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 But Jared Shaner would tell you that's not the case for tonight's
contest pitting the Railers against Taylorville. The Lincoln coach
says his team's enthusiasm for football hasn't let down since last
week's 48-8 loss to Springfield.
"No, I don't think so," said Shaner when asked if his team was
lacking in motivation for this week's game. "In fact, I think we've
had a good week of practice. The kids have had a lot of energy. "We talked about it during out film session on Saturday that we'd
be facing another 2-5 team that was very similar to us. Hopefully,
we'll come out, play well and get a win."
 Looking in the mirror The thing that stood out to Shaner about the Tornadoes was that,
well, they are a lot like the Railers.
And not just because they have the same record. "One of the good things is, we match up well with them," said Shaner.
"I really think this one will be determined by which team makes
fewer mistakes and which team plays harder. And, for me, that's
exciting." Shaner says it will also be a challenge for his team to
play with Taylorville's level of tenacity. That, says Shaner, is
what makes Taylorville so respectable. "They play very, very
hard," said the Lincoln coach. "They're more similar in size to us,
in terms of the size of their school and the size of their athletes,
than the two teams we've played the last two weeks: Chatham and
Springfield. "But they have tough kids who play hard. I watched some of their
film, and they have a 167-pound kid who plays offensive and defensive
line. And you watch him, and he's out there going hard on every
play. I like kids like that."
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Tough to forecast Tornadoes' carries Statistically, the
Tornadoes
appear to be more of a running team. Who'll run the ball, though, is anyone's guess.
Taylorville has four players with 30-plus carries this season. In
multiple games this season, at least seven players have gotten
carries.
The Railers can also expect their opponents to be motivated to
end a five-game losing streak. After starting 2-0, the Tornadoes have
lost five straight by an average of 33 points per game.
It will also be Taylorville's senior night.
[By JUSTIN TIERNEY]
(Justin
Tierney's Railer
articles)
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