Normal U-High shuts out Railer
football team 52-0
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[September 21, 2024]
NORMAL – The game between the Normal University High School
and Lincoln football teams took place on Friday, September 20, but
Railer fans may have felt the calendar was off by a week. Jason
Voorhees--the slasher character in the popular Friday the 13th movie
series--may not have been present, but the night probably felt more
like a horror than a football game to Lincoln fans as U-High routed
the Railsplitters 52-0.
“We didn’t play very well in any phase of the game,” said Lincoln
coach Matt Silkowski afterward. “We’ve just got to find a way to get
tougher and match our opponent’s physicality.
“If we’re going to win some more games throughout the year, we’ve
got to get better in a lot of different areas.”
The Railers and U-High each made the Class 4A playoffs in 2023 but
lost in the first round. U-High fell to Coal City 44-0 while Lincoln
lost to eventual 4A champion Rochester 59-14.
Both Lincoln and U-High entered Friday’s contest with identical 2-1
overall records.
That seemed to be where the similarities between the two teams ends.
It only took 90 seconds for the Pioneers to put points on the
scoreboard. Eight plays into the first quarter, U High quarterback
Alek Wieland scored on a 4-yard keeper to put the Pioneers up 7-0.
A mental mistake by the Railers allowed U-High to extend its lead.
On the following kickoff, U-High—as it did all game—did not kick a
deep kickoff. However, the ball travelled more than 10 yards and,
unlike a punt situation where the kicking team can down the ball to
prevent its opponent from advancing the ball, the ball on a kickoff
is still live. No one from Lincoln secured the football, so the
Pioneers regained possession at the Railer 25-yard line.
Two minutes later, U-High found the end zone again on a 1-yard run
to go up 14-0.
The Railers began their next drive at their own 36-yard line, but
Lincoln quarterback Tate Johnston was intercepted by the Pioneer
defense. U-High returned the ball to the 30-yard line, and scored on
a pass on the very next play to increase the Pioneer lead to 21-0.
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U-High got another touchdown before the quarter ended on a 25-yard
run by quarterback Alek Weiland to hold a 28-0 advantage heading
into the second stanza.
Railer coach Matt Silkowski said the early offensive onslough by
U-High, coupled with the mental mistake by the Railers, put Lincoln
in too big a hole to recover.
“They scored early, then we had a brain fart on the special team
play,” he said. “They go down and score again, so you’re already
down 14-to-nothing and we haven’t even touched the ball yet. Then we
go three-and-out, and they go down and score again.
“We had to control the clock and move the chains and get the first
downs [to be successful], and we just could not do that.”
U-High added two second quarter touchdowns to increase its lead to
42-0 at halftime.
A second half touchdown and field goal gave the Pioneers their 52-0
margin of victory.
The loss drops Lincoln to 2 and 2 overall and oh and 2 in the
Central State 8. The next game for the Railers is the homecoming
game Friday, September 27th when Lincoln hosts Eisenhower in a 7 PM
conference game.
Game statistics were unavailable at the time this story was written.
[Loyd Kirby]
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