When Des Moines Lincoln football hosted Ottumwa for some Thursday night football action a few weeks ago, the Railsplitters struggled to find their footing against the opponent from southeastern Iowa.
Lincoln couldn’t earn the win in that game, falling 29-12, but there were still glimpses of greatness from the players in maroon and gold jerseys.
Despite the final score, it’s difficult to forget Daniel Sakyiamah’s performance. In about a 10-minute span, he sacked Ottumwa’s quarterback, recovered a fumble and blocked a punt. He was all over the field — the central defender in several key plays — and kept Lincoln in the game until the final seconds ran off the clock.
More: Ottumwa 29, Des Moines Lincoln 12: Railsplitters struggle against Bulldogs in football matchup
On the opposite side of the ball, one of the top running backs in central Iowa, Javon Sanders, quietly put together another impactful performance. Ottumwa found ways to suppress his scoring skills until the fourth quarter when he shot off for a 27-yard touchdown. He finished that game with 140 rushing yards.
Sure, it was a loss for Lincoln and that put a damper on those individual successes.
But for a team in the process of rebuilding, it’s become about finding the little victories, even in the losses.
Sanders and Sakyiamah have provided plenty of those celebratory moments.
More: Friday’s Week 5 schedule of Iowa high school football games, kickoff times across the state
Javon Sanders remains under the radar despite one of the best running back resumes in Class 5A football
Sanders, a junior, burst onto the scene in a Railsplitters jersey this season, but his journey to the top of the stat sheet didn’t begin at Lincoln.
The 6-foot-1, 185-pound running back began his high school football career at Valley, where he spent one season. It wasn’t long, though, before he felt compelled to return to the southside of Des Moines.
“A lot of my friends are down here,” Sanders said. “I enjoy football because of my friends, so that was probably the leading factor for why I came back to Lincoln.”
But once he came to Lincoln, it wasn’t a sure thing he’d suit up on the football field for the Rails.
Lincoln head coach Duane Matthess needed to create a relationship with the then-sophomore before convincing him to come out for football. By the time Sanders decided to put the pads back on, he had missed the first half of the season.
In five games, Sanders recorded 645 yards and three touchdowns.
For his teammates and coaches, his unprecedented success in 2023 isn’t much of a surprise.
Sanders currently leads all of Class 5A with 764 rushing yards and 12 rushing touchdowns. He is the leader in rushing yards per carry (10.1), is second in all-purpose yards, tied for fifth in total touchdowns and has the fourth-longest rushing touchdown (84 yards) in the state.
More: Dowling, ADM take over No. 1 spots in the Register’s Iowa high school football rankings
His on-field improvement has come with playing more games, but there is more to Sanders’ growth than just experience.
“He’s gotten another year older,” Matthess said. “He’s gotten a little bit stronger and quicker. I think he feels more comfortable in our offense. And he’s been around all these guys and we’re a pretty close group, so I think you see that translate to Thursday or Friday nights.”
There is something else that factors into Sanders’ success: Southside pride.
Sanders cares about how he represents Lincoln football, and his connection to the Railsplitters program runs deep.
He doesn’t flaunt it, but Sanders is the nephew of Lincoln superstar Jordan Bernstine, who played college football at Iowa and was drafted by the franchise now known as the Washington Commanders in 2012.
The family connection to another great running back is special. But, make no mistake, Sanders is making a name for himself.
“(Javon) is a totally different player than Jordan,” Matthess said. “He doesn’t need to live up to what Jordan was. He wants to blaze his own path. I mean, we asked him if he wanted to be No. 4, because that’s what Jordan wore here.
“And he was like, ‘No, I’m good.’ That’s not being disrespectful to Jordan by any means. He loves his uncle. It’s just his way of saying, ‘I’m my own player.’”
And if there was any doubt that Sanders would write his own story at Lincoln, that uncertainty disappeared during the Rails’ 56-6 victory over Des Moines North. In that game, Sanders broke three school records.
More: Coaches Confidential: Who was the toughest Iowa high school player to game-plan against?
He set the record for total touchdowns in a game (6), most rushing touchdowns (6) and most points scored (36). The record for most points in a game had stood since 1993 when Mike Luna scored 34 points against Dowling.
He was less than 100 yards away from capturing the record for most rushing yards in a single game.
All of those stats show how impactful a player Sanders is, and give a glimpse of things to come, especially since Sanders still has one more year left to play.
But even with all the records and with his name at the top of the statistical standings, Sanders isn’t focused on his individual success.
“It’s good to see, but it’s not important,” Sanders said. “The most important part of football is winning and having fun.”
Don’t underestimate an undersized defender in Daniel Sakyiamah
Sanders is Lincoln’s star on offense.
Finding the standout on defense is a little bit more difficult, though, because that’s where the Rails’ team-first mentality is most evident.
But if the old adage that good things come in small packages is true, then Sakyiamah is the greatest gift for Des Moines Lincoln.
The 5-foot-8, 180-pound defensive end leads all 5A players with five sacks this season. He is third on the team with 13.5 total tackles and has 8.5 tackles for loss.
Matthess believes that Sakyiamah’s size may lead opponents to underestimate the junior defender. He quickly makes those offenses pay for that mistake.
More: Upset wins headline Week 4’s top Iowa high school football performances
“Daniel’s mentality, he’s not gonna get outworked,” Matthess said. “He’s able to use his quickness to go against linemen who may be bigger but they could be slower. He’s got to go out and earn respect on every play, and he’s done a good job with that.”
For Sakyiamah, his success revolved around one thing: A winning mindset.
Like Sanders, Sakyiamah isn’t focused on padding his individual statistics. He wants Lincoln to win football games, and he will do whatever it takes to put the Rails in a position to compete.
Sakyiamah wants people to respect the Rails. That starts with him earning the respect of his opponents.
“Don’t underestimate something you don’t know,” Sakyiamah said. “Just because someone’s different doesn’t mean they can’t bring more to the table and impact the game.”
More: The Des Moines Register’s top 10 defensive linemen in Iowa high school football
Lincoln’s all-around team success is indicative of a changing culture
While Sanders and Sakyiamah have established themselves among the top players at Des Moines Lincoln, there is another player who is putting together a stellar season.
Senior linebacker Leo Jones has recorded 43 total tackles through the first four games of 2023, which is enough to lead all 5A defenders. That total includes 35 solo takedowns, 6.5 tackles for loss and two sacks, and that doesn’t include his 205 receiving yards and two touchdowns on offense.
There are a handful of other players, too, who have helped Lincoln go from winning one game last season to a 2-2 record in 2023.
This is the Railsplitters’ second season under Matthess’ leadership, and if the production of these three athletes shows anything, it’s that Lincoln football is a program on the rise.
Matthess understands that it is still early in the season and that Sanders, Sakyiamah and Jones might not be sitting atop the statewide statistical standings by the time the Rails’ schedule comes to a close. But this year is simply a stepping stone to putting Lincoln on the map.
“We have good players here,” Matthess said. “They just need opportunities to shine.”
Lincoln is trending in the right direction, according to the Rails head coach, and the future looks bright. There are middle school players who show potential, and it helps that they have players like Sanders and Sakyiamah to emulate.
More: The Des Moines Register’s top 10 Iowa high school football running backs in 2023
With the leading rusher and the sack leader in Class 5A, Lincoln’s statistical success speaks for itself.
But the Rails — particularly Sanders — won’t be satisfied with a few names popping up on the leaderboards.
“We’re building,” Sanders said. “We’re gonna keep on building and we’re just gonna get better over time.”
Alyssa Hertel is the college sports recruiting reporter for the Des Moines Register. Contact Alyssa at [email protected] or on Twitter @AlyssaHertel.
2023-09-22 10:33:03
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