|
The Cahokia Comanche Varsity Football team came into Saturday's contest with the Joliet Catholic Academy Hilltoppers with high hopes for continuing their season into the IHSA Class 5A quarterfinals. Led by Division 1 College recruits Jimmie Hunt and Patrick Ivy, Cahokia certainly seemed to have the talent to compete but it was not to be as the Hilltoppers ran away with the 35-12 victory over the Comanches. The Comanches quarterback and wide receiver as well as several other key players were nursing injuries sustained in last weeks win over East Peoria. From the beginning it seemed the team lacked focus and intensity as they struggled on both sides of the ball.
It may have seemd to some that the Hilltoppers offense was too much for the smaller Comanche defense. But according to Joliet Catholic Aademy Head Coach Dan Sharp, it was the Cahokia Comanche defense that dictated his teams offensive game plan. "We didn't get alot of big plays beacuse of their defense. They did a great job of limiting our big plays. They've got great speed and they are great tacklers. They recover very fast. We didn't run very many plays because of the different schemes they threw at us. Play to play we didn't know where they were going to line up. They move Erwin Fridge anywhere in their formation and they give Jimmie Hunt freedom to read the play and line up wherever he wants. So we said whatever formation they're in we can run these five plays and if they stop those we'll try something else. They basically limited our play potential with the things they did defensively." But unfortuantely for the Comanches those plays were working for the Hilltoppers. "We wanted to throw the ball more", said Coach Sharp. "We had a very hard time with their blitzes. The fact that we got somewhere around 5 yards a carry, I was very pleased with that. We used alot of misdirection and fakes in order just to give us a half step or get them to overpursue."
While the Hilltoppers were gaining confidence with each passing minute the Comanches were running out of time. The urgency and frustration was written on the faces of the players and coaches on the sideline. The Comanche defense had shut out four of their opponents this season and held three others to 6 points or less. The Comanche offense was one of the most explosive in the area capable of scoring quickly from anywhere on the field. They weren't accustomed to being in this situation. As the second half wore on the frustration hit a climax as a Comanche player shoved a member of the coaching staff. The player was benched and did not return to the lineup.
Statistically Cahokia Quarterback Patrick Ivy finished the game 6 of 17 for 119 yards, 1 touchdown and 2 interceptions. Jimmie Hunt led the rushing attack with 2 carries for 82 yards, 75 of which came on a fake punt that resulted in a third quarter touchdown for the Comanches. Brandon Gates led the Comanches in receiving with 2 receptions for 67 yards. The low numbers are a reflection of the dominance in time of possession that the Hilltoppers held over Cahokia.
Cahokia got their first touchdown of the day on a 22-yard TD pass to senior Khyree Beckley with 4:02 to play in the first quarter making it 7-6 Hilltoppers.
Josh Ferguson scored on a 47-yard TD that gave Joliet Catholic a 14-6 lead, and Marlin Jones added a 4-yard TD run in the second quarter that gave the Hilltoppers a commanding lead at the half, 21-6. Jones finished with 155 yards on 22 carries. Ferguson had 108 yards on 15 carries.
The Comanches cut the Hilltoppers lead to 9 points at 21-12 on Jimmie Hunt's 75-yard fake punt for a touchdown in the third quarter, but Hilltoppers sophomore quarterback Anthony Maddie hit junior Alex Kolodziej with a 10-yard TD pass early in the fourth quarter, and senior Jordan Lyles closed the scoring with an 8-yard TD run with 3:52 to play.
|
