Lincoln beats undefeated Clinton, gives O’Connor his 100th win

October 27, 2014 By Rob Abruzzese Brooklyn Daily Eagle

Shawn O’Connor became the second coach in Lincoln High School history to compile 100 wins when the Railsplitters beat Clinton on Friday.

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As Lincoln head coach Shawn O’Connor picked up his 100th career win as coach, he wasn’t thinking back to his glory days of winning the 2011 or 2013 city title or the four All-Americans he coached.

Instead, O’Connor immediately thought of the lean years. Those years when the Lincoln Railsplitters struggled to win two games, when the field was covered in rocks, when he didn’t have a field at all and his team had to practice on the softball fields or at nearby Grady High School.

Those tough years made O’Connor really cherish his 100th victory — a 35-0 win over the previously undefeated Clinton Governors in Coney Island Friday night.

“We had a lot of rough years where we struggled to win games, and the coaching staff I had was a tremendous help because we stuck with the belief system of the program — and it paid off,” O’Connor said. “There are a lot of guys behind those victories.”

With an overall record of 100-56, O’Connor ranks second on Lincoln’s all-time wins list behind Henry Kahan, who had an 118-16-2 record while coaching the Railsplitters from 1939-56. O’Connor started out slow, averaging just more than four wins a year during his first nine years at Lincoln, but has since turned the school into a powerhouse with a 53-5 record since 2010.

“O’Connor is the best coach to play for and the best coach,” said quarterback Roget O’Neill. “He knows what it takes to be the best …. he has the best coaching staff in Brooklyn and the PSAL hands down.”
O’Connor won the Public School Athletic League championship in 2011 and 2013. He coached four All-Americans including Nyan Boateng in 2004, Lansford Watson in 2006, Ishaq Williams in 2011 and Thomas Holley in 2013.

O’Connor’s most recent victory came at the expense of Clinton’s previously undefeated record, which was 7-0 before it ran into the Railsplitters. It was a dominating performance, but not a typical win in that the roster was heavily shuffled around prior to the game. Their starting running back was hurt, forcing them to use two guys who had never played the position previously. Additionally, starting quarterback Paul Litvak left in the second quarter with a shoulder injury.

O’Neill took over the game as quarterback and the junior looked like a veteran in no time. More importantly, he still had Lincoln’s most consistent player — Luis Rodriguez. Rodriguez scored three touchdowns, including the first one of the game on a three-yard run that gave Lincoln an early 7-0 lead.

Immediately after Lincoln went ahead, Clinton threatened to score, as the Governors got as close as the 22-yard-line, but a fumble gave Lincoln back the ball and Kevin Medy scored on a five-yard run to make it 14-0 after two offensive possessions by the Railsplitters.

O’Neill took over the quarterback duties late in the second quarter and threw his first touchdown pass, a 42-yarder, to Jordan Hannah to go up 21-0 midway through the third. O’Neill later found Rodriguez open for a 13-yard touchdown pass as he finished with 102 yards passing and 57 yards rushing.

After the game, O’Connor removed O’Neill’s black stripe from his helmet — a school tradition that consists of players replacing black stripes for blue, later adding the Lincoln logo when they’ve officially earned their spot on the varsity roster.

“I’m very proud of Roget,” lineman Alejandro Oregon said. “He is like a little brother to me because we both played on the Warriors together. Now that I see him mature over the years and finally lose his stripe, I’m very proud.”

The Railsplitters have now improved to 7-1 on the season and have won three in a row since losing to Erasmus Hall. There are just two games left in the season with Lincoln taking on New Utrecht next week before hosting Fort Hamilton in the final game of the regular season.