Football Recap: Cahokia Starts off Right with Win over Lutheran

Cahokia had to kick off their season on the road on Friday, but they showed no ill effects. They really took it to the Lutheran Cougars for the full four quarters, racking up a 38-7 win. The score at the end of the third wound up being the final score as the Comanches just coasted through the last quarter.

A big part of Cahokia's victory came down to the chemistry between Nigel Gooden and his top target Hartles Holman. Gooden threw for 291 yards and three touchdowns while completing 80% of his passes while Holman picked up 143 receiving yards and three scores. Holman got the majority of those receiving yards when he pulled down a pass and took off for a gain of 79 yards. Machai Henderson was another key player, rushing for 67 yards and one TD on only nine carries.

Comanches

Rushing Yards

08/29/25 @ Lutheran	238
11/16/24 vs Normal University	52
11/09/24 vs Waterloo	194
11/01/24 vs Columbia	72
10/25/24 @ Sycamore	105
+ 3 more games

Cahokia was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 238 rushing yards. That's the most rushing yards they've posted since back in October of 2024.

One reason for the win was Cahokia's imposing defense, which managed to get into the backfield for eight sacks. The heavy lifting was done by Pierre Taylor and Malik Mazyun, who racked up five sacks between them. Mazyun has been hot for a while, having also posted six or more total tackles the last 11 times he's played. Kourmarion McNeil was another major factor on D, picking up a sack and making 11 total tackles.

Looking ahead, Cahokia will challenge Lift for Life Academy at 4:00 p.m. on Saturday. The two teams might be coming in a bit winded given these two teams combined for 1,022 yards in their previous games. As for Lutheran, they will head out on the road to take on Hannibal at 7:00 p.m. on Friday.