Football Game Preview: Lincoln Railsplitters vs. Jacksonville Crimsons + Official Tickets

The Lincoln Railsplitters will head out on the road to square off against the Jacksonville Crimsons at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Lincoln is coming into the game on a three-game losing streak.

Lincoln is headed into the contest out to prove that what happened against Quincy Notre Dame on Saturday (when they were outscored in every quarter) was just a minor bump in the road. The Railsplitters had to suffer through a 56-7 loss at the hands of the Raiders. While losing is never fun, the Railsplitters can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Illinois football rankings (they are ranked 404th, while the Raiders are ranked 132nd).

Jacksonville never got on the board in their matchup last Friday, but that sure wasn't the case in their game against MacArthur on Friday. They came out on top in a nail-biter against the Generals, sneaking past 36-33. The win continues a trend for the Crimsons in their matchups with the Generals: they've now won five in a row.

Lincoln better keep an eye on Easton Ackerman. He was instrumental in Jacksonville's win, rushing for 235 yards and three TDs. Those 235 rushing yards gave Ackerman a new career-high. Jacksonville also got a significant boost from Darren Henry, who ran away from the competition to the tune of 87 yards.

Jacksonville was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 560 rushing yards. That's the most rushing yards they've managed all season.

Lincoln's defeat dropped their record down to 1-7. As for Jacksonville, the victory got them back to even at 4-4.

Lincoln was dealt a bruising 51-21 loss at the hands of Jacksonville in their previous matchup back in October of 2024. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of the Crimsons' Jeremiah Jackson, who rushed for 146 yards and one score on only seven carries. Now that the Railsplitters know the damage he can cause, will they be able to stop him this time? There's only one way to find out.