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 Victory
By
Rick Hobler
[OCT.
21, 2000]
Tears fell at
Handlin Field last night. Tears of joy, as the Railers came out with a 45-14
senior Night win over East Peoria. After playing their hearts out all year,
without a victory, the Railers dominated the entire game in every way. The game
began last Monday in practice when the seniors made up their minds to go out as
winners…whatever it took. It was clear from looking in the eyes of the
seniors, even before the game began, that they had no intention of losing this
final game of their high school careers. They had come to play and win. And with
the help of the entire Railer squad, they did both.
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The Railers played like champions
on both sides of the ball. The Railer defense repeatedly stuffed the run and
stopped the pass. On passing downs they sacked the East Peoria quarterback and
made some extraordinary plays in the defensive secondary to prevent long gains.
On the ground, there was very little room for East Peoria to run. The Railer
defensive line and its linebackers plugged up all the running lanes, caused a
fumble and prevented any big plays from happening. Numerous plays found Adam
Schonauer, Aaron Matson, Billy Barton, Chad Tungate, Quent Workman, Austin
Charron, Max Letterly, Morgan Murphy, Matt Hobler and a host of others in the
Raider backfield sacking their quarterback and tackling their running backs.
Senior Matt Hobler caused the Raider fumble to end East Peoria's opening drive
of the second half. Tommy-John Gallagher made a spectacular play in the
defensive secondary to thwart what would have been a certain Raider score. East
Peoria did not score on the Railer starting defense all night. East Peoria's
scores came on a first quarter special team breakdown and a fourth quarter pass
against the less experienced Railer substitutes.
The Railer offense was a scoring
machine. They also committed no turnovers all night. Led by the excellent
execution of quarterback Marty Ryan and with much better blocking at all
positions, several Railer running backs found themselves standing in the
end-zone in every quarter but one. As you would expect, Sam Moore led the way.
The junior record-breaker carried the ball 23 times for 210 yards and three
touchdowns. He also had a crucial 28-yard pass reception that put the Railers on
the 3-yard line and led to a score just prior to the end of the first half. It
appeared from the sidelines, that Moore could have scored almost at will. But
"Sam the Man" wasn't the only story of the night. Chad Tungate broke
loose on an exciting 64-yard run for a touchdown that put the Railers up 21-7.
Tommy-John Gallagher ran the ball well and ended up in the end zone in the
fourth quarter to put the Railers up 38-7. Jimmy Babbs ran in his usual tough style and
set up the Gallagher score by dragging half the East Peoria defense to the
1-yard line before being stopped. To cap off the scoring, senior Chris Meyer out
ran the Raider defense and put the Railers up 45-7.
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The
Railer special teams, played exceptionally well, after the first quarter miscue
that allowed East Peoria's star senior running back Jake Moody to run 82 yards
to tie the score early in the first quarter. After that, the special teams shut
down Raider kickoff returns the rest of the night. The extra point team, led by
the foot of Todd Michalsen made every extra point kick. Rafael Mancini came on
in the third quarter to successfully boot a 19-yard field goal that put the
Railers up 31-7. Great hustle and determination, on special teams, led to some
spectacular tackles by Jason Synder, Chad Tungate and Aaron Matson.
And
then it was over. Over for the last time for the Railer seniors. The celebration
began before the last play when head coach Ron Tomczak got the traditional
dousing with the remaining water cooler contents. The exuberant celebration
continued on the field with the final horn and went on for perhaps another hour.
Players, coaches, fans and parents hugged, danced, laughed, cried, squirted
shaken up pop cans and celebrated as if the Railers had just won the state
championship. This celebration, not only for the victory tonight, but mostly for
a team that played like champions all year and deserved to experience the sweet
taste of victory.
As
I looked back at the field from the parking lot, just as the lights were about
to go out on this season at Handlin Field, I saw some of the seniors still out
on the field quietly celebrating and not wanting to leave. I watched as they
walked off together. I suspect they were laughing and reminiscing and letting a
few final tears fall on the turf of their home field. They had gone out as
winners. Who could ask for more. WAY TO GO RAILERS!
[Rick
Hobler]
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Wooden
bat team wins doubleheader with Rochester
[OCT.
18, 2000] Lincoln’s
wooden bat baseball team moved its record to an impressive 9-1 over the weekend
in East Peoria, defeating Rochester 4-3 and 4-1. Lincoln’s offense created
only four hits in game one and three hits in game two, but it scored when
necessary. Pitching was once again a critical factor in the victories. Justin
Dedman, Josh McDaniel and Jamison Sheley held Rochester to only two hits in the
opener; while Chris Phillips, Ryan Williams and Blake Schoonover allowed only
one hit apiece in the second game.
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[Blake Schoonover’s pitching played a key role in Lincoln’s
second game against Rochester.]
In
game one, Lincoln’s first two runs came off of a wild pitch that scored Dedman
and a two-out RBI single by Andy Knopp that plated Williams. Lincoln runners
were held at bay until the last inning. Rochester tied the game in the fifth
inning and went ahead 3-2 in the sixth. Lincoln started the top of the seventh
inning with a base hit by Dedman, who was then caught stealing. Williams walked
and Sheley flied out to center for the second out. With the game on the line,
Phillips cracked an RBI double to left field to tie the game and went to third
on the unsuccessful attempt to cut down Williams at the plate. He then scored
himself on a passed ball. The one-run lead was enough for Sheley, who tallied
the save.
[Ryan Williams is one of three pitchers who helped limit
Rochester to only one run in the second game.]
Although
Lincoln committed three errors in the game, its defense turned two 5-4-3 double
plays, the first involving Knopp and Matt Boyer and the second, in the seventh
inning, involving Boyer and Schoonover. Base-running problems probably cost
Lincoln a couple more runs. Two times with fewer than two outs, runners at
second were doubled off, not tagging up in time after caught fly balls.
Nevertheless, the team pulled out its fourth one-run win in nine games.
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In
the second game, Lincoln scratched out four runs, taking advantage of Rochester
miscues and timely hits. Williams, who reached base on a dropped third strike in
the second inning, scored first on an RBI single by Andrew Bartman. After
reaching base on an error in the fourth, Dedman was driven home on a two-out RBI
single by Williams. Lincoln’s final two runs came in the seventh. Knopp began
the inning on a long mishandled fly ball to center that he stretched into a
two-base error, eventually scoring on a wild pitch from third. Phillips singled
and was later driven home on an RBI single by Sheley.
[Justin Dedman patiently waits for the pitch.]
Lincoln
played errorless defense in the second game, and the pitchers stymied Rochester’s
offense. Phillips allowed no runs through the first three innings. While
yielding a run in the fourth, Williams left runners standing at second and third
when he ended the inning with two strikeouts. Schoonover then blanked Rochester
in the final two innings, striking out four.
Lincoln will play 12
p.m. doubleheaders against Quincy and Dwight this Saturday and Sunday at Lincoln
Christian College.
[Rich
Knopp]
Click
below for statistics:
Box
scores for Game 1
Box
scores for Game 2
Current season
stats
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Soccer:
Lincoln College vs. Lincoln Land
[OCT.
18, 2000] Lincoln
College’s men’s soccer team hosted Lincoln Land yesterday afternoon. The
final score was 1-0 for Lincoln Land.
The
game was very evenly matched according to Lincoln College’s Coach Howard,
"Both teams played great. Both refused to lose, neither would give in. It
was two great teams playing an exceptional game." Lincoln Land was not able
to score until the 27th minute of overtime. Ryan Dennis scored the goal on a
header. Matt Stoeff of Lincoln College made seven saves. Pat Miller made seven
saves for Lincoln Land.
Lincoln College’s
new record is 9-7-1. Lincoln Land’s record is 12-5-2.
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Swimming:
Olympia vs. Peoria Woodruff
[OCT.
18, 2000] Yesterday
afternoon in Peoria, Olympia and Peoria Woodruff competed in a swim meet won by
Olympia, 106-68. Individual and relay winners are listed below.
200-yard
medley relay – Peoria Woodruff: Pogioli, Stow, Bussan, Godsil; 2:15.96
200
freestyle – Olympia: Nafziger, 2:38.55
200
intermediate medley – Peoria Woodruff: Pogioli, 2:25.79
50
freestyle – Peoria Woodruff: Bussan, :27.70
Diving
– Peoria Woodruff: Johnston, 156.10
100
butterfly – Peoria Woodruff: Pogiol, 1:09.17
100
freestyle – Peoria Woodruff: Bussan, 1:01.49
500
freestyle – Peoria Woodruff: Stow, 6:42.54
200
freestyle relay – Peoria Woodruff: Bussan, Pogioli, Sippel, Stow; 2:01.18
100
backstroke – Olympia: Mahaffey, 1:23.89
100
breaststroke – Olympia: Fraher, 1:39.22
400 freestyle
relay – Olympia: Shaffer, Mahaffey, Rawlins, Fraher; 4:33.02
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Volleyball:
LCHS vs. Springfield Southeast
[OCT.
18, 2000] Lincoln
Community High School’s ladies volleyball team defeated Springfield Southeast
in Springfield yesterday, 15-10 and 15-5.
Darcy
White and Ashley Boyer each served up six points for Lincoln. Kristina Cook made
nine kills and one block. Kari McFadden also blocked one ball. Kelli Gleason
assisted her teammates 16 times.
Lincoln
High School is now 23-9-1 overall and 5-1 in the Central State Eight Conference.
The junior
varsity teams also had an opportunity to play. Lincoln beat Southeast again,
15-11 and 15-7.
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Volleyball:
Hartsburg-Emden vs. Glasford
[OCT.
18, 2000] Hartsburg-Emden
ladies traveled to Glasford yesterday to play volleyball with Illini Bluffs’
high school team. Hartsburg defeated Illini Bluffs 15-7 and 15-3.
Valerie
Tillman served up 12 of Hartsburg-Emden’s 30 points. Nikki Chapman had seven
kills. Ashley Luken blocked three balls. Beth Guy assisted 13 times.
Hartsburg
now has 18 wins and eight losses. Their record is 4-0 in the Tomahawk
Conference.
The junior
varsity match also went to Hartsburg-Emden. Both game scores were 15-5.
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Volleyball:
Mount Pulaski vs. Illini Central
[OCT.
18, 2000] Mount
Pulaski and Illini Central’s ladies volleyball teams competed yesterday in
Mason City. Mount Pulaski won 12-15, 15-2, and 15-4.
Mary
Olson of Mount Pulaski had 13 service points. Bethany Dulle made 13 kills and
two blocks. Lindsay also made two blocks. Tiffany Conaway really helped her team
with 30 assists!
Alyson
Kastner served up six points for Illini Central. Kim Bauman had five kills, and
Jeni McLaughlin assisted ten times.
Mount Pulaski’s
record is 22-7.
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College
volleyball: LC vs. LCC
[OCT.
18, 2000] Lincoln
College and Lincoln Christian College’s women’s volleyball teams met at LCC
yesterday afternoon. Lincoln Christian College won, 15-4, 15-8 and 15-3.
Christine
Lott, Candace Sheley and Kristen Stewart each made four kills for Lincoln
College. Christine Lott also blocked five balls. Bonnie Brown assisted 11 times,
and Adie Harmon made five aces.
This Saturday,
Lincoln College will have three matches at home. The ladies play Lewis and Clark
at 9 a.m., Shawnee at 11 a.m. and Springfield College at 1 p.m. Next Monday, the
23rd, Lincoln College will host John Wood at 7 p.m. for the first round of the
regional.
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