Normal U-High shuts out Railer football team 52-0

 

[September 21, 2024]  NORMAL – The game between the Normal University High School and Lincoln football teams took place on Friday, September 20, but Railer fans may have felt the calendar was off by a week. Jason Voorhees--the slasher character in the popular Friday the 13th movie series--may not have been present, but the night probably felt more like a horror than a football game to Lincoln fans as U-High routed the Railsplitters 52-0.

“We didn’t play very well in any phase of the game,” said Lincoln coach Matt Silkowski afterward. “We’ve just got to find a way to get tougher and match our opponent’s physicality.

“If we’re going to win some more games throughout the year, we’ve got to get better in a lot of different areas.”

The Railers and U-High each made the Class 4A playoffs in 2023 but lost in the first round. U-High fell to Coal City 44-0 while Lincoln lost to eventual 4A champion Rochester 59-14.

Both Lincoln and U-High entered Friday’s contest with identical 2-1 overall records.

That seemed to be where the similarities between the two teams ends.

It only took 90 seconds for the Pioneers to put points on the scoreboard. Eight plays into the first quarter, U High quarterback Alek Wieland scored on a 4-yard keeper to put the Pioneers up 7-0.

A mental mistake by the Railers allowed U-High to extend its lead. On the following kickoff, U-High—as it did all game—did not kick a deep kickoff. However, the ball travelled more than 10 yards and, unlike a punt situation where the kicking team can down the ball to prevent its opponent from advancing the ball, the ball on a kickoff is still live. No one from Lincoln secured the football, so the Pioneers regained possession at the Railer 25-yard line.

Two minutes later, U-High found the end zone again on a 1-yard run to go up 14-0.

The Railers began their next drive at their own 36-yard line, but Lincoln quarterback Tate Johnston was intercepted by the Pioneer defense. U-High returned the ball to the 30-yard line, and scored on a pass on the very next play to increase the Pioneer lead to 21-0.

U-High got another touchdown before the quarter ended on a 25-yard run by quarterback Alek Weiland to hold a 28-0 advantage heading into the second stanza.

Railer coach Matt Silkowski said the early offensive onslough by U-High, coupled with the mental mistake by the Railers, put Lincoln in too big a hole to recover.

“They scored early, then we had a brain fart on the special team play,” he said. “They go down and score again, so you’re already down 14-to-nothing and we haven’t even touched the ball yet. Then we go three-and-out, and they go down and score again.

“We had to control the clock and move the chains and get the first downs [to be successful], and we just could not do that.”

U-High added two second quarter touchdowns to increase its lead to 42-0 at halftime.

A second half touchdown and field goal gave the Pioneers their 52-0 margin of victory.

The loss drops Lincoln to 2 and 2 overall and oh and 2 in the Central State 8. The next game for the Railers is the homecoming game Friday, September 27th when Lincoln hosts Eisenhower in a 7 PM conference game.

Game statistics were unavailable at the time this story was written.

[Loyd Kirby]