Railers remain undefeated with 20-0 win over Charleston

[September 03, 2022]  Charleston -- It took a little while for the Railer football team to get on track, but once it did, Lincoln moved its record to 2-0 with a 20-0 win over Charleston in the Apollo Conference opener for both teams.

For the coach of a team starting the year 2-0 for the second straight season and holding its opponents scoreless in both its 2022 games, Lincoln head coach Matt Silkowski was not pleased with the effort from his team against Charleston early in the game.

“We were terrible in that first half, absolutely terrible,” he said. “We didn’t have school today. During my lunch break, I had them come in and do some stuff. I thought that would be okay, but it just wasn’t enough. We were half asleep out there. It was just very undisciplined football; we were a shell of ourselves.

“We kind of woke them up at halftime a little bit, and just came out and played the way we expected to play the entire game that second half.”

Angel Haro

The teams each had one possession in the first quarter of the contest and neither scored. Following a Charleston punt with under seven minutes left in the second quarter, the Railers took possession and marched downfield 68 yards for their first touchdown. Ki’on Carson scored on a 2-yard run with 1:32 left and a PAT by Angel Haro gave Lincoln a 7-0 lead. The drive featured a 19-yard pass play from Darren Stevens to Jaden Leadley. Stevens finished the evening completing 4 of 5 passes for 70 yards.

Silkowski said he was glad to see Lincoln show signs of life as the second quarter progressed.

Ki’on Carson

“We kind of turned it on a little bit and played well,” he said. “I told our guys that, when we play well, we’re a good football team. But when we don’t, we’re just not very good.

“I felt very fortunate to get out of that first half with a lead, because I didn’t think we played good enough to have a lead. But they didn’t either.”

Silkowski said the fact that Lincoln did not have classes Friday impacted his team’s focus.

Darren Stevens

Jaden Leadley

“I think our kids learned a lesson today, and I think I did too,” he said. “If we have a no-school [game day] like that again, we’ll have to come up with a better plan than we had today.”

In the second half, Lincoln’s defense forced Charleston to go 3-and-out as the Trojans couldn’t pick up a first down after receiving the opening kickoff. The Railer offense then drove 55 yards for its second touchdown, a 1-yard run by Carson along with a PAT by Haro to give Lincoln a 14-0 lead.

The Railers rounded out the scoring in the fourth quarter when Stevens hit Gabe Smith on a 35-yard TD pass play for Smith’s lone reception of the game to give Lincoln its final 20-0 margin of victory.

Gabe Smith

Lincoln’s defense got a shutout for the second consecutive week. Seven Railers totaled at least two tackles each, including Payton Johnson, who led the team with seven tackles.

Lincoln milked the clock in its final possession of the game with several running plays, including several carries by Johnson, who also totaled 35 yards rushing in the game. Silkowski said Johnson getting some carries was a reward for putting the team above himself earlier in the week.

Payton Johnson

“Payton was very unselfish this week when we needed some help at the offensive guard,” Silkowski said. “So him and Jerod Fults went over and learned that spot to give us some depth there this week. We thought we’d reward Payton for being such a good teammate and sacrificing for the team and learning another spot. He just cares about the team and wants to win.”

Lincoln will look to remain undefeated in its home opener September 9 when the Railers host Jersey High School from Jerseyville.

[Loyd Kirby]

Note: all statistics in this story are unofficial.