Rails Ride into Season Finale Against District Champ Valley

The Lincoln Railsplitters are riding high after last week’s mild upset of Hoover, putting the Huskies in a must-win mode. Lincoln’s also in a mostly must-win mode, if they want to be in the playoffs.

Lincoln could improve their chances to get into the playoffs with another upset…against the Valley Tigers. This sets the stage for the regular season finale of your CenturyLink Game of the Week on CISN.

Freshman Will McElvain leads the Rails at quarterback. McElvain has thrown for 740 total yards for the Rails (3-5, 2-2). Running back Darius Shumpert and wide receiver Logan Garrels are McElvain’s go-to guys. Garrels (59-806, 6 touchdowns) had a big hand in Lincoln’s big 49-35 win over Hoover last week, hauling in a 97 yard touchdown reception that broke the game open. Garrels also set a set state record with 340 receiving yard night. Linebackers Wade Gillum and Marco Foster have nearly 70 tackles between them for the defense, with strong safety Bryan Richter adding 23.5 tackles as well.

Valley (7-1, 4-0) closed out their road portion of the season with a 28-3 win over Ankeny Centennial. After a close 7-3 game heading into the fourth quarter, Valley pulled away with crucial plays including blocking two Centennial field goals and a 51-yard touchdown strike from Rocky Lombardi to Blake Salsbury. The Tigers will be celebrating Senior Night, as they honor 30 players.

Can Lincoln crash the party and punch their ticket to the playoffs, or will Valley put away Lincoln early and often?

Who: Des Moines Lincoln (3-5) at #4 WDM Valley (7-1)

Where: Valley Stadium, West Des Moines, Iowa

When: Friday, October 10th, 7:30pm kickoff

The Facts: Lincoln defeated Hoover 49-35, while Valley upended Ankeny Centennial 28-3. The last time these teams met was October 11 2013. Valley won 35-14.

Things to watch:

Will there be a hangover for Valley after winning the district title?
Will Lincoln find a way to keep pace with the Tigers?
Are the Tigers at full strength for the playoff run or on cruise control with the second season looming?
Lincoln will be starting 4 freshmen on offense. How will they handle Valley’s defense?

Des Moines Lincoln – Projected Lineups

Offensive starters – QB Will McElvain; RB Darius Shumpert; TE Joey Meyer; WR Logan Garrels, Daniel Doering, and Brock Newton; C Zach Ross, G Josh Smith and Carlos Santiago, T Sam Stevens and Bryce Johnson,

Defensive starters – FS Issac Scott, SS Bryce Richter, CB Tyron Collier and Donovan Hargrove, LB Marco Foster, Jordan Lewis and Wade Gillum; DE DeSean Williams and Andre Flatt, NG Ricky Terrell

Valley – Project Starting Lineups

Offensive starters – QB Rocky Lombardi, RB Drew Gray and Blake Salsbury, WR Dominique Dafney and Austin Hronich, TE John Gliniecki, T Cody Genzen and Sam Rogers, G John Rairdon and Zachary Matt, C Brady Smith

Defensive starters – NG Trey Walsh, DT Dan McCoy and Zach Downs, DE Austin Turner, CB Matt Vertin and Turner Scott, LB Nick Yencer, Mason Berg and Ben Campos, S Gabe Honnold and Keller Prien

Special Teams – P Zach Downs, K Cole Hahn

Our live pregame show on the Central Iowa Sports Network (centraliowasportsnetwork.com) will begin at 7 pm, with kickoff at 7:30 pm.

Join Paul Yeager, Keith Borness, and Taylor Bennett for the call of the game. Jim Kirby will be your sideline reporter.

The Scheels Audio Game of the Week will have Dar Danielson with the call of Fort Dodge visiting Urbandale at Frerichs Field. As an added bonus, High School Cube and QC Sports Net will have links and streams to all of the games across the state.

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