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 “We’ve really been prepping for Southeast since the beginning of
July,” first year Coach Seth Bass said. “We’re going to be a lot
harder on them this week as far as mental mistakes…But it’s much,
much faster now.”
Lincoln is now into the officially sanctioned IHSA week of
two-a-days.
Bass said his players worked hard during the summer, and are now
ready for this next step in the season.
“There aren’t as many ‘lost’ looks,” Bass noted on the second day of
full practice on Tuesday.
But as ready as the Railsplitters may be, they face a tough
schedule.
The Central State Eight is one of the best football conferences in
Illinois. Sacred Heart Griffin and Rochester High School both
repeated as state champs last year. In fact, Rochester has won the
crown five years in a row.
Bass took over Lincoln’s program this year, but the team has not won
a game in two years.
Heading into the 2015 season, the coach says he wants the squad to
figure out who they are and how they’ll play.
“We eventually want to be a tough, hard-nosed team. One that’s going
to be able to fight through any adversity,” Bass said. “Cause we
know there’s going to be adversity starting with the first game.”
That first game will be on the road against Springfield Southeast
High School.
The Spartans beat LCHS 48-6 last year in the first game of the 2014
season.
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Bass has called this year the ‘Southeast Season’ to focus his team
on their first game.
The coach hopes to use the next week and a half to not only finish
prepping for the Spartans, but to finish molding the Railsplitters.
“I’d say first week of practice, we’re still without an identity.
Guys are still feeling their way,” Bass said. “It’s still new. It’s
going to be new all year, and we knew that coming in.”
Lincoln will practice twice a day, most days, for the next week.
School begins August 18.
Bass is already talking with his team about classes and homework (and
distractions).
“They’re all going to have study hall twice a week with us,” the
coach said. “We want football to be a priority; we don’t necessarily
want it to be number one.”
Lincoln kicks-off the season August 28 at Springfield Southeast at 7
p.m.
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