Football Game Preview: Lakota East Thunderhawks vs. Sycamore Aviators

vs

Previous Games

10/11/24 - Home	56-12 W
09/29/23 - Away	30-38 L
09/30/22 - Away	21-0 W
10/29/21 - Home	0-19 L
09/24/21 - Home	34-27 W
+ 5 more games

Lakota East and Sycamore are an even 5-5 against one another since October of 2016, but not for long. The Thunderhawks will face off against the Aviators at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Lakota East will be strutting in after a win while Sycamore will be coming in after a defeat.

Lakota East took a loss when they played away from home last Friday, but their home fans gave them all the motivation they needed on Friday. They enjoyed a cozy 37-21 victory over Colerain. Given the Thunderhawks' advantage in MaxPreps' Ohio football rankings (they are ranked 68th, while the Cardinals are ranked 245th) , the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Ryder Hooks was his usual excellent self, rushing for 320 yards and four touchdowns on only 15 carries. Those four rushing touchdowns gave him a new career-high. Pj MacFarlane also deserves some recognition as he hauled in his first receiving touchdown of the season.

They were just one part of a punishing run game: Lakota East was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 320 rushing yards. That's the most rushing yards they've managed all season.

Meanwhile, Sycamore was not able to break out of their rough patch on Friday as the team picked up their 15th straight loss dating back to last season. They took a blow against Lakota West, falling 56-0.

Lakota East's win was their seventh straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 5-3. Those home victories came thanks in part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 37.7 points over those games. As for Sycamore, their defeat dropped their record down to 0-8.

Everything came up roses for Lakota East against Sycamore in their previous matchup back in October of 2024, as the squad secured a 56-12 win. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Thunderhawks since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.