Highland bounces Railers from
playoffs with 56-12 defeat
[October 24, 2026]
Highland, Ill. -- The Railer football team traveled to Highland for
an opening round Class 4A playoff game against the Bulldogs of
Highland High School. The IHSA implemented expanded playoffs this
year with more teams participating than in past seasons; Highland
was seeded No. 10 and the Railers were the No. 23 seed. One
criticism of the expanded playoff format was that it would create
mismatches in the opening rounds, but the Railers hoped they could
put that notion to rest.
Lincoln received the opening kickoff, and on the first play of the
game, freshman Kruz Froebe hit Seth Durbin on a short pass. But two
plays later, a defender from Highland jumped the receiver’s route
and intercepted Froebe’s pass, so the Bulldogs took possession. The
Railers have shown determination and never quit this season, and
that attitude was on display on the first defensive play for
Lincoln. Senior Hunter Clark started the series with a
tackle-for-loss play, so things looked good initially. But two plays
later, Highland scored on an 11-yard screen pass; the PAT made it
7-0 with 9:23 left in the opening period.
The Railers showed life on offense and gained some positive yardage,
but the Highland offense has a lot of weapons and is tough to keep
up with. The Railers got intermittent plays from the offense but
couldn’t get the ball into the end zone in the first quarter. The
Bulldogs, however, tallied three more touchdowns in the remainder of
the first period on a pair of running scores that bookended a
49-yard touchdown pass play.
Toward the end of the first quarter, Lincoln hoped to close the gap
but punted. As the quarter expired, the Bulldogs added another
touchdown on the first play of the second period, increasing their
lead over the Railers to 28-0.
Lincoln added a touchdown in the second period on a 5-yard run by
Froebe. But the host school tallied 28 points in the frame, giving
them a comfortable 49-6 lead at intermission.
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Highland added another touchdown in the third period, and with a
running clock due to the scoring disparity, the second half went
quickly. However, one of the biggest Railer plays of the season took
place in the fourth quarter before time expired. The play wasn’t
influential as far as impacting the final outcome of the game, but
it was more so in seeing a hard worker rewarded for his efforts.
With Lincoln 20 yards from the end zone, Froebe dropped back to pass
for the Railers, but the ball was tipped by a Highland defender.
However, Lincoln senior lineman Hunter Clark spied the ball in the
air, caught it and took it into the end zone for a touchdown. It was
a nice way for Hunter, who also was a team captain for Lincoln this
season, to cap his Railer football career.
“I go to bed at night, looking forward to the next game,” Clark said
after the game. “As a lineman, there’s never a chance that I get a
chance to catch the ball.”
The final score of the game: Highland 56, Lincoln 12. The Railers
end their season with a 3-7 overall record. Through the course of a
transitional season (with it being head coach Aaron Fricke’s first
year coaching Lincoln), fans saw the flashes of a foundation for
future success, as the team’s performance improved overall as the
season wore on. While the scoreboard didn’t show the successes of
the team in learning a new system and injuries definitely took a
toll on the LCHS roster depth, fans and supporters should be able to
look for continued improvement in the program next season.
Highland improves to 7-3 and moves on in the IHSA Class 4A playoffs
to face Freeburg next week.
LCHS Railer football vs
Highland highlight video
[Loyd Kirby]
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