LCHS football team earns 5th win with 41-28 victory over Jacksonville
Railers become IHSA playoff eligible for first time since 1984

 

[September 30, 2023]  Lincoln - With all the data and statistical analysis available in sports, the Railer football team’s 41-28 senior night win over Jacksonville to earn eligibility for the IHSA playoffs might best be encapsulated by a single number: 0.

Yes, Lincoln amassed an unofficial total of 378 yards in total offense. Indeed, the C&C Touchdown Factory--twins Ki’on and Kani Carson--stuffed the stat sheet with 223 yards of total offense between them to go with four touchdowns (three by Ki’on and one by Kani). It’s also true Lincoln scored six touchdowns in putting 41 points on the board. And quarterback Darren Stevens racked up 143 yards in a steady performance, hitting six of 12 passes with three touchdowns.

But the most significant number of the game? 0. Zip. Nothing. Nada.

That is how many penalties the Railers were called for in earning their fifth victory of the season and becoming playoff eligible for the first time since 1984.

“That was one of our keys was to not get any penalties,” said Lincoln coach Matt Silkowski. “We write a couple of goals for each side of the ball every Friday night, and I leave them up. I ask the kids to look at them [after the game] when they turn in their uniforms, and if you’ve met the goals, you probably won the football game. I think we met every goal.”

Head Coach Matt Silkowski

Initially, the game had the feel of a heavyweight boxing slugfest, with each team punching only for the other to counterpunch. Jacksonville received the initial kickoff, but shortly into the drive, Lincoln’s Angel Haro recovered a Crimsons’ fumble to give the Railers the ball.

“It all happened so fast,” Haro said. “I was just chasing downfield; the next thing I know, I see the ball pop out. It bounced up, so I figured I’d grab it.”

Angel Haro

Lincoln could not move the ball, so Jacksonville regained possession on downs and struck for the first time on a 54-yard touchdown pass play near the midway point of the first quarter. Four minutes later, Lincoln knotted the score as Stevens hit Gabe Smith on a 17-yard touchdown pass.

As the Crimsons began their ensuing drive from scrimmage, Railer defender Tate Johnston recovered a fumble 15 yards from the endzone with just under three minutes remaining in the opening stanza. Less than a minute later, all-time Railer touchdown leader Ki’on Carson scored on a 3-yard run to give Lincoln its first lead at 14-7.

Tate Johnston

Ki'on Carson

As the clock wound down on the quarter, it was reasonable to feel Lincoln set a tone for the game by holding a lead after the first quarter. Jacksonville, however, threw a big counterpunch as the Crimsons scored on a 39-yard touchdown play to tie the game with just 1.5 seconds left in the quarter.

In past games, such plays by opponents seemed to knock Lincoln back and take the wind out of the Railers’ sails so to speak, either immediately or gradually. But this Railer squad spent the week practicing, learning how to defend Jacksonville’s triple-option offense and fine tuning their own arsenal. Lincoln was a team on a mission, and Lincoln responded by retaking the lead a few plays into the second quarter on a 42-yard touchdown pass play from Stevens to Gabe Smith.

Darren Stevens

Following a big defensive stop by LCHS, the Railers found the endzone again through the air as Stevens connected with Ki’on Carson on a 43-yard pass play to give Lincoln a 28-14 halftime advantage.

It was important for the Railers to show resolve as play resumed after halftime. Lincoln did just that, scoring on a 4-yard touchdown run by Ki’on Carson to cap a 9-play, 73-yard drive to open the third quarter and extend the Railers’ lead to 35-14.

As the heavyweight fight approached the final bell, each opponent begin throwing their best punches. Jacksonville found the endzone twice more before the end of the third quarter to pull within a touchdown of the lead, 35-28.

Lincoln went three-and-out to give Jacksonville the ball back early in the fourth quarter. The Railer defense held, and the Crimsons also went three-and-out to return possession to the Railers with 9:17 left in the contest. Lincoln then ate up six minutes on the clock with a 65-yard drive that ended with a 10-yard touchdown run by Paytan Bunner with 3:17 remaining.

Paytan Bunner

Jacksonville got one more first down after the ensuing kickoff, but the Railer defense stepped up and held as the Crimsons lost the ball on downs with 2:01 remaining in the contest. Lincoln iced the ball, and when the final whistle sounded, Lincoln had its fifth victory of the season with the 41-28 win.

Understandably, Railer team members were ecstatic following the game.

“A lot of people were doubting us, saying we were going to lose,” said Kani Carson. “We knew this was going to be a dogfight, and it showed that first half. We talked at halftime, and we knew they weren’t going to give it to us. The second half, we came out kind of flat, but then we really started hyping each other up and getting on each other, and it worked.”

Kani Carson

“It feels amazing,” Haro said. “We worked great as a team. We did great stuff today.”

“I’m crying right now,” said Bunner. “I love these guys more than anything. It means the world to me to get this; this is history tonight.”

“The feeling hasn’t even set in yet,” said Zach Poole. “But since I was a little kid, I’ve been wanting this moment for the town of Lincoln, and we finally got that moment. I worked my butt off all summer and during the season, and I feel like we absolutely capitalized on it.”

Zach Poole

“It feels great,” said Ki’on Carson. “I’m just so proud of my team. All thanks to them, and all thanks to the line for blocking for me all night. I couldn’t have done anything without them. And Darren [Stevens], handing me the ball and throwing me the ball; he played an extraordinary game; I’m so proud of him and proud of our whole team.”

Although Lincoln entered the game 4-1 while Jacksonville was 2-3, some thought the Crimsons would eke out a win due to the disparity in the teams’ schedules. Through the first five weeks of the season, the five opposing teams Jacksonville had faced compiled a combined won-loss record of 16-9. The combined record of Lincoln’s opponents from the first five weeks was 2-23.

So how did Lincoln earn the victory over Jacksonville?

“Our kids wanted it,” Silkowski said. “And they prepared and they stayed the course. They stayed positive. They were okay with them [Jacksonville] getting little plays here and there. Obviously we gave up more chunk plays than we would’ve liked, but they stayed the course. Our kids played within the scheme; they didn’t freelance and do their own thing. Yeah, we missed some plays and opportunities, but they stayed within the system and they just did their job.

“They just believed. I’m just so proud. We could’ve quit and we could’ve folded. We had a lot of momentum, then we gave it away. But we knew we were okay; the stuff we were trying to run was there. We were just shooting ourselves in the foot a little bit. But we just stayed the course; when we needed a big time drive, Ki’on had some really big time runs with the help of the blockers, of course. It was definitely not just a single effort, and they got it done.”

Lincoln will try to add another victory to its total on October 6 when Rochester visits Handlin Field for a 7 PM Central State 8 game.

[Loyd Kirby]