Railers' valiant effort comes up short

[MARCH 7, 2001]  No one expected the Lincoln Railers to even be in the game last night at the PCCC, but not only were they in the game, they came a couple of shots away from an electrifying upset of the Mount Zion Braves.

After trailing by four at halftime, Lincoln pulled to within one point, at 34-33, after six minutes of the third period had expired. That was as close as they would get, finally falling 51-42.

However, they did close out another amazing campaign, at 20-9, for yet another 20-win season.

Gregg Alexander continued his sensational postseason play by firing in 31 points. He finished his Railer career as Lincoln's all-time leading scorer, with an astounding 2,085 points.

In the end it was too much Neil Plank. He literally put the Braves on his back and refused to let his team lose to a gritty bunch of Railers. He led Mount Zion with 20 points and proved to be the difference in the ball game.

No need for the Railers to hang their heads as they finished off another very successful season. The Lincoln Railers are now in first place in all-time Central State Eight conference wins.

Good luck to all of our outstanding seniors and thanks for the memories!

[Jeff Mayfield]

photos by Jeff Mayfield

Boys high school basketball

[MARCH 7, 2001] 

Class AA sectional

Lincoln vs. Mount Zion

The Railsplitters put in a spectacular game against the state-ranked Mount Zion Braves at the Prairie Capital Convention Center in Springfield Tuesday night. Playing their best, the Railers started off strong, leading the Braves by five points, 15-10, at the end of the first quarter. The Braves played a great middle game, taking the lead in the second quarter and holding it through the third quarter into the fourth for a final 51-42 win.

Quarter scores (Lincoln first): 15-10, 23-27, 33-37, 42-51.

Senior Greg Alexander dropped five 3-point field goals in the hoop for the Railers, while junior Adam Schonauer added one also.

Lincoln stats: Ashley 2-0-4, Schonauer 1-0-3, Alexander 8-10-31, Tungate 0-2-2, Schrader 1-0-2, Farmer, Komnick, and Welch; totaling 12 field goals, 12 free throws, for 42 points.

Class A supersectional

Illini Central vs. Prairie Central

For the second year running, Prairie Central Hawks narrowly beat Illinois Central Cougars in the Class A supersectionals. The two super teams with super players battled it out to the last minute.

Quarter scores (Illini Central first): 11-13, 22-25, 34-45, 55-58.

IC team scores: Arnold 14, Deters 2, Miller 9, Fletcher 9, Grimsley 12 and Hankins 9 points.

[LDN]

Thomas looks at promising season

[MARCH 7, 2001]  Tony Thomas begins his eighth season as head baseball coach at Lincoln College and believes this may be one of his better squads. "We have more potential than any team I have had in seven years. Now we need to perform. I like our pitching depth and our defense," said Thomas.

"Our pitching could go 10 deep this season. Usually, I struggle to find four or five pitchers. Our leading candidates are Jaren McLane and Jason Rockhold. They should be our number one and two pitchers.  We have numerous other pitchers vying for the other starting spots. I would like to have four true starters, with two others as spot starters. We have enough depth that none of the starters are going to be required to go the distance in any game. We should be able to bring in some quality relief pitchers to close out the games," claimed Thomas.

The head coach continued, "Defensively we have the players to get the job done.  We have been preaching that if they make the routine plays, we can be a good defensive team. Our starting infield is made up of sophomores: Gary Ryan at third, Brad Bone at short, Chris Ackman at second, Erik Rich at first and Robert Sherren at the catching spot. We also have a sophomore, Chad Blackburn, in right field. Our center fielder, Charlie Hulett, and our left fielder, Jake Van Dyke, are both freshman. We have several good left-handed bats available, so some of our lineups may vary, depending on the pitcher on the mound against us."

[to top of second column in this article]

"Ryan is our leading hitter from last year, with a .345 average, and Bone just missed the .300 mark last season. We are looking for leadership both offensively and defensively from Bone," said Thomas.  "If our leadoff hitter, Charlie Hulett, can get on base, we should be able to score some runs with the offensive potential we have available. Hulett has good speed and can go get the ball in center field. We usually have one or two players who surprise us, and hopefully, we will have even more this year.  Depth should be a big plus for us this season. Several of the freshmen have the potential to contribute early and often."

Lincoln College opened its season March 3 with losses to Shawnee and Mineral Area, but coach Thomas said, "We were in both of those games, and we could have won one or both; however, that didn't happen. Usually we get blown out in the early games because we haven't been outside, but I was pleased with the way we played. It looks promising."

[Bill Martinie,
Lincoln College sports information director]

March 8 — At St. Charles (2), 1 p.m.

March 10-18 — Spring break games in Jackson, Tenn.

March 22 — Lincoln Christian (2), 1 p.m.

March 27 — At Spoon River (2), 3 p.m.

March 29 — Danville (2), 1 p.m.

March 31 — Lake Land (2), noon

April 1 — At Lewis and Clark (2), 1 p.m.

April 3 — At Illinois Central (2), 2 p.m.

April 5 — Lincoln Land, 3 p.m.

April 6 — At Quincy JV (2), 6 p.m.

April 7 — At John Wood (2), 1 p.m.

April 8 — John Wood, 1:30 p.m.

April 10 — Lewis and Clark (2), 2 p.m.

April 12 — At Illinois Central (2), 2 p.m.

April 13 — St. Charles (2), 1 p.m.

April 14 — At Parkland (2), noon

April 17 — At Lake Land, 3 p.m.

April 19 — Parkland, 3 p.m.

April 20 — At Danville, 3 p.m.

April 21 — Springfield (2), noon

April 24 — At Springfield (2), 1 p.m.

April 26 — Spoon River (2), 2 p.m.

April 29 — At Lincoln Land (2), 1 p.m.

April 30 — Millikin JV (2), 2 p.m.

May 1 — At Illinois Wesleyan, 6 p.m.

May 4-6 — Region 24 tourney

[to top of second column in this section]

Lincoln College baseball roster

Railers need your support

[MARCH 6, 2001]  In order to give the Lincoln Railers boys basketball team every chance in the world to upset the highly touted Mount Zion Braves, I'm encouraging EVERYBODY in Lincoln to drop what you're doing tonight and go to the PCCC in Springfield. If you get there by 6 p.m. you will see the under-card game between Danville (24-5) and state-ranked Lanphier (26-2). The showcase game featuring our own Railers will probably get under way at around 7:45 p.m.

No one in the media seems to think that Lincoln has a prayer. I guess they wish that the Railers would just mail in the results. As a reporter I just love these kinds of games. No one thinks that the Railsplitters can win. I guarantee you that the Railers will show up and that they will be on time. I'll go a step farther...if they can keep the taller, stronger Braves off the boards a little, limit them to one shot per possession, not give up any easy shots and contest every attempt all night, and execute their offensive sets, which is something they've been known for, for the last several years, they could move on to Friday night's sectional championship.

This is one media hound who believes. The LDN wants you to believe, too. So, if you do, I'm going to ask you to do a couple of things. One, I'm asking everyone to wear GREEN for tonight's game. I think we should paint the PCCC green and let all three of those other teams know that we are LINCOLN and that we're darn proud of that! And number two, no matter how the game goes, whether we're up or down, let's cheer wildly for our guys; and let's continue to display the good sportsmanship that proves we are gracious and winners both on and off the court.

Go get 'em, Railers!

[Jeff Mayfield]

Season honors for Brian Cook

[MARCH 6, 2001]  The Big Ten has announced that Lincoln's Brian Cook has made the media's All-Big Ten second team for this season and the coaches’ third team. For a while, many were touting Cook for the Player of the Year award, but that rightly went to the Illini's Frank Williams. Cook struggled for just two to three games and has really avoided the sophomore slump all year. During the middle of the season, when the Illini were a little lackluster, Cook put the team on his back and helped carry them to the Big Ten title. On behalf of the LDN, Lincoln and the surrounding area, we salute you, Brian Cook. And as always, go Illini!

[Jeff Mayfield]

LCHS ticket sales

Lincoln vs. winner of the Mount Zion-Quincy game

[MARCH 5, 2001]  Lincoln will play the winner of the Mount Zion-Quincy game at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 6, at the Prairie Capitol Convention Center.

Tickets will go on sale from 6:30 to 7:30 Monday night, March 5, at the LCHS ticket booth and from 9 a.m. to noon on Tuesday at the main office.

All tickets are $5 (general admission).

The lottery will not be needed.

[Pat Zurkammer, ticket manager]

Lincoln College vs. John Wood

[MARCH 5, 2001]  John Wood hosted Lincoln College's basketball teams for two games. Both games were so close they went into overtime.

Lady Lynx

The Lady Lynx played a tight game.  In the first half, Lincoln led 34-19.  During the second half, John Wood’s ladies’ team made a comeback to tie the game 66-66.  In overtime, John Wood made eight points, and Lincoln made only seven.  The final score was 74-73.

Beebe, without question, was Lincoln College’s star female player.  She made 31 points, including all seven of the Lady Lynx overtime points.  Beebe shot nine field goals and 13 free throws.  Behind Beebe were Dawson, with 12 points, and Dullard and Thomas, each with 10 points.  Dawson made four field goals and four free throws.  Dullard scored four field goals and two free throws.  Thomas made the team’s only 3-pointer, plus three field goals and one free throw.  Lott helped the Lynx with six points, and Story and McLaughlin each earned two points for their team.  Altogether, the ladies made one 3-pointer, 25 field goals, 20 free throws and 73 points. 

John Wood’s women scored three 3-pointers, 23 field goals, 19 free throws and 74 points.

[to top of second column in this article]

Lynx

The Lynx were three points ahead of John Wood at the end of the first half.  John Wood was three points ahead of Lincoln at the end of the second half.  In the first overtime, each team made eight points.  In the second overtime, Lincoln earned five more points than John Wood: 16-11.  The final score of the game was 89-84.

Three of Lincoln’s players really stood out:  Michael Sams, Marlon Brooks and Creston Coleman.  Sams scored eight field goals and three free throws, or 19 points.  Brooks shot three 3-pointers, three field goals and three free throws to equal 18 points.  Coleman earned 17 points with one 3-pointer, four field goals and six free throws.  Jay Bates and Brian Moffitt were also great assets to the team.  Bates made five field goals and three free throws, or 13 points.  Moffitt made 12 points with four field goals and four free throws.  Eric Crockrell scored eight points with four field goals.  Gene Reed made two points for Lincoln’s Lynx.  As a team, Lincoln shot four 3-pointers, 28 field goals, 21 free throws, and scored 89 points.

John Wood’s men’s team made their 84 points with 11 3-pointers, 21 field goals and nine free throws.

Lincoln College finished off the regular season 24-6 overall and 12-2 in the CCCI.  Their next match is on Saturday, March 10, in the second round of the Region 24 tournament in Danville, when the Lynx will play the winner of the Parkland/Rend Lake game. 

[LDN]

Olympia and Lincoln junior high
wrestlers compete in tournament

[MARCH 5, 2001]  Eleven junior high wrestling teams competed in the IESA Sectional in Stanford this weekend.  Olympia finished in sixth place with 60.5 points.  Lincoln came in 10th with 33 points.

The events in which Olympia or Lincoln placed in the top three were as follows:

80 pounds — Olympia:  Benny Vorass won by technical fall over Aaron Smith of Prairie Central, 2:30.

85 — Olympia:  Chris Alexander decisione Tim Robberstad of Mahomet-Seymour, 6-2.

95 — 3^rd place:  Clint Horner of Olympia

100 — 3^rd place:  Josh Rodgers of Lincoln

167 — Bloomington:  Erik Miller pinned Kevin Carroll of Lincoln, 2:10.

[LDN]

Railers dump Southeast

Sets up interesting rematch with Mount Zion

By Jeff Mayfield

[MARCH 3, 2001]  First the Railers were forced to play a switched seed in the first round of the regionals. They also found out that point guard Paris Williams would be lost for the season after suffering a knee injury at Peoria Richwoods. In a building where they have not played well in the last few years, as evidenced by the 68-48 shellacking they received there back on Jan. 13, many were miffed at how confident Lincoln seemed to be coming into last night's regional.

So, it's safe to say that State Journal-Register reporter Robert Burns wasn't the only surprised person in Sheffler gym last night as a capacity crowd watched Neil Alexander's Railers put on a clinic in a dominating 73-61 upset over Southeast. Some guys strain and struggle over chasing records, but Gregg Alexander seems to relish it. Perhaps, it's because of his "team first" attitude. He told the LDN that he didn't care if he scored a point and didn't get the record as long as the Railers could advance. That is probably why he was so relaxed and calmly went out and put up 39 points on the board!

When he broke the record on a turnaround jumper early in the third quarter, the always very knowledgeable Railer fans gave Gregg a tremendous and much deserved standing ovation. What they didn't know was that Alexander was just getting started. He hit 13-of-22 shots from the field and now stands as Lincoln High School's all-time scoring leader with 2,054...an incredible feat, any way you slice it or dice it! He also helped give his dad yet another 20-win season and yet another regional championship trophy!

Chad Tungate also continued his stellar play by dissecting the Spartan defense with unbelievable penetration moves to the hoop. Then, when they backed off, Tungate lit them up with the 3-ball, and he finished the night with 19 points.

J.T Ashley also turned in an outstanding performance. In the first half he attacked the boards, and when he couldn't pull the carom down, he tipped it back out to the guards to reset the offensive. He ignited the team to be quicker to the ball on the boards and on loose balls all night long. He appears to be healthy now and is making major contributions as this team advances.

And what can you say about the play of Cory Farmer? Thrust into the starting lineup due to the injury to Williams, all Farmer did was control the game! He knew how to get the ball to Alexander and seemed to refuse to make a turnover. The Spartans tried to rattle him by sending him to the line, and he foiled that plan by drilling the free throws. The fact that he has come in and stepped up has helped us advance this far and may take us a lot farther!

Adam Schonauer also continued his impressive string of solid, dependable games. As far as the LDN is concerned, he is Lincoln's most improved player...and he wasn't bad last year. He is such a tremendous post passer, as he demonstrated once again last night, and he's not afraid to mix it up on the boards or on defense.

[to top of second column in this article]

Derek Schrader also turned in an outstanding performance in last night's win. He possesses a Rodman-like ability to be wherever the ball is. When our guards penetrate to the basket, Derek is always somewhere near the goal to cash in on the bunnies...and if they foul him, just chalk up the three points! He is also not bashful when it comes to taking a 3 every now and then, and he can hit 'em!

Mike Aper and Brandon Welch also gave some quality minutes off the bench. That is a good sign when you consider that at any time in the next few games they may be called on to help spell the starters. An assist here, a rebound there, everyone understanding their role and executing it is a staple in coach Alexander's system.

Assistant coaches Ewald, Aeilts, Worth and Osborn have demonstrated once again the brilliance of their scouting measures. The last two games the Railer coaching staff has really been clicking.

Now the attention turns to Tuesday night's sectional semifinal versus No. 2 Mount Zion. On press row last night, just as it’s been all season, no one seemed to give Lincoln much of a chance in that contest. They said that Mount Zion has been dominant all year, that they've been ranked and that they have three Division I signees. The before- mentioned Burns told me earlier in the year that this season it was going to be all Lanphier and Southeast. I encouraged him not to overlook the Railers, but he stuck by his guns.

The LDN says, however, don't be surprised to see the Railers playing for the sectional championship next Friday night. Because last night in Springfield, Neil and the boys put on a clinic! Good luck next week, Railers!

Railer notes...

The Railer season record now stands at 20-8.

The game Tuesday against Mount Zion is an interesting rematch of two teams that played for the state championship when they were seventh graders. Mount Zion narrowly won the game on their home court, but Lincoln had beaten them at LJHS earlier that same season.

A former Railer assistant coach suggested to coach Alexander, who then met with athletic director Darrell Hanslow, about playing a regular season game versus Jacksonville in the PCCC. The whole idea was to give the Railers a game on the floor in Springfield just in case Lincoln would advance to the sectionals. I love it when a plan comes together!!!

[Jeff Mayfield]

[MARCH 3, 2001] 

Class A Sectional

Illini Central vs. IVC

The Cougars swept IVC at Dunlap, keeping the leading edge all four quarters.

Quarter scores: 18- 14, 35- 22, 47- 33, 62- 50.

Four leading scorers: Arnold 13, Fletcher 13, Hankins 13 and Grimsley 11. Fletcher made two 3-point field goals and Arnold had one.

Team stats: Arnold 5-2-3, Deters 1-4-6, Miller 2-0-4, Grimsley 4-3-11, Fletcher 5-1-13, Hankins 6-1-13, Giesler 1-0-2, Mulford, Herman, Cunningham, Scott; totaling 24 field goals, 11 free throws, for 62 points.

Class AA Regional

Lincoln vs. Springfield Southeast

It was a fierce game between the Railsplitters and the Spartans, but Lincoln kept the lead all four quarters. With a two-point lead, 12-10, at the end of the first quarter, the Railers went on to add 20 more points as Southeast only added 13, making it 32-23 at the half. The Spartans were not going to just roll over. Riled by Lincoln's nine-point lead, they rallied and rolled into action, picking up 14 points to Lincoln's 12- point gain, narrowing the gap to a seven- point difference, 44- 37, at the end of the third quarter. Fired-up Lincoln poured in 29 more points, while the Spartans added 24 to a final score of  73-61.

Quarter scores: 12- 10, 32- 23, 44- 37, 73- 61. Lincoln team stats: Alexander 13-9-39, Tungate 6-6-19, Schonauer 0-2-2, Farmer 1-4-6, Schrader 3-1-7, Welch, Aper, Gallagher, Ashley, Komnick, and Knopp; totaling 23 field goals, 22 free throws, for 73 points.

[LDN]

[MARCH 3, 2001] Bloomington defeated Olympia 15-4, 15-6 (championship).

[MARCH 2, 2001] 

Hartsburg-Emden vs. Central Catholic

Hartsburg-Emden’s sophomore basketball team beat Central Catholic during the Hartsburg-Emden Sophomore Basketball Tournament. The final score of the game was 37-27.

[LDN]

[MARCH 1, 2001]  Led by the electrifying play of senior All-Stater Gregg Alexander, the Lincoln Railers took out Decatur-MacArthur 76-48 in Lincoln last night. With an amazing 38-point performance Alexander became only the second Railer in history to cross the 2,000-point plateau. Gregg finished the night 14-of-24 from the field and 5-for-7 from the charity stripe.

However, it may have been coach Neil Alexander’s timeout just three minutes into the game that really got the Railers going. Up until that point the Generals were having their way with the Railers in the paint, and their zone defense was forcing Lincoln to rush and maybe take some quick, ill-advised shots. Not only did the Railsplitters calm down after the timeout, but even better for the Roy S. Anderson faithful, they went on a rampage!

Chad Tungate also had a great night for the Railers, tallying 16 points and stretching Decatur’s defense all over the floor.

The victory sets up a rematch with Southeast (assuming SE held on to win their game) Friday night in Springfield. I hope to see a huge contingent of Railer fans at Southeast Friday to encourage and support our boys on into the sectionals. Good luck, Railers!

[Jeff Mayfield]

Note: Springfield Southeast 64, Decatur Eisenhower 62 (OT)  (Other scores posted at http://www.ihsa.org/scores/index.htm#BKB-01AA)

[MARCH 1, 2001]  

Class A

Illini Central vs. El Paso

Yesterday afternoon, Illini Central’s boys basketball team faced off against El Paso in Dunlap for the Class A sectionals. Illini Central maintained a steady lead over El Paso in every quarter, to win 64-53.

Hankins scored almost a third of the team’s points, with 20. He made seven field goals and six free throws. Arnold aided the Cougars with 13 points. He scored one 3-pointer and five field goals. Fletcher shot one 3-pointer, three field goal and two free throws to equal 11 points. Grimsley earned 10 points with one 3-pointer, one field goal and five free throws. Jo. Deters made five points, Giesler made three points and Miller made two points for Illini Central. As a team, the Cougars scored four 3-pointers, 18 field goals and 16 free throws.

El Paso earned three 3-pointers, 20 field goals and four free throws.

Class AA
LCHS vs. Decatur MacArthur

Lincoln Community High School’s boys welcomed Decatur MacArthur to Lincoln for a basketball game. Lincoln trampled MacArthur 76-48.

Alexander made exactly half of his team’s points. He earned 38 points with five 3-pointers, nine field goals and five free throws. Tungate scored the second-highest number of points: 16. He made two 3-pointers and five field goals. Ashley shot six points. Peters and Welch both earned four points for the Railsplitters. Schrader scored three points. Both Werner and Knopp made two points, and Bunch made one point. The team’s totals are as follows: seven 3-pointers, 23 field goals and six free throws.

MacArthur made a total of one 3-pointer, 17 field goals and 11 free throws.

[LDN]

[MARCH 1, 2001]  Lincoln College’s basketball teams faced off against Spoon River yesterday evening in Canton. Both the Lady Lynx and Lynx were victorious.

Lady Lynx

In the first half, the Lady Lynx more than doubled their opponent’s points. In the second half, the teams made almost the same number of points. Lincoln won 81-57. Lott scored more than a fourth of the team’s points, with 23. She made 11 field goals and one free throw. Beebe, McLaughlin and Dawson really boosted the team as well. Beebe made 14 points with one 3-pointer, four field goals and three free throws. McLaughlin shot one 3-pointer, four field goals and one free throw to equal 12 points. Dawson scored two field goals and seven free throws, or 11 points. Sheley made eight points for Lincoln. She shot two 3-pointers and two free throws. Dullard made five points, and Sotry made four points. Bausley and Massenburg each made two points for the Lady Lynx. As a team, Lincoln scored four 3-pointers, 27 field goals and fifteen free throws.

Spoon River’s ladies made only five 3-pointers, 15 field goals and 12 free throws.

[to top of second column in this section]

Lynx

The men’s game appeared to be a reverse of the ladies’ game. In the first half, Lincoln and Spoon River were only two points apart, but in the second, Lincoln pulled ahead. Lincoln won the game 90-75. Marlon Brooks made 25 points — over a quarter of the Lynx total. Brooks shot one 3-pointer, nine field goals and four free throws. Jay Bates, Creston Coleman and Eric Crockrell also played a major role in the game. Bates made five field goals and eight free throws, or 18 points. Coleman made 17 points for the Lynx with one 3-pointer, four field goals and six free throws. Crockrell shot six field goals and four free throws, or 16 points. Brian Moffitt contributed six points to Lincoln’s game. Ryan Brinker made four points, and Gene Reed and Michael Sams each made two points. Lincoln made two 3-pointers, 29 field goals and 26 free throws total.

Altogether, Spoon River’s men scored three 3-pointers, 24 field goals and 18 free throws.

Yesterday night’s win clinches the CCCI for the Lincoln men for the second consecutive season. Their CCCI record is 11 wins and two losses, and their overall record is 23 wins and six losses.

[LDN]

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