Railers fall at home to Quincy
Notre Dame, 56-7
[October 20, 2025]
LINCOLN – The look was slightly different, but the results didn’t
change as the Railer football team added a different wrinkle on
offense but still fell to Quincy Notre Dame, 56-7.
The weather forecast indicated precipitation was likely. In
anticipation of that, head coach Matt Silkowski had the team
practicing with footballs that were first dunked in a bucket of
water to simulate the slick surface of the ball Lincoln might
encounter. In addition, Lincoln lined up on offense with quarterback
Briggs Davenport directly over the center rather than in the shotgun
formation used all season. With the quarterback immediately over
center, the snap is obviously shorter when initiating a play and
less susceptible to mishandling in inclement weather. The rain held
off, however, but the Railers went with the next look like they had
practiced the week prior to the contest.
While the formation was new, unfortunately for Lincoln, there were
some familiar sights that had been seen in previous contests. On the
opening kickoff, Quincy Notre Dame’s Gavin Doellman returned the
ball 91 yards for a touchdown to put the Raiders ahead 6-0. That
marked the third time in the last five games that Lincoln has given
up a touchdown on the opening kickoff. U-High returned the opening
kickoff 75 yards against Lincoln when the Pioneers played at Lincoln
on September 19. Glenwood got an 80-yard touchdown on the initial
kickoff against the Railers last week.
“That’s been a problem for us all year, unfortunately,” said Railer
head coach Matt Silkowski.
Lincoln looked to regain some momentum, and it was the defense that
first rose to the occasion as Hunter Clark busted through the line
to block the extra point attempt by QND and keep the score at 6-0.
After receiving the ensuing kickoff, the Railers opened up their
playbook a bit and began the first possession with a halfback pass
from Lucas Melton to Cade Wilkerson for a 23-yard gain and first
down for Lincoln.
“It was something we put in this week,” Silkowski said. “We didn’t
really have any intentions of opening with that, but after the
opening kickoff, we decided we needed to do something to get some
energy back. We obviously wanted that to go for a touchdown, but we
still executed it.”
The Railer drive stalled, however, and Quincy Notre Dame pulled out
a special play of its own on the following possession with five
receivers lined up to the right of the ball. Raider quarterback John
Venvertloh hit Doellman on a touchdown pass play that totally 66
yards and gave QND a 14-0 lead.
In the second period, Venvertloh connected on three more touchdown
pass plays for the Raiders to give them a 35-0 advantage. As the
second quarter was nearing its conclusion, the Railsplitters moved
the ball near midfield and had a 4th-and-1 situation at their own
31-yard line. Quarterback Briggs Davenport handed off to Seth
Durbin, who took the ball through the line and down the left
sideline 69 yards for a Lincoln touchdown just before intermission.
Lucas Melton kicked the extra point and Lincoln got on the board but
trailed 35-7 at halftime.
Quincy Notre Dame added three more scores after intermission as
Venvertloh connected on touchdown passes of 10, 23 and 3 yards.
According to unofficial statistics, Lincoln’s outgained QND in net
rushing yards, 137 to 79. But the guests made up the difference in
net passing yards, outgaining the Railers 181 to 22.
Durbin led all players with 89 net rushing yards. Melton followed
him with 39 yards.
Lincoln’s offense did a nice job of trying to control the time of
possession, as the Railers ran 52 offensive plays to QND’s 26.
However, Lincoln’s average yardage gained per play was 3.1 while the
Raiders averaged 9.6 yards per play.
Lincoln’s attack was handcuffed a bit in the second half due to
three injuries, one of which was Lucas Melton. In addition to
playing running back, Melton handles the punting and kicking duties
for the Railers. He was injured during play and was unable to return
to action. As the Railers did not have another person dressed for
the game who had punted or handled kicks, Silkowski opted not to
punt on any of its second-half possessions and instead went for it
on fourth down no matter the yards needed to gain a first down.
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Head Coach Matt Silkowski
“We lost three [players] throughout the game,” Silkowski said. “We
lost our kicker/punter/running back at halftime, so that’s why we
were going for it on fourth down there. Our backup punter wasn’t
dressed either, and I didn’t want to get in a situation of just
picking somebody off the sidelines to punt there. So that’s why we
just went for it on fourth down.”
Despite the loss, LCHS head coach Matt Silkowski was pleased with
the effort and conduct of his players.
“Throughout the game, I thought our kids played really hard and
showed good sportsmanship,” Silkowski said. “I thought they were
kind of chirpy. I thought our kids did a really good job of rising
above that and not stooping to that level; I’m really happy with
them about that.
“Our kids competed; no one got down on each other. All in all, given
that they’re a better football team that us right now, we played
pretty well given everything.”
Lincoln falls to 1-7 with the loss. The Railers conclude their
season on October 24 when they play at Jacksonville in a 7 PM game.
Jacksonville is the team Lincoln beat in 2023 to become playoff
eligible, and the Crimsons were also the team that defeated the
Railers in their last game in 2024 to knock LCHS out of playoff
eligibility.
“They knocked us out last year when we were still alive, so that’s
kind of the motivation this week,” Silkowski said. “We’re going to
give them our best shot and try to ruin their season.”
The game against Quincy Notre Dame was Lincoln’s final home game of
the season. In addition, it was the final home game during which
Silkowski served as LCHS head football coach, as he will be stepping
down at the conclusion of the season. Prior to the game, Silkowski
was recognized with an announcement on behalf of the school read to
the crowd by PA announcer Dave Renfrow. The text of the
announcement:
“Ladies and gentleman, at this time, Lincoln Community High School
would like to extend our heartfelt thanks and congratulations to
coach Matt Silkowski, who will be coaching his final game on Handlin
Field with the Railsplitter football program after 10 dedicated
seasons. Coach Silkowski’s leadership, passion and commitment have
left a lasting impact on our players, program and community. Over
the past decade, he has worked tirelessly to build a culture of
accountability, teamwork and pride, helping shape not only better
athletes, but better young men. We are deeply grateful for his years
of service, the countless hours invested on and off the field and
the positive example he has set for everyone around him. On behalf
of the fans, families, coaches and players, thank you, Coach, for
all you that have done for our program and our community. You will
be missed. Please join us again in thanking Coach Silkowski for his
incredible contributions to Lincoln football and in wishing him, his
wife Lauren and their children Urban and Madison the very best in
their next chapter. And Coach, remember: once a Railer, always a
Railer.”
[Loyd Kirby]
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