Railer football team seeks Win No. 5

 

[September 29, 2023]  Lincoln - The circumstances may be slightly different this season for the four-win LCHS football team, but the goal remains the same: get Win No. 5 to qualify for the postseason playoffs.

The Railers will try to do just that as Lincoln hosts Jacksonville in a senior night contest at Handlin Field on September 29 starting at 7 PM.

While some may be surprised the squad finds itself with a 4-1 record, head coach Matt Silkowski said players on the team had a plan to achieve this goal before the team took the field for its first game.

Matt Silkowski

“We talked at our Crossing Camp trip, and that’s [five wins to make the playoffs] a team goal,” he said. “That’s all they mentioned. But we talked about how we want to do it. We’ve had teams before say, ‘Yeah, we want to do it.’ But we kind of broke it down more on what our path would be and what we were going to do to control our destiny to get there.

“And, really, we’ve put ourselves in the spot we mapped out for ourselves. We figured we’d beat the four we’ve been, and we figured that between Springfield High and a couple others on the schedule, we’d have to knock somebody off.”

In each of the past three non-Covid seasons, the Railer football squad has finished with four wins. A team qualifies for the Illinois State High School Association playoffs with five wins. In the last two years, Lincoln has entered the final week of the season needing to win to qualify but came up short. This season, the Railers are again looking for that fifth victory that has eluded them in the past. However, unlike seasons past, Lincoln reached the four-win mark with four games left on its schedule, in theory giving the team four chances to get Win No. 5.

“I really want it for these kids,” Silkowski said. “I’m really happy for our kids that they’ve worked so hard and have gotten to the position that we’re in.”

While this year’s squad has reached four wins quicker than any other Silkowski-coached LCHS team, the squad has its work cut out for it in achieving the fifth victory. Following the Jacksonville game, Lincoln’s remaining opponents include undefeated Rochester (5-0), Normal U High (4-1) and Glenwood (4-1).

Does that make the Railers’ game against 2-3 Jacksonville a must-win game?

“I think they’re all must-win games from here on out,” Silkowski said. “So, yeah, it is a must-win game for us.”

While the stakes are high, Silkowski said the team’s players have had a great approach in preparing for this week’s game.

“It's a focus,” he said. “It’s a ‘willing-to-do-anything-I-have-to-do/sacrifice-for-the-team/just-tell-me-what-I-need-to-do’ mindset. We were in our meeting in film and you could hear a pin drop in the room.

“They [the Crimsons] run triple option. That’s something unique in itself, and you don’t see it all the time. So when we started talking about our plan, you could hear a pin drop. The kids were just ready to learn and ready to listen. It was us asking guys to do new things that they haven’t done before, and it wasn’t, ‘Oh, I can’t do that’ or ‘why do I have to be the one to do that?’ It was, ‘okay, tell me what I need to do.’ It was unlike any other group I’ve been around, just that focus.

“They fully understand the opportunity that they have in front of them.”

That “opportunity” is the chance to be the first LCHS football team to qualify for the IHSA state playoffs since 1984. While the team has had four wins in each of its previous two seasons with chances each year to earn a fifth victory, Silkowski said this year’s team having four games in which to earn that victory is the result of several factors which have led to improvement and development of the football program at Lincoln.

“When I got here in 2016, they hadn’t won a game in eight years,” Silkowski said. “I’ve really been able to see the progress that we’ve made. I just kind of think that getting No. 5 is the accumulation of everything. It’s kind of like, ‘Okay, we can do it.’

“I wouldn’t go and say that Lincoln football is back, because it’s one time. You’ve got to sustain that. It would be huge. I think this is as big of a game as it was in 2021 when we were at home in Week 9 against Triad and we were 4-4. And then again last year when we were on the road [with a 4-4 record playing Triad in Week 9]. I just think that this is a little different scenario. In those two games, Triad was a better football program at the time than we were.

“I think now, our program’s better than we were two or three years ago, or even last year or the year before. Not to take anything away from those teams, because those were some really good teams for us, and those teams are the reason why we’re here today. Those kids helped pave the way for where we are today. I think the ’21 game was a little bigger, because it was the first time in a long, long time we were in that position. And last year was kind of like, ‘Well, here we are again.’ And now we’re doing it a lot earlier, so you have other opportunities. It’s not like it’s Week 9 and do or die. If something doesn’t go our way this Friday, we still have some other opportunities to get it done.”

So how does one take a program often seen as a doormat opposing teams could walk all over and turn it around? As with most progress, the process involves several steps.

“I kind of set some goals," he said. "Obviously, the first one was to win a football game. Then it was to make the playoffs, then win a conference championship. And then, like every program, you want to win a state championship.

“I think we’re building there. I think we’re getting there. We’ve gotten better every year; I definitely think that. Obviously there have been some hiccups along the way, some years that we feel we should’ve gotten five [wins], but for various reasons, things didn’t go our way. But I think it’s definitely trending in the right direction. I knew this was going to take a long time, just from kind of where it was at and we had to kind of revamp the entire thing and build it from the ground up.”

Silkowski said that a fifth win this season for the Lincoln football program will be the result of the hard work players have put in to improve.

“The kids are definitely the major reason we’re there,” he said. “Everything we’ve kind of worked at over the eight years, we’ve maintained an effort to improve. I think we’re coaching our players better now. Obviously, we’ve got some very talented players in our program now, which obviously always helps and makes things a lot easier.”

The players realize the importance of the game against Jacksonville. In order to achieve a win against the Crimsons, they understand they must work as a unit to take their performance to the next level.

Kani Carson

“I’m excited for the opportunity,” said senior running back/defensive back Kani Carson. “We’ve been working hard this week, trying to get ready and watching a lot of film, so I feel confident going into this game and I feel confident about our team.

“We’re very excited; we have a chance to make history. We haven’t been to the playoffs in 38 years, so it’s a big moment for us. We’re going to go in there confident, trust in our coaches and trust in each other and be ready.”

Darren Stevens

“It’s pretty much a must-win game,” said senior quarterback Darren Stevens. “We’ve just got to do our thing and go out there and get a win. I think our offense and I are getting better. It’s a huge moment for me. I’ve been wanting it ever since I was a little kid to come in and play and get our first playoff season in a while.”

Paytan Bunner

“We’ve got to be ready for Jacksonville’s triple option,” said running back/linebacker Paytan Bunner. “We’ve just got to be ready for it. We’ve got to be more physical, we’ve got to be more disciplined and we can’t have any mental mistakes.

“Since Coach Silkowski came here, we just wanted to make the playoffs. That would be the world to me and to this team. We went 4-5 the past three years. We’ve been preparing for this all season; we’re hungry for that fifth win.”

Tate Johnston

“This is a huge game Friday,” said junior Tate Johnston. “It’s been very physical in practice; I think we are preparing very well.

“Ever since I’ve been in high school, I’ve been wanting to make the playoffs for Lincoln history. Ever since we were little kids, we’ve been looking forward to this moment. It means everything to me. I think it means everything to this team, honestly.”

Ki'on Carson

“Obviously, we wish we would’ve won the Week 3 game against Springfield High; we would’ve been 5 -0 if we would’ve won that game,” said all-time Railer touchdown leader Ki’on Carson. ”But we feel like we kind of needed that loss to wake us up and make this game more meaningful, especially with it being senior night.”

While a higher number of wins each season is one way to measure the improvement of a program, Silkowski said the players themselves reflect the raising of the bar for Railer football.

“I think that watching the kids come together…it’s a very close-knit group of players that we have right now,” Silkowski said. “They fight like brothers too. It’s like a brother relationship; there are spats out here. And when I see that happen, but then the next day I see that they’re walking out to practice together, then it’s like, ‘Okay, they get it; it’s nothing personal.’

“Something that makes me happy and proud is the way that some of the other teachers in the building talk about our players, the way they handle themselves, how they perform in their class and how hard they work. Some of the other teachers in general throughout the building have said nice things about our players to me. That’s probably one of my favorite things is when they’re acting and they’re presenting themselves in such a great way throughout the building; that makes me very proud of them.”

Another worker at LCHS who knows a bit about team building and building programs has noticed the improvement as well.

“Matt’s done a nice job of developing and continuing to keep the kids working in the right way,” said LCHS athletic director and boys’ basketball coach Neil Alexander. “Part of developing a program is getting your staff to be consistent, keeping a staff that’s with you and you understand to develop the kids and the trust that you have within your staff to relate to the kids.

“It’s a two-way street: the kids have got to believe in the coaches, and the coaches have got to believe in the kids. I think we’re doing that. There’s a lot of different things that go on in developing a program. For me personally, as a coach, we try to develop to win 25 games across the board, and I think there’s a lot of things that go into it. The kids have got to work and the kids have got to believe. I think he’s developing that in his program. I want to win consistently across the board; I don’t want to win 30 this year and 10 next year.

“We try to advance in the state tournament. Football is trying to get that accomplished this year. I’ve been here since 1990 and I believe the most football games we’ve ever won is four. Right now we’re sitting on four and hopefully have a good chance to move on and hopefully be able to get that fifth win and get into the playoffs.”

“Matt’s done a great job of developing over the course of time in the offseason and working with them along with trying to do other things such as bring a track coach.”

Alexander said that football and the setup of its playoff system is different than that of other sports governed by the IHSA.

“Football is the only sport in the IHSA series that doesn’t take every team,” Alexander said. “You have to be able to get to a certain point to get into the high school playoffs. Sometimes you think that’s good, sometimes you think that’s bad, but that’s the way the system is set up.”

Alexander explained that due to football being a more dangerous sports, the IHSA must be especially concerned with the well being of participants.

“Everything else [other IHSA sports] is set up on pairings and seedings,” Alexander said. “And if you took a No. 1 team and set it up against a No. 16…I think that has a lot to do with it because of the safety and the possibilities of that one team against the lower seed. I think that’s how it has to be.”

Teams qualify to participate in the IHSA football playoffs based on reaching five wins in a season. If there are not enough five-win teams to complete its brackets, the IHSA then considers teams with four wins by using a scoring system which awards points to teams based on factors such as the teams’ records and the strength of their schedules.

Silkowski said that, while it is possible for a four-win team to reach the playoffs, it is not very likely.

“Since that started happening post-Covid, I think there’s maybe only one or two that have done that,” he noted. “It really hasn’t been many.”

Silkowski added that, for multiple reasons, he prefers the Railers simply win five games to put themselves on more solid playoff footing.

“I wouldn’t want to go in as a four-win team, because it’s always been, ‘Lincoln hasn’t gotten to five [wins], and we want to get to five,” he said. “We don’t want to be the third team in Lincoln history to do it, but only had to win four. I don’t think our players or myself would want it that way.”

Lincoln will try to achieve that fifth victory September 29 at Handlin Field. For those who can not attend the game, WLCN 96.3 FM will again broadcast the game live. Individuals can listen to the game via the radio or on their smartphone or tablet using the Mixlr app. The game will also be live videostreamed via WLCN’s YouTube channel; to access the live videostream, go to the WLCNOnline.com home page just before the 7 PM start time and click the Watch live badge on the home page to be taken to WLCN’s live YouTube feed of the game.

[Loyd Kirby]