Railer football loses to Glenwood, awaits word on postseason playoff berth

 

[October 21, 2023]  Chatham – And now, we wait.

The LCHS football team hoped to upset Glenwood Friday night and earn a sixth victory on the season, which would earn the Railers an automatic berth in the IHSA postseason playoffs. However, a sluggish first half by Lincoln that resulted in a 28-0 halftime advantage for the Titans was too much to overcome and the Railers fell to Glenwood 42-14.

The loss leaves Lincoln with a 5-4 overall record for the season, and now the Railers can only qualify for the postseason playoffs via the IHSA point system based on the team’s strength of schedule versus other five-win teams in the state.

“They kind of understood the scenario here that we’re not guaranteed to play next week,” LCHS head coach Matt Silkowski said of the Railers after the game. “They knew we had to win here tonight to guarantee it [playing next week]. But they’re not ready to say goodbye; we’re not ready for this journey to end.

Head Coach Matt Silkowski

“This is such a tight group. Anybody that’s been around them can really sense the love that they have for each other, and I don’t think they’re ready for that to end. But it’s out of our hands know. We did our part; we gave our best effort tonight, and that’s all you could ever ask out of a high school kid.”

The Railers held Glenwood to seven points in the first quarter, but the Titans exploded for 21 points in the second stanza to take a 28-0 lead at halftime.

“I think we controlled their run game all night really well,” Silkowski said. “That was kind of our goal: make them throw to beat us. There were a couple of big plays we gave up in the passing game that really hurt. On our end, we had opportunities; we had four drops in the first half, and that really, really hurt.

“I felt like it easily could’ve been 21-14 at the half there; we just didn’t make plays, and they made them."

Facing a four-touchdown deficit at halftime, it would have been easy for Lincoln to fold and give up. Instead, in the second half (and as has been the case all season), the Railers showed their resilience and did not give up.

Paytan Bunner

Paytan Bunner continued his strong offensive showing as of late, scoring Lincoln’s first points of the game on a 5-yard touchdown plunge into the endzone with 9:10 left in the third quarter.

The Railer defense then did its part, holding strong and forcing the Titans to go 4-and-out. The series was capped with a big stand by the defensive line on 4th-and-1, as Glenwood attempted to rush the ball up the middle but the defense, led by Alek Claudio on this play, denied the Titans the needed yardage and returned possession to Lincoln.

Ki'on Carson

Eleven plays later, Ki’on Carson scored a touchdown on a 3rd-and goal from the 3-yard line. The score at the 1:40 mark of the quarter was a recordbreaker, as Carson surpassed Dean Klarr’s record for most points scored in a season.

On the next play, Angel Haro broke another Railer football record by kicking the PAT. The play broke the LCHS record for PATs in a season, formerly held by Bob Washam.

Angel Haro

“It feels great,” Haro said of getting the record. “It wouldn’t have been possible without Tate [PAT snapper Johnston], Aiden [PAT holder Crane] and the whole line, really. They’ve been playing a big role, giving me time to not stress out about the kick. I’ve been taking my time with it, and it’s been working out.”

Unfortunately for Lincoln, those were the final Railer points in the contest. The Titans scored 14 points of their own to extend the lead to their final margin of victory, 42-14.

Unofficially, Bunner led Lincoln with 91 rushing yards on 12 carries.

“I wanted to win this game more than anything,” Bunner said. “I ran my heart out; my line’s blocking for me and I’m seeing the gap. I wanted to prove something tonight. I got my biggest rushing game tonight; it feels great, but it doesn’t feel good to lose.”

Ki’on Carson led the Railers with 31 yards receiving. On defense, Tate Johnston led the team with four tackles while Ki’on Carson, Kani Carson, Frank Sanders and Colbie Glenn added two tackles each.

Now all the Railers can do is wait for the playoff pairings to be announced by the IHSA.

“We’re going to go scoreboard watch and kind of see where we’re at,” Silkowski said. “I’m not ready, and I don’t think anybody here is ready, for this journey to end. We’re not ready to say goodbye to each other.”

Silkowski said the team plans to find out collectively on Saturday if the Railers will make their first postseason football playoff appearance since 1984.

“We do have a tentative watch party planned for our whole program,” he said. “But I feel like later here tonight, we’ll have a pretty good idea where we’re at.”

Playoff pairings are scheduled to be announced by the IHSA on October 21 at 8 PM on a playoff pairings television show airing live locally on WCIX-49.1 (MyNet) Champaign/Springfield/Decatur as well as on the IHSA website and NFHS Network. Shortly after they are announced on the broadcast, pairings will be posted on the IHSA website as well as on the IHSA feed on X (formerly Twitter). The pairings show will also air on a tape-delay basis at 9 PM on WEEK-25.3 (CW) Bloomington-Normal/Peoria (broadcast is delayed on all CW stations due to a previous CW agreement to air ACC football).

Box Score

[Loyd Kirby]