackles. Ki’on Carson added 58 yards rushing and Isaac Decker gained 27 yards for the offense. Defensively, Decker and Tate Johnston made five tackles each for Lincoln.

Lincoln will look to get back in the win column on September 30 when the Railerstravel to Mattoon for a 7 PM Apollo Conference contest.

[Loyd Kirby]