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Railers never quit

By Rick Hobler

[OCT. 14, 2000] Practice makes perfect. In practice, the Railer football players have a phrase they use to motivate each other. It goes something like this: "Nobody quits until the final whistle blows." Last night, as the Railers played Taylorville, they played on the field like they practice…until the very last whistle. And while the Railers didn't win, falling to Taylorville, 46-6, they showed, with some exceptions, improving execution on offense and defense.

The Railer's offense sustained several lengthy drives, scoring once and coming close on two other possessions. The lone score came on a 41 yard run by Sam Moore in the second quarter. Although Moore finished this scoring drive, it was the kickoff return team's effort and the inside tough running of Jimmy Babbs that gave the Railers a first down at the Taylorville 41 yard line. Moore took it from there, with his speed and toughness, behind some well executed blocking by the offensive line and down-field by Tommy John Gallagher.

The two close encounters with the Railer goal line came as result of a defensive turnover in the 2nd quarter and a sustained offensive drive on the first possession of the 3rd Quarter. An aggressive Railer defense knocked the ball loose from a Taylorville running back and recovered the fumble only 17 yards away from a Railer score. Once again Sam Moore got the call and he ran the ball all the way to the 4 yard line, where the Railers had a first down. But, the Taylorville defense held and Taylorville regained possession after the Railers failed to punch the ball in the end zone.

The second close encounter came when the Railer kickoff return team and offense mounted a sustained drive to begin the 3rd quarter. Ryan Bast, once again ran well on the kickoff return to give the Railers good starting field position. The running of Tungate, Babbs and Moore along with some excellent pass receiving by Adam Schonauer of Marty Ryan passes brought the Railers to within 4 yards of six points. But, it wasn't to be. A fumble on the next play ended the Railer's hope to score again.

Mistakes were once again tragic for the Railers, leading to scores by Taylorville and lost chances for Lincoln. Taylorville shredded the Railer defensive secondary primarily using their 6'5 Quarterback, Gavin Sincavage, and their equally tall, All-Conference receiver Danny Curtin to repeatedly produce long gains and scores. The effective Taylorville passing game opened things up for All-Conference running back Brett Walker and others to penetrate and score on the Railers. Two Railer fumbles and a high snap in a punting situation all led to Taylorville scores.

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Defensively, the Railers played tough at many positions and some hard hits and extraordinary efforts were seen. Chad Tungate, Quent Workman, Aaron Matson and Billy Barton, among others played well. Josh Gallagher pulled off and interception and almost had another. With only one miscue, all of the Railers' special teams played well and with passion. Special mention also goes to Mark Huskin for his all out effort when he was on the field.

The Railer's practice slogan was evident as the game closed. Behind 46-6 the Railer offense was again moving the ball toward the end zone. With the clock showing under 10 seconds left in the game, the Railers amazingly called a time-out to try one last play to score. While that last play didn't result in a score, it was a reflection of the players' hearts and desire to never quit until the last whistle blows. Commenting on the team's effort, Assistant Coach Spears told the team after the game that he was "honored to be their Coach tonight." We were likewise honored to be Railer fans tonight.

The Railers end their season next week, at home, against East Peoria. Senior night activities will begin promptly at 6:30, with a hoped for Railer victory to begin at 7:00. But, victorious or not, the Railers will play to the end. Come and see. GO RAILERS!

[Rick Hobler]

Volleyball: Lincoln College vs. John Wood

[OCT. 14, 2000] On the afternoon of Wednesday, Oct. 11, Lincoln College’s women’s volleyball team traveled to Quincy to play John Wood. It was a close, five-game match: 12-15, 15-8, 14-16, 15-6, 13-15. John Wood took the tiebreaker to win.

Coach Smith commented, "We played well and took them to five sets. We made a couple of crucial mistakes in the final set or we could have picked up a win." All of the girls played hard. Christine Lott had 19 kills and five blocks. Amanda Pikert made eight kills, one block, 15 digs and 6 aces. Candace Sheley had 10 kills and 25 digs. Adie Harmon made nine kills, two blocks and six digs. Bonnie Brown assisted her teammates 41 times.

Lincoln College’s women’s volleyball record is now 1-23.

Volleyball: LCHS vs. SH-Griffin

[OCT. 13, 2000] Lincoln Community High School’s ladies volleyball team defeated Sacred Heart-Griffin during an away match yesterday in Springfield, 15-13 and 15-7.

Danielle Peifer scored nine service points for Lincoln. Kristina Cook, Darcy White and Ashley Boyer each made five kills. Cook and Peifer each blocked six balls. Kelli Gleason assisted her teammates 20 times.

Lincoln’s record now stands at 19-7-1. They are 4-1 in the Central State Eight Conference.

SH-Griffin beat Lincoln in the junior varsity game, 15-12 and 15-8.

Volleyball: Hartsburg-Emden vs. U-High

[OCT. 13, 2000] University High ladies volleyball team met Hartsburg-Emden yesterday in Hartsburg. U-High beat Hartsburg 15-8 and 15-8.

Danielle Bergman served up six points for Hartsburg. Kate Wrage made 14 kills. Carrie Rayburn blocked three balls, and Beth Guy assisted her team 16 times.

Ann Taulbee of U-High served 11 points and made two blocks. Ogonna Nnamani made 17 kills and two blocks. Anne Butts also made two blocks and assisted 33 times.

The schools’ new records are as follows: University High, 26-1, and Hartsburg-Emden, 17-8.

Hartsburg’s junior varsity team was able to defeat University High’s junior varsity girls, 15-13, 15-17, 15-12.

Volleyball: Mount Pulaski vs. Athens

[OCT. 13, 2000] Mount Pulaski High School’s ladies volleyball team defeated the Athens ladies 15-5 and 15-4 yesterday in Athens. Mount Pulaski’s record is now 19-4.

Tiffany Conaway led Mount Pulaski with 11 service points and 24 assists. Lindsay Clements made seven kills. Mary Olson blocked one ball.

Mount Pulaski’s junior varsity also defeated Athens, 15-8 and 15-4.

Volleyball: Olympia vs. Prairie Central

[OCT. 13, 2000] Olympia High School’s ladies volleyball team defeated Prairie Central in Stanford yesterday, 15-12 and 15-7.

Laura Doornbos served 13 points and blocked one ball for Olympia. Elizabeth Siuta made six kills. Mindy Bachman had 19 assists.

For Prairie Central, Sherry Kreber and Kristi White each had five service points. Kristi White and Kaci Davis each made three kills. Becky Shols had six assists.

Olympia’s new records are 18-11 overall and 5-3 in the Corn Belt Conference.

Olympia also won the junior varsity and freshman games. The scores of the junior varsity games were 15-0 and 15-3. The freshman scores were 15-6 and 15-9.

Soccer: Lincoln College vs. Springfield College

[OCT. 13, 2000] Lincoln College’s men’s soccer team met Springfield College yesterday in Springfield. The final score was 2-1, Springfield College.

Pat Doe, assisted by Mike Ngoyani, scored Springfield’s first goal. Vince Murphy scored the team’s second goal early in the second half of the game, bringing the score to 2-0.

With 25 minutes left, Steve Gorton scored Lincoln College’s one goal, with a penalty kick. Lincoln College’s Matt Stoeff made seven saves in the game.

Lincoln’s Coach Howard commented, "We generated a lot of offense in the first half. We hit the goal post four times, but couldn’t get it in the net. We played better, but we didn’t finish."

Lincoln College’s record is 8-6-1. They play Danville at 2 p.m. this Saturday here in Lincoln.

Lincoln’s wooden bat team extends record to 7-1

[OCT. 12, 2000] Lincoln’s wooden bat high school team continued its winning ways last Sunday, taking a doubleheader, 1-0 and 7-2, from the Normal-based MacDonald All-Star team in games at Lincoln College. The All-Stars had players from Normal Community, Bloomington High School, Quincy, Galesburg, Streator and Prairie Central. The Lincoln team now stands at 7-1 in its fall season. In weather more fitting for winter football, the team faced nature’s elements in extraordinary fashion.

The mid-40 degree temperature was matched by the coldness Lincoln pitchers forced on Normal’s hitters. It was not until the last inning of the second game that a Normal player crossed the plate. In fact, it wasn’t until that last inning that a Normal batter got a hit.

Four Lincoln pitchers threw a combined no-hitter in the first game: Chris Phillips, Ryan Williams, Jamison Sheley and Blake Schoonover. Even so, the game was on the line every inning. Lincoln’s only score came in the third inning, after Justin Dedman reached first on an error, stole second and was driven home on a single by Williams. Lincoln’s one-run lead was most tenuous in the fourth inning. With two out and two on, Normal Community’s Craig Bough lined a shot to the left of Lincoln shortstop Andy Knopp, who stabbed it and suddenly dashed the scoring threat.

In the second game, Lincoln’s bats warmed up, producing seven runs on 10 hits from nine different batters. The first five runs came in the third inning.

Sheley started off with a triple and scored on an errant relay from the shortstop. After a walk to Aaron Matson, Dedman whacked an RBI triple and was pushed home on a single by Schoonover. With runners on first and second, Knopp sent a long drive to right field. The play resulted in a chaotic base-running frenzy. Knopp’s slice was aided both by wind and sun, prompting the right fielder to misjudge the ball that flew over his reach. As Knopp approached second base, he encountered teammate John Peters just ahead of him. Peters was waiting for Schoonover, who was tagging at second base on the play, to move on. Schoonover did score on the play, but Peters was tagged out at third. While Normal’s defense was catching its breath, Knopp noticed that no one was covering third, so he discreetly took the base. He then scored on a single to left by Phillips.

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Lincoln’s two other runs came in the sixth, after singles by Peters and Knopp and a sacrifice fly by Andrew Bartman.

As with game one, Lincoln used four different pitchers in the second game: Dedman, Josh McDaniel, Sheley and Matt Boyer. They combined for 11 strikeouts while giving up nine walks. Normal was scoreless until three walks in the seventh inning set the stage for a two-out, two-RBI double by Streator’s Kevin Kuntz off Boyer. It was Normal’s first and only hit of the day.

Lincoln also had solid pitching and defense in a doubleheader sweep of Quincy, 4-3 and 5-4, the previous week. Lincoln plays a doubleheader against Rochester in East Peoria on Sunday.

[Rich Knopp]

Click below for statistics.

Box scores for Game 1 on Oct. 8

Box scores for Game 2 on Oct 8

Lincoln season stats

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