Railer football squad looks to jump back into IHSA playoffs for first time since 1984 

[August 22, 2022]  Lincoln -- Rock music fans might hear “1984” and think of the classic Van Halen album of the same name. For folks around Lincoln Community High School football, however, the term is a reminder of how long it’s been since the Railer football team made the playoffs. If enthusiasm and crowd size at Friday’s Meet the Railers scrimmage is any indication, 2022 could be the year Lincoln does indeed jump into the playoffs and end that drought. 

“I think our kids have worked hard the past few years to put themselves in the position that they’re in, and I think a lot of people around town know the potential that these kids have,” Railer coach Matt Silkowski said of the sizable crowd following Meet the Railers night. “If we do things the right way and play to our potential, it could be a fun fall out here.” 

Lincoln finished 4-5 each of the last two years. The Railers lost 11 seniors from the 2021 squad, including skill players such as quarterback Elijah Pollice, running back Tony Gandolfi and receive Scotty Battin. While SIlkowski said the team definitely misses the presences and contributions of last year’s seniors, he said he believes the team will handle the transition to different players well. 

“You lose a Tony, Elijah, Evan Maynard and Scotty Battin…those guys are obviously great kids and we’d love to have them around,” Silkowski said. “But now it’s ‘next man up’ and I think our guys are going to pick up where they left off. 

“Those guys [the 2021 seniors] helped create the culture that we’re building here—they’re a big part of that—and I think our guys are just kind of going to keep the torch going. I think our guys have worked really hard. We’re not going to skip a beat.” 

Both the junior varsity and varsity teams played one quarter each as the offenses and defenses scrimmaged against each other with a running clock at Meet the Railers night. While there were a few scores and long plays on offense, Silkowski said those aren’t the things he looks at in gauging how well his team performs in the preseason scrimmage. 

“I look at ‘discipline stuff’—false starts, holds, how we’re conducting ourselves getting in and out of the huddle appropriately,” he said. “[It was] good at times, and sometimes not. We were looking at if we did things the right way with our assignments and those types of things; that’s a lot of what we were looking for tonight. [We had some] guys playing out of position and some guys playing in spots where we normally wouldn’t play them, and it’s just seeing how we respond to that stuff.” 

So how did Silkowski assess his players’ performances in their scrimmage? 

“Tonight, we had a couple of false starts; I’m not really happy with that,” he said. “We were watching last year’s Week 1 [video], and we had too many false starts and illegal formations; that’s the stuff we wanted to cut out. Unfortunately, it didn’t happen tonight, so discipline is going to be the theme of the week next week. 

“I told the guys that’s our goal next week: getting that stuff hashed out."

While Silkowski noted the team has a few areas to work on prior to the August 26 season opener at Clinton, he said he understands that the eagerness for the season to get underway can play a part in the lapses he observed during Friday night’s scrimmage. 

“It was a little sloppy, but you kind of expect that,” he said. “The kids have some jitters and excitement that they have to work out, but it’s good to be back. 

“We’re excited about the ’22 season and to get this season going next week. It's been a long offseason with a lot of guys working hard, and it’s nice to just almost be there.” 

One reason Silkowski is excited for the season is the amount of offseason work put in by the Railer football players. 

“We had a lot of guys motivated in the weight room,” Silkowski said. “We did a couple weight lifting competitions this winter, which we’ve never done before. We went over to Maroa, we went over to Taylorville, and we’ve never done that before. This summer, in terms of joint practices, we had one a week with a different school. We competed a lot more away from home to get more varsity competition for our varsity guys. 

“I’m curious to see how that’s going to pay off. I think it’s going to be good, because we played well this summer. We really did.” 

All games on the 2022 Lincoln schedule take place on Friday nights with start times of 7 o'clock. The Railers’ 2022 season schedule is: 

• August 26 at Clinton HS 
• September 2 at Charleston HS 
• September 9 vs. Jersey (Jerseyville) Community HS 
• September 16 at Mahomet-Seymour HS (Homecoming) 
• September 23 at Mt. Zion HS 
• September 30 at Mattoon HS 
• October 7 vs. Effingham HS 
• October 14 vs. Taylorville HS 
• October 21 at Triad (Troy) HS 

Lincoln Daily News will bring readers game stories recapping each Railer football game in its Saturday editions. For those who want to follow game action live but can’t attend in person, WLCN 96.3 FM will broadcast all Railer football contests, with veteran broadcasters Bob Verderber and Ken Schweitzer calling the action. In addition, WLCN will live video-stream all games online via YouTube as well as live audio-stream for computers and mobile devices via the Mixlr app. To watch or listen online, visit WLCNOnline.com and click the Watch Live or the Listen Live badge on the home page. 

[Loyd Kirby]