Football Game Preview: Cahokia Comanches vs. Centralia Orphans

The Cahokia Comanches will head out on the road to square off against the Centralia Orphans at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday. Cahokia's defense has only allowed 14.8 points per game this season, so Centralia's offense will have their work cut out for them.

Cahokia easily dispatched Collinsville two weeks ago, but unfortunately both the margin and the ultimate result were a different story in this one. The Comanches fell just short of Sycamore by a score of 30-28 on Friday. The Comanches were up 14-0 in the first quarter but couldn't hold on to the lead.

Despite the loss, Cahokia got top-tier performance from Machai Henderson, who rushed for 172 yards and one TD on only 12 carries. Henderson's longest rush was for an incredible 77 yards. Nigel Gooden was another key player, throwing for 108 yards and one touchdown.

Meanwhile, Centralia gave up the first points on Friday, but they didn't give up any more after. They managed a 21-16 win over Effingham.

Centralia is on a roll lately: they've won five of their last six games. That's provided a nice bump to their 7-2 record this season. Those victories came thanks in part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 34.8 points over those games. As for Cahokia, they moved to 7-2 with that defeat, which also ended their six-game winning streak.

Everything came up roses for Cahokia against Centralia when the teams last played on October 10th, as the team secured a 40-8 win. In that contest, the Comanches amassed a halftime lead of 24-0, an impressive feat they'll look to repeat on Saturday.