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 There were even a few glimpses during Saturday night's game in
Springfield.
Like the Andrew Yount to Garrett Aelits to Nathan Podunajec pass
combo in the first quarter that almost went for six points.
Or Yount's second half running, where he gashed the Senator defense
time after time.
Or the big hit in the third quarter from Braden Tanner that forced a
Springfield High fumble.
“We showed a lot of flashes of competing,” Coach Seth Bass said “I
thought we battled pretty well, especially in the third quarter.”
But the glimpses and the flashes came too late.
Springfield High scored 37 points in the first half on way to a 47-0
rout of the Railsplitters.
“It's disappointing to not get into the end zone,” Bass said after
the game.
Lincoln was tantalizingly close, twice in the second half.
The Railers took the third quarter kickoff and marched down the
field.
Yount, who carried the ball 30 times for 53 yards, ripped three
straight runs and had the ball on Springfield High's 15 yard line.
But one carry too many, the Senators pounced and drove him back
seven yards.
Lincoln opted for a field goal, but missed the kick.
A few plays later, Tannner forced the fumble, and Lincoln was back
in business.
Yount and Aeilts again marched the Splitters to the shadow of the
goal line, but a tipped pass fell to a waiting Springfield defender
who rambled 87 yards for a touchdown.
“There's a lot of frustration,” Aeilts said. “We put in all the
effort we can and to not get into the end zone is frustrating.”
[to top of second column] |
Aeilts finished the game with 31 yards on the ground and 71 yards in
the air.
Yount took some of the blame for not reaching the end zone, “First
half, I came out and didn't do very well. But we got it together in
the second half.”
Bass echoed the second half rally of sorts.
“I thought our effort was much, much better than last week,” Bass
said. “I thought our offensive line...they all played well in the
third quarter. Yount ran extremely hard and I think he grew into
himself a little in the second half.”
Lincoln thought the match-up against Springfield would be their best
shot for a win this season. The Railers have now lost 21 straight
games, dating back to the 2013 season.
The schedule only gets harder from here.
“This is a game I feel we should have won,” the senior Tanner said.
“But we're going to take (this) loss and keep pushing forward.”
Forward means next week which means Decatur Eisenhower, who beat
Decatur MacArthur Saturday 41-13.
Then Lincoln gets the champs. The Railers play Sacred Heart Griffin
and Rochester High School back-to-back in weeks five and six.
[Ben Yount; pictures by Sherri
Sparrow]
[click on pictures for larger images] |
