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Metelko huddled
with his teammates after the game, he stopped for the obligatory
pictures with the 10 other seniors who make up the class of 2015,
and he hugged his friends and family.
But Meltelko
lingered long after everyone else had left Handlin Field after the
Railer’s final loss of the season.
Metelko, the
Lincoln’s senior running back, seemed to not want it all to end.
When he
finally, begrudgingly walked off the high school football field; it
was all over.
“It hasn’t hit
me yet. But I am sure it will soon,” Metelko said Friday night as he
fought back his emotions. “It’ll probably be (Saturday,) I will wake
up and think about going to football practice and realize that I
don’t have to; that I can’t.”
Metelko ended
his high school career with a two yard touchdown run in the Railers’
47-14 loss to Springfield’s Lanphier High School.
“We’re a
scrappy group and we (had) a lot of potential, Metelko said about
the Railers’ senior class. “I will remember them as brothers and how
talented we could have been.”
Senior
linebacker Griffin Pollock was speechless after the game.
The stocky,
tough-nosed defensive leader fought back tears when he talked about
his last game.
“I didn’t think
it would end like this,” Pollock said. “I thought it would be a lot
better than it is.”
Pollock played
at Lincoln High School for four years, but admitted he never thought
about the end until about 30 minutes before Friday’s kickoff.
“That kicked-in
right when I came out here, before the game to warm up,” Pollock
said with a sad shrug. “I just took a deep breath and tried to get
my teammates ready.”
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Perhaps it
was the emotion, but certainly Lanphier’s dominant offense
played a role, as the Lions rolled to an easy victory.
Lanphier was up
40-0 in the second quarter, but Lincoln scored one touchdown before
halftime and another in the fourth quarter to close the gap.
The loss ended
Lincoln’s season at 0-9 for the second year in a row.
Lanphier
finishes the 2014 campaign at 4-5.
Neither team
will play again this year; it takes five wins just to be playoff
eligible.
For Lincoln’s
underclassmen, Railer Head Coach Andy McDonald said they’ll get to
work in the next week or so for next season.
For Metelko,
and the rest of the seniors, they’ll have memories.
“I going to
remember the practices,” Metelko added late Friday night. “And you
always remember your last game.” |
