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[SEPT. 24, 2001]  For two weeks or more, many people were pointing to this game to see if this year’s Illini squad was for real or not. And most of the 43,232 patrons, including several Logan County residents at the game Saturday, came away pleased with what they saw. They saw a suspect defense hold an explosive Cardinal offensive attack that was averaging 37-plus points per game to only one touchdown and a field goal for the day!

Louisville’s outstanding receiving corps gobbled up a lot of yardage but couldn’t find the end zone. Had you asked the crew in the press box early in the proceedings how many TD receptions they guessed the Cards would finish the game with, I doubt that many would have said one. I know this LDN reporter wouldn’t have!

The fans also saw the vaunted Illinois aerial attack, although it was sporadic for most of the game. In fact, both teams showed the effects of playing with heavy hearts and a loss of timing that came from having so many days off.

J.J. Tubbs hit an early 29-yard field goal to put the Illini on top 3-0, but by the end of the period, highly touted Louisville QB Dave Regone had completed a 3-yard TD pass to Ronnie Ghent. Nathan Smith added the PAT, and just like that it was 7-3 Cardinals with 2:40 left in the first. And as easy as they made it look, it appeared it might be a long day for Illinois.

Luckily those fears were never fully realized. As a matter of fact, Illinois struck back within 20 seconds. This is NOT a typo. The Illini actually had a three-play, 80-yard drive that was capped by a 9-yard strike from Kurt Kittner to Carey Davis. That play put the good guys back on top 10-7. Then it was time for our new favorite player, Christian Morton — actually he was one of our favorites last season — to get into the act. All he did was intercept a pass and take it to the house, which was 33 yards away. That put Illinois ahead 17-7. Smith had a career-longest 43-yard field goal to finish the first-half scoring at 17-10 Illinois.

Both teams appeared to be sluggish at times and out of sync, and you really couldn’t have guessed what was going to happen in the second half. After an inspiring halftime show, the Illini came out and underwhelmed the fans for a couple of possessions before Kittner hooked up with another of our favorite players, Walter Young, on a 38-yard heave that made it 24-10. Illinois surged and was never really headed after that.

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However, our LDN crew is still concerned about whether the defense is Big Ten tough yet. We say to keep putting pressure on our opponents. In the first half the Illini were going with several nickel-and-dime packages that were pretty successful. But in the second half the Orange and Blue picked up the pressure on the QB so much so that Regone was held to six completions for 64 yards! If we continue to blitz, mix up our coverages and continue to improve against the run, we have a chance to be competitive in our always-rough conference.

Antoineo Harris highlighted a stellar offensive day with a short TD jaunt to go along with his 102 yards from scrimmage on 22 carries. Former CS8 player Peter Christofilakos added five points with a field goal and two PATs. Kittner finished the day 18-of-39 for 301 yards and two touchdowns to go along with two INTs. In all fairness to Kurt, it appeared that both of those passes could have been caught for offensive receptions.

The Illini had 504 total yards to Louisville’s 338. The Illinois defense held the Cardinals to 29 yards rushing for the game! We wager to say if we do that during Big Ten play, a wild ride may be in store.

Speaking of wild rides, the Illini hit the road next week to play in the Big House against the infamous blue. A win there and the Illini could well be on their way back to a bowl game…

•  With the win, Illinois has now won 10 non-conference games in a row for the first time since a 15-game winning streak from 1910-16.

•  The win over No. 25 Louisville is Illinois’ first over a ranked team since they picked Ohio State apart 46-20 in 1999.

•  The Illini are now tied with Louisville and Oklahoma in forced turnovers. All three teams have collected 12 turnovers each.

•  Illinois is now leading the turnover battle against their opponents 12-2.

[Jeff Mayfield]

[SEPT. 21, 2001]  Mount Pulaski defeated Hartsburg-Emden 15-6, 15-6 at Hartsburg. Olympia defeated Pontiac 15-13, 15-7 at Pontiac.

[SEPT. 20, 2001]  Justin Cronin recorded his second-straight shutout and his third of the season as Lincoln College handed Parkland College a 3-0 setback in men’s soccer at Lincoln College on Wednesday afternoon.

Leading the Lynx offensively was Steve Gorton with a pair of goals and an assist.   Gorton scored the first goal on an assist from Jesus Cruz in the eighth minute of the game. His second goal came at the 35-minute mark with an assist from Chris Luther.    The final Lincoln goal was scored by Cliff Scattergood, in the 90th minute, on an assist from Gorton.

"We dominated the game with 35 shots on goal, and if it had not been for their goalie (Darin Fearday), it would have been a 7-0 game. He had four or five terrific saves. He was the best goalie we have faced this season," said coach Mark Howard. "It was really the Steve Gorton show. He had an outstanding game. Defensively, we made a couple of mistakes, but someone was always there to make up for the miscue."

Lincoln College will take a 4-2 record into its next game, which is at home against Bethany Lutheran at 1 p.m. Saturday. 

[Bill Martinie,
Lincoln College sports information director]

[SEPT. 20, 2001]  Michelle Rutherford and Carrie Hoffert both shot their best rounds of golf this season to lead the Lincoln College women’s golf team to a third-place finish in the MacMurray tournament in Jacksonville on Wednesday afternoon.

Lincoln College had a team score of 421, finishing behind Monmouth and McKendree.  Monmouth posted a score of 368 and McKendree had a 416. The Lady Lynx finished ahead of MacMurray and Illinois College in the five-team field.

Rutherford had a 46-47-93 round for coach Kirk Whiteman, while Hoffert, a Lincoln High School grad, had a round of 46-48-94. Completing the Lynx team were Gina Billy with a 53-63-116 and Dori Booth with a 51-67-118.

Coach Whiteman stated, "Carrie and Michelle had their best rounds of the year, and I feel our girls are headed in the right direction."

[Bill Martinie,
Lincoln College sports information director]

[SEPT. 20, 2001]  Lincoln College regained its winning ways with a hard-fought five-match win over Lewis & Clark in volleyball at Lincoln Wednesday evening.  The victory evens the Lady Lynx record at 6-6.

Lincoln got out of the chute early and won the first match 30-28. The Lynx then lost the next two matches by identical scores of 27-30.  Lincoln rebounded to win the fourth match 30-23 and then won the deciding match by a 15-11 margin.

"We played with a lot of emotion early and then kind of lost it," said coach Mark Tippett. "In the fourth game, about midway, we regained that fire and never lost it the rest of the match, and it carried over into the final match.  The two teams were very evenly matched; we just wanted it a little bit more. I was real pleased with the way we responded and came back after losing Tuesday night."

Beth Guy continued to play well for the Lynx, recording 46 set assists, eight points and three aces.  Molly Owen had a huge night at the net with 27 kills and five blocks, while Erica Miller had 24 points, 13 kills and seven digs. Sarah McLaughlin contributed 10 points, four digs and three aces, including the game winner in the fifth match.

Lincoln College plays at Shawnee on Saturday in a quadrangular match.

[Bill Martinie,
Lincoln College sports information director]

[SEPT. 19, 2001]  The Taylorville Tornadoes blew into town last night intent on doing some serious damage to the Lady Railers’ volleyball record. The storm took only 45 minutes to pass and never touched ground. No damage was reported.

In its CS8 Conference home opener, the Lady Railers took control from the start and never let up. Behind the exceptional serving of Kelli Gleason and Missy Aper and with focused team play by everyone, the Lady Railers crushed the Tornadoes 15-1, 15-4. The Railers’ record now stands at an incredible 16-3-1 overall and 1-0 in conference play. Taylorville’s record falls to 5-7.

The only time the Railers didn’t score in Game 1 was when they hit the ball too long. Taylorville was able to score only once on the Railers, when the scoreboard showed 3-1. After that, the Railers notched 12 successive unanswered points to win the game.

From the service line it was truly a "senior moment." First, there was no stopping senior Kelli Gleason. Kelli accounted for an incredible 12 service points, including two aces and a nine-point run to end the game. The remaining three Railer scores came on serves by seniors Darcy White and Christina Xamis. The offensive and defensive net play of Cook, McFadden times two, White and Conrady made sure that when the ball hit the floor it was on the Taylorville side.

In Game 2 the Railers used their entire team to once again completely shut down the Tornadoes. Coach Howe rotated through the Railer bench throughout the game. The always energetic and smiling Missy Aper ran off five service points for the Lady Railers, and Kelli Gleason added three more to her night’s total. Kills, dinks and blocks across the entire Railer front line quickly brought home the match victory. Tina Cook had some beautiful touch shots in addition to her usual lethal left-hand kills. Christina Xamis displayed excellent passing and defensive skills throughout the game and made the final kill of the game to wrap up the victory. Taylorville also had no solution for the hitting and blocking of Darcy White, Michelle McFadden, Kari McFadden and Samantha Conrady.

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Taylorville managed a total of only four points, and that was only after the game and the match were no longer in question.

The Lady Railers seemed more focused and ready to finish last night than I had seen before. They didn’t suffer any midgame letdown. When they had Taylorville backed against the wall, they finished the matter. The Tornadoes were little more than a passing breeze last night. Tornado watch canceled.

The junior varsity continued to play well, as they also defeated Taylorville in a two-game match.

The Lady Railers travel to Rantoul on Thursday and return home for what is sure to be a hotly contested match against Olympia next Monday, Sept. 24. After last year’s match against Olympia, (those who were there haven’t forgotten) I challenge anyone with even an ounce of school spirit to be at Monday’s match. You won’t want to miss it! GO, RAILERS!!

[Rick Hobler]

[SEPT. 19, 2001]  Lincoln Christian College defeated Lincoln College in three games at the Lincoln College gym Tuesday night. LCC won by scores of 30-28, 30-13, 30-26.

The loss drops the Lynx record to 5-6 on the season.  Lincoln College is at home again Wednesday against Lewis & Clark.

Beth Guy had another outstanding night for the Lady Lynx with 15 points and 25 set assists.  Erica Miller had four kills and nine digs, while Molly Owens had eight kills and two blocks.  Janine Buettner contributed five kills, three digs and three blocks.

[Bill Martinie, Lincoln College sports information director]

[SEPT. 18, 2001]  What do you do when your record is 14-3-1 and the other team’s record is 5-6? Apparently you play just well enough to win. That’s what the Lady Railers did last night as they defeated the short-handed and undersized Mount Zion Braves 15-10, 15-5. The team described it as "terrible." I describe it as a win.

Mount Zion came into the game missing three of its starters and should have been no match for the taller and stronger-hitting Lady Railers. Someone forgot to tell the Lady Braves that fact in Game 1. The Railers played the first game from behind until successive and decisive kills by Kari and Michelle McFadden and a dink by Kelli Gleason turned the tide.

As the game began, the Railers were actually too strong as they hit several balls long on kill attempts from the net. The Braves weren’t beating the Railers, they were beating themselves. After the Railers led 1-0, they didn’t regain the lead again until it was 9-8.

With the Railers down 6-3, Darcy White’s excellent serving brought the Railers back within striking distance. Then the emotional turning point of Game 1 and the match took place, with the Railers down 6-8 and Mount Zion’s Jennica Burne serving. Burne had just served two successive points, including an ace, to put her team back in the lead.

On Burne’s next serve though, Kari McFadden had something to say. She said it in the form of a passionate, hard kill that found the Lady Braves running for cover to the back of the court: Side out to Lincoln. Kari then rotated to the service line while her "little" sister took care of the net. Michelle McFadden delivered another hard kill to bring the Railers within one. With Kari serving again, senior setter Kelli Gleason called her own number and dinked the ball into the Braves’ open court, and the Railers were even. They never looked back after that.

Great front-line blocking by various Railer duos, point-winning kills by Tina Cook, Samantha Conrady and Darcy White, and the serving of Kelli Gleason and Samantha Conrady finished out Game 1. The Railers had struggled, almost beat themselves, but had survived to win.

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Game 2 was a different matter. No more "bravery" from Mount Zion, as Lincoln took the lead early, crushed Mount Zion’s spirit and dominated to the end. Except for a few minutes of mental letdown by the Lady Railers, it was no contest. The Railers jumped out to a quick 7-0 lead on solid team play. Solid defensive play by Darcy White, both on the back line and at the net, and front-line team blocking, kept Mount Zion from scoring for most of the game. When Mount Zion did score, it was usually as a result of Railer mistakes. The mental lapse came with Lincoln ahead 12-1. The Railers allowed four Mount Zion scores before putting the match away 15-5.

In the post-game huddle, the team told coach Howe that they played "terrible." Enough said. While I wouldn’t go that far, they certainly played below their potential and will need to sharpen their focus as they begin conference play tonight. The Lady Railers will need to avoid the "we’re way ahead" mental lapses, stay focused and put opponents away when they have the opportunity to do so.

Lincoln improves its record to 15-3-1 with the win. Mount Zion falls to 5-7 but looks to improve as their injury list shortens.

The Lady Railers begin CS8 Conference play at home tonight against Taylorville. A full slate of action is on hand, beginning at 5 p.m., as the freshman, junior varsity and varsity teams all take the court against the Lady Tornadoes.

In junior varsity action last night, the Lady Railers breezed to victory in their first game, 15-6, but had to come from behind to take the match game by the score of 15-13.

GO, RAILERS!

[Rick Hobler]

[SEPT. 18, 2001]  Lincoln College participated in golf tournaments at Knox College and Monmouth this past weekend. The Lady Lynx finished seventh at the Monmouth tourney with a team total of 420. Illinois Wesleyan won the meet with a 328 total.

Carrie Hoffert and Michell Rutherford each had rounds of 102, while Dori Booth came in with 107 and Gina Billy finished at 109.

Lincoln College had only three golfers for the Knox tourney; therefore, they did not qualify for team totals. The Lady Lynx were led by Gina Billy with a 123 total.  Booth had a round of 126 and Rutherford shot a 139.

[Bill Martinie, Lincoln College sports information director]

[SEPT. 18, 2001]  After taking a 2-0 lead into intermission, the Lincoln College Lynx men’s soccer team exploded for six goals in the second half to defeat Illinois Central College in Peoria Monday afternoon. The contest was a makeup from a previous date.   

Lincoln College raised its season record to 3-2 and will play host to Parkland College at 4 p.m. Wednesday.

Isaac Honegger scored the first Lynx goal on an assist from Steve Gorton, and then Jesus Cruz scored the first of three straight goals with an assist from Ryan Foy.

Cruz opened the second half with two goals in the first five minutes, the first coming on an assist from Mike Fox and the second assisted by Honegger.  Gorton followed with a goal off an assist from Fox, to stretch the LC lead to 5-0.

Nick Buysse scored the sixth goal for the Lynx and Cliff Scattergood got an assist.   Scattergood then followed with an unassisted goal, and Shefiu Ogunlana finished off the scoring with a corner kick. Justin Cronin was in goal for the Lynx and was credited with one save.

"We played a very steady game," said coach Mark Howard.  "In the second half of the SCI game (last week), we made some changes and told the kids to just go out and play.  They responded well in the second half of the SCI game, and it continued over into the game at ICC today."

[Bill Martinie,
Lincoln College sports information director]

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