Triad overpowers Lincoln 28-0, knocks Railers from postseason consideration

[October 22, 2022] 

[October 21, 2022] Troy – A season filled with optimism ended in disappointment as the LCHS football team fell to Triad High School 28-0, ending the Railers’ aspirations of making the postseason for the first time since 1984.

Lincoln played well but was outsized by a Triad team that moved its season record to 7-2 with the victory and will advance to the IHSA playoffs.

“I thought we played tough,” Lincoln coach Matt Silkowski said following the game. “Obviously, you want to score points, but I thought we had two drives sputter down in their end on our opening drive and to start the third quarter. But we had a turnover and they made a nice play on 4th and 3.”

Lincoln deferred after winning the coin toss, and it appeared to be a good sign for the Railers as Triad bobbled the opening kickoff. The Knights recovered the ball at their own 21-yard line but could not return the ball due to Lincoln’s downfield coverage.

However, the good vibes from Lincoln’s initial kickoff coverage slowly eroded away, as Triad opened its first drive of the game with a 16-yard run. The Knights continued moving the ball downfield and broke into the scoring column with 7:34 remaining in the first quarter when senior running back Jason Randoll ran the ball 11 yards to the end zone on a 3rd-and-five situation to give the Knights a 6-0.

That would be all the scoring Triad would need, but the Knights added two more touchdowns in the second quarter to take a 21-0 halftime lead. The Railers continued to compete and never gave up, but Lincoln was ultimately outmatched by the bigger Knights team. Given that Lincoln played the game with a depleted roster, With an enrollment of 1157.5 according to the IHSA web site, Triad was able to outmuscle the Railers over four quarters en route to a 28-0 win.

Lincoln had a few opportunities to pull closer but could not capitalize. With the 3:40 remaining the second quarter and Triad leading 14-0, the Railers took possession following a missed field goal attempt by Triad. After Lincoln got a first down but could not advance the ball further, the Railers punted to Triad with 2:01 remaining in the first half. The Lincoln defense could not hold, and the Knights added a touchdown with 44 seconds remaining in the quarter on a 25-yard touchdown pass. The PAT give Ttiad at 21-0 lead at the half.

The teams played a scoreless third quarter, with opportunities for Lincoln to get back into the game but unable to do so. At one point, the Railers had Triad in a long first down situation due to a penalty, but Triad managed to make the necessary yardage to keep its drive alive and frustrate Lincoln.

“They were [in a] 1st-and-35 [situation],” Silkowski said. “They ran a quarterback read play, and they just gashed us on it. It was a good play by them and a bad play by us defensively.

“We were at the point where we know it’s going to be tough to come back and win the game just because of how depleted we were. We’ve got to be better than that.”

As time continued to be erased from the clock, so too did the Railers playoff hopes. Triad added another touchdown in the fourth quarter for the final 28-0 margin of victory.

“Offensively, we needed to make some plays, and we weren’t able to do that,” Silkowski said. “We kind of knew it was going to be hard to sustain drives against them just given how beat up we were. We just needed to make some big plays and we didn’t make enough of them.”

Darren Stevens

Lincoln quarterback Darren Stevens completed 9 of 19 passes for 58 yards.

Paytan Bunner

Ki'on Carson

Paytan Bunner led the Railers with 46 yards rushing as Ki’on Carson added 26. Carson also led LCHS with 36 receiving yards.

Isaac Decker

Colbie Glenn

Jaden Leadley

Defensively, Isaac Decker tallied 16 tackles for Lincoln with Colbie Glenn and Jaden Leadley added 8 apiece.

Although the outcome wasn’t what the team, its coaches or its fans hoped for, Silkowski said he was proud of the Railers’ effort.

“Given how down we were, I still think we played well and we gave them our best shot,” he said. “I think the score could’ve been a little closer than the scoreboard showed if we’d finished those two drives, but we played with good effort all night. I’m proud of them.”

Lincoln ends the season with a 4-5 overall record. While the loss ends the Railer football season, it also ends the seniors’ time with the LCHS the football program. Congratulations and thank you to Lincoln seniors Peyton Bennett (cheerleader), Isaac Decker (RB/DB), Braydon Denney (OL/DL), Jerod Fults (RB/DL), Sebastian Hill (OL/DL), Payton Johnson (RB/LB), Chloe Johnston (manager), Jaden Leadley (TE/LB), David Morrow (OL/DL), Hattie Mourning (cheerleader), Ryan O'Donoghue (OL/DL), Noah Rachall (OL/DL), Nicco Sundeen (OL/DL) and Taylor Winebrinner (cheerleader) for dedicating their time and sharing their talents during the football season.

Next season will include games closer to Lincoln as Railer football is scheduled to open play in making its return to the Central State 8 conference on August 25 at Springfield Lanphier.

[Loyd Kirby]
Note: all statistics in this story are unofficial. Photo credits: Steve Klemm.