Football Preview: Normal University Pioneers vs. Cahokia Comanches
Two dominant signal callers in Alek Weiland and Zion Taylor are getting ready to go toe-to-toe. The Normal University Pioneers are on the road again on Saturday to play the Cahokia Comanches at 2:00 p.m. One thing working in Normal University's favor is that they have posted at least 31 points in their last six matchups.
Normal University is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Saturday. They simply couldn't be stopped as they easily beat Richland County 48-13. The Pioneers pushed the score to 48-7 by the end of the third, a deficit the Tigers cut but never quite recovered from.
Weiland continued his habit of posting crazy stat lines, rushing for 124 yards and a touchdown on only six carries, while also throwing for 207 yards and two touchdowns on only 18 passes. Those 124 rushing yards gave him a new career-high. Cade Cunningham did his part to keep the secondary busy, picking up 99 receiving yards.
Normal University was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 245 rushing yards. That's the most rushing yards they've managed all season.
Meanwhile, Cahokia got the win against Waterloo on Saturday by a conclusive 40-20. Considering the Comanches have won six contests by more than 19 points this season, Saturday's blowout was nothing new.
Correyontae Midgett was his usual excellent self, rushing for 148 yards and two touchdowns while picking up 7.4 yards per carry. Another player making a difference was Hartles Holman, who picked up 166 receiving yards and a touchdown.
Normal University's record now sits at 9-2. As for Cahokia, the win made it two in a row for them and also bumps their season record up to 9-2.
The upcoming match will be a clash of competing strengths. Normal University has relied on air attacks this season and has averaged 322.7 passing yards per game. Cahokia, on the other hand, has relied on a stout run game: they average 194.4 rushing yards per game. So which strategy will prevail on Saturday? There's only one way to find out.
Normal University strolled past Cahokia when the teams last played back in October of 2014 by a score of 24-6. The rematch might be a little tougher for Normal University since the squad won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
