Railer football team falls to
Glenwood, 57-0
[September 12, 2026]
CHATHAM, ILL. – Rome wasn’t built in a day.
And football programs don’t get turned around in four games.
The Railers’ scoreless streak stretched to 12 quarters as Lincoln
couldn’t get its footing offensively and fell to Glenwood 57-0.
Lincoln looked good to start the game, as the Railers got downfield
quickly to hold Glenwood to no gain on the opening kickoff. Then the
Lincoln defense held the Titans to a 4-yard gain on a running play
followed by Railer Paxton Lora breaking up a Titan pass play to set
up a 3rd-and-6 situation. But Glenwood quarterback Michael Young
connected with Hugo Lopp on a 30-yard pass to move the ball into
Railer territory. Following an LCHS encroachment penalty--one of
eight Railer penalties in the contest--Young hooked up with Beckett
Church on a 36-yard pass play for a Glenwood touchdown only 85
seconds into the game.
Lincoln looked like it had found something in its special teams game
as Seth Durbin returned the Glenwood kickoff 37 yards to set the
Railer offense up near midfield for its first possession.
LCHS head coach Aaron Fricke inserted Kane Komnick as starting
quarterback in an effort to spark the Railer offense following his
standout performance off the bench late in the game last week
against MacArthur. Following a pass play for a short loss, the
Railer junior showed why on Lincoln’s second play from scrimmage,
when Komnick rushed the ball 10 yards downfield, ending the play by
crashing into a Glenwood defender in an effort to move the ball
closer to the first down marker.
That set up a 3rd-and-5 situation for Lincoln, but Titan defender
Mason Hatchett blitzed around the left end untouched and sacked
Komnick. The ball was jarred lose and recovered by the Titans on the
Railer 45-yard line.
A few plays later, Young and Lopp connected for another Titan
touchdown, this time on a 9-yard pass play.
Glenwood added two more touchdowns in the first quarter on a 35-yard
run by Alfonzo Burris Jr. and a 24-yard pass play from Young to Nico
Mills to push the score to 29-0 entering the second period.
The Railers showed some flashes of life through the remainder of the
game, but Glenwood dominated the line of scrimmage and Lincoln could
not build any momentum to chip away at the Titan lead. According to
unofficial statistics, Glenwood outgained the Railers in total yard
by a 413-117 margin, including a 219-79 advantage in passing yards
as well as a 194-38 tally in rushing yards.
Brigs Davenport led the Railer aerial attack with 41 passing yards
and Komnick threw for 38 yards. Seth Durbin led Lincoln with 24
receiving yards followed by Aiden Grant (17), Griffin Jenness (14)
and Logan White (11). Quinten Mead tallied 16 yards to lead
Lincoln’s ground game; Davenport and Komnick added 11 and 9 yards
respectively.
Since the Railers scored a touchdown in the final quarter of their
Week 1 40-20 victory over Peoria Manual, Lincoln has been outscored
179-0 during a three-game losing skid.
To be fair, the Railer schedule has not been a cakewalk, as Lincoln
has faced Class 5A Marion, Decatur MacArthur and Glenwood, which
have a combined 8-4 record through Week 3.
And the LCHS slate of games doesn’t get any easier next week when
the Railers host 4-0 perennial powerhouse Rochester.
But before Railer fans write the season off, it is worthwhile to
remember the task at hand for Coach Fricke and his staff. Everyone
with an interest in Lincoln football wants to see the program
succeed, and many measure success by the number of wins a team
compiles. And there’s certainly nothing wrong with wanting the LCHS
football team to win. But how does that happen? Improvement, hard
work and consistent guidance from the coaching staff are among the
many factors that contribute to building a better football program.
However, the situation must be viewed in its entirety: there is a
new coach with a new philosophy and a new playbook. Rebuilding a
program takes time, and while it is not unreasonable to hope to see
improvement, it is not realistic to expect a program to turnaround
overnight.
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As a new coach has the opportunity to teach his
system to his players, as the seasons pass, he and his players have
the benefit of learning that system over the course of (ideally)
four years. And as that same philosophy is imparted to participants
in the Lincoln junior football league, that gives the Railer program
the benefit of players entering high school having already been
exposed to the coach’s system. But it takes time for those efforts
to come to fruition.
Put another way: a school can change coaches in a single
administrative move, a coach can implement a new offense in one
offseason, and a coach can change strength-training programs,
workouts and goals immediately upon taking a job, but four years of
player development cannot be done in a few months.
Another important factor is the number of
participants on a team. On the rosters given to fans at the
Lincoln-Glenwood game, the Railers listed 43 players on the roster,
including seven freshmen. The Glenwood roster listed 74 players for
the Titans, with only one freshman. While that disparity is to be
expected given Glenwood’s enrollment of 1,485 compared to Lincoln’s
732, it also puts the Railers at a disadvantage with more LCHS
players playing both offense and defense.
In addition, due to the IHSA’s participation rules and players only
being able to play a certain number of quarters, sometimes the
coaches must take that into account and hold players out to make
sure the junior varsity team has an adequate number of eligible
players.
For Railer teams to have the opportunity for sustained success,
there must be a pipeline of players feeding into the program to help
establish depth. More participants will produce competition for
playing time, which should in turn yield better players. Better
players should result in better teams, which should eventually
translate into more victories.
A study published by the Michigan High School Athletic Association
in 2016 looked at 11 football coaches who took over struggling
programs which faced issues such as losing records, low
participation numbers, poor player development and negative team
culture.
The study found that, on average, those coaches reached a winning
record after 1.73 seasons and qualified for the playoffs after 1.82
seasons. Every one of the 11 programs reached the playoffs within
three years.
Some programs improved faster; others took longer. But all needed
multiple seasons to see the desired turnarounds.
And while casual observers might look at win-loss records as the
measure of a team’s success, as a program is being built, there are
other considerations beyond the record. Are there more players? Are
more players attending offseason workouts? Are players getting
stronger? Are younger players staying in the program? Is the program
developing leaders? Is the culture changing?
Just like a house can’t be built without a solid foundation, the
Railer football program will not be built without its own solid
foundation.
There is a difference between accountability and impatience.
Accountability asks, “Is the team getting better?” Impatience asks,
“Why isn’t the team winning right now?”
Having a good season isn’t the same as building a good program. A
good season can happen because a team has a talented class or
collection of players in a given year. A good program is competitive
year in and year out.
It is reasonable to expect to see improvement and
accountability fairly quickly, but a solid program with sustained
winning develops over the course of several years.
The 1-3 Railers will continue their rebuilding efforts on September
18 when Lincoln hosts Rochester in a 7 PM game at Handlin Field in
Lincoln.
Railer
football vs Glenwood highlights video
[Loyd Kirby]
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