Railers lose more than just the
game in 42-0 loss to U-High
[September 26, 2026]
Normal, Ill. -- Earlier this season, as the Railer football team was
enduring a brutal stretch of games against four formidable opponents
(which currently have a combined record of 17-6), first year Lincoln
head coach Aaron Fricke said he could see a path for his squad to
make it into the playoffs.
With the IHSA’s expanded playoff system this season, the 1-5 Railers
could still have a path to the postseason with three regular-season
games remaining. However, it sure appears that path got a lot more
tenuous following Lincoln’s 42-0 loss Friday night to University
High School in Normal.
The team’s performance on the field did not yield any points, making
it the fifth straight game in which the Railer offense did not
score. The defense gave up 42 points, which actually lowered the
average number of points allowed down to just over 55 per contest
during Lincoln’s current five-game skid. There were a multitude of
flag thrown against the Railers throughout the game, including
several for unsportsmanlike conduct penalties.
But the most unsettling developments were that three Railer starters
left the game with what appeared to be serious injuries. get the
ball in the endzone for the fifth straight game, but three players
suffered what appeared to be serious injuries in the contest.
In the second quarter, Railer quarterback Kane Komnick faced an
untouched blitzing defender approaching from slightly to his left.
Komnick eluded the defender’s grasp and began running the ball into
the left flat. About three yards later, as the defenders strung the
play out to the left and forced Komnick toward the left sideline, a
defender tried grabbing his right shoulder area. As the Railer QB
tried to straight-arm the defender away, a second defensive player
lunged to tackle Komnick. As the trio was falling to the ground, the
original blitzing defender rejoined the play. As the collection of
players fell to the turf, it appeared Komnick’s left leg got
contorted in an unorthodox direction. He laid on the ground for
about 45 seconds, occasionally writhing from the discomfort before
being assisted off the field.
Then in the third quarter, Lincoln center Ryder Conrady pulled to
the left to act as a blocker after snapping the ball. After moving a
few steps in open ground, the Railer receiver with the ball ran in
Conrady’s direction. The receiver was taken down by a U-High
defender at Conrady’s feet, just as two more Pioneer defensive
players arrived. The gaggle of players fell to the ground, with one
of the U-High defenders appearing to land on one of Conrady’s legs.
After a pause while he collected himself, Conrady left the field
with assistance from a trainer.
But the most menacing play resulting in the loss of another Railer
happened in the final period. With Lincoln on defense, the Pioneer
quarterback made a delayed run up the middle. Railer defensive
lineman Tate Whitted closed in on the runner as he approached, but
another Lincoln defender closed in from another angle and dove in
attempt to corral the quarterback. As that defender fell to the
ground, it appeared that Whitted’s foot was in place where the other
defender landed. Whitted hit the ground and was on the turf for
several minutes as trainers tended to his lower leg injury. With
players on both sidelines showing respect and kneeling in concern,
the 6-foot-3 junior was eventually carried to and placed on a cart,
then taken from the field.
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It’s one thing to feel down after losing a game simply because the
other team scored more points, but when a team loses teammates,
those vibes definitely hit differently. While understandably
dejected after the team’s fifth loss, the somber tone of Fricke’s
voice following the game communicated the concern for the injured
players.
“We didn't really execute in any way and had some tough injuries
tonight that are not going to be fun to deal with going forward,” he
said. “So, not a lot of positives coming out of tonight, but the
good news is there are three weeks left and we still have a shot.”
The Railers did not help themselves with the multitude of penalties
for which they were whistled. But Fricke said after the game that he
saw things a little differently.
“You know there's a lot of times where I've been upset with my teams
for those penalties,” he said. “With some of the things I saw go on
tonight, our kids were defending themselves. I won't really say too
much about the refereeing, but it was…it was frustrating.”
The first-year Railer coach added that the team’s offensive woes
aren’t something that can be remedied with one simply tweak.
”It's a little bit of everything: inexperience, still taking the
wrong step. Sometimes our first steps are wrong, and that's the
thing about the run game: if four guys are right and one guy is
wrong, the play is dead in the water. And that's the frustrating
part is, I think in other sports you can make up for that. In
football, you can't.
“We've got three sophomores that are playing out there, and then
unfortunately tonight we lost our center and our left tackle. So
we’re already struggling and that's going to make it a little more
difficult.”
While Fricke looks to find a way to move the team forward in its
quest for a postseason berth, he said the closeknit relationships of
the Railer players have the potential to help the squad moving
forward.
“I think playing for those guys that went out tonight,” Fricke said.
“Especially Tate, who's been our best leader probably the whole
off-season and he's probably one of the biggest ‘heart’ pieces of
our team. And the kids want to fight for him. It looks like he'll
probably be out the rest of the year. I hope not, but we want to
rally behind that because he sacrificed and fought for these guys
all year. He loves them to death and that's the best way to show him
love them back.”
The Railers will look to get back in the win column when they host
Hillsboro on October 2 in the LCHS Homecoming game at Handlin Field.
Kickoff is slated for 7 PM.
LCHS Railer football vs
U-High highlight video
[Loyd Kirby]
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