Of the St. Louis American
Best Football Team: The 1989 East St. Louis Flyers won the IHSA Class 5A state title with a 14-0 record. The Flyers had it all. They had an All-American linebacker in Dana Howard to lead the defense. They had star-power of offense with receivers Kenneth Dunn, Homer Bush, quarterback Rollie Nevilles and an outstanding young tailback named Chris Moore. East Side displayed championship heart in the state semifinals on its last-minute 94-yard drive in the wind and snow that ended up in a winning touchdown and a 13-10 victory over Carl Sandburg. The Flyers then routed Harvey Thornton 55-8 in the finals while setting several records in the process. It was the fifth state title of six won by East Side under legendary coach Bob Shannon.
Best Basketball Team (Boys): There are two to choose from here. The 1988 Vashon Wolverines won the Missouri Class 4A title with a roster that was loaded beyond belief. How loaded. They had three major Division I recruits in 7’0” Melvin Robinson, 6’10” Montrell Nash and point guard Anthony Jones, who came off the bench. The starters were Sean Tunstall and Malcolm Nash (Kansas), Cory Warner (Missouri State), Glover Cody (Texas-Arlington) and Kenneth Simpson (Missouri Western). The Wolverines finished the season with a national Top 5 ranking in most of the nationwide high school polls. The other great team was the 1987 East St. Louis Lincoln Tigers, who won the IHSA Class AA title, the first of three in succession. The Tigers had one of the nation’s most dominant front lines, led by 6’9” All-American LaPhonso Ellis, who went on to star at Notre Dame and be a NBA first-round drart choice. Ellis was joined up front by 6’7” Chris Rodgers and 6’7” James Harris, who played football and basketball at Temple and eventually the National Football League. The Tigers whipped Chicago King and All-American Marcus Liberty for the state title.
Best Basketball Team (Girls): The 1997 Gateway Tech girls won the Missouri Class 4A title and completed an undefeated season at 28-0. The Jaguars featured five players that went on to play NCAA Division I basketball. They included Christian Shelton (Saint Louis U.), Tara “Peaches” Harris (Charlotte), Tiana Ford (Louisville), LaTasha Thompson (Texas-San Antonio) and Diana Hill (Central Florida). The Jaguars served notice to everyone in January of ’97 when they defeated powerful St. Joseph’s at the Martin Luther King Classic at Maryville University. They defeated Jackson 42-41 for the state championship.
Best Track Team (Boys): These two teams came along 10 years apart. The 1996 Berkeley boys scored a whopping 98 points in winnng the Class 3A state title. The Bulldogs were led by super combination jumper Lavar Miller, sprinter Willie Moore and a talented cast. The 2006 Cahokia Comanches dominated the area scene all season en route to winning the IHSA Class AA state title with a state-record 94.3 points. Senior Kali Jackson was the top triple jumper in the country while a star-studded group of sprinters gave Cahokia an abundance of depth and some fantastic relays.
Best Track Team (Girls): Which Nino Fennoy-led East St. Louis Lincoln girls state-championship team do you want to choose? How about the 1988 team that scored 121 points in streaking to a state title. The Tigerettes were loaded with top athletes such as Carmelita Williams, Cynthia Tylor, xx, xx and xx.
Best Individual Season: In 1990, Belleville Althoff senior tailback Hickey Thompson ran into the record books when he rushed for 3,105 yards in leading the Crusaders to the IHSA Class 3A state title. After missing most of his junior with year a broken foot, Thompson came back with a vengence as a senior. He rushed for a season-high of 410 yards against Monticello. In the state-championship game against Rock Island Alleman, Thompson rushed for 257 yards and three touchdowns in the Crusaders’ 21-13 victory.
My Favorite Nicknames: Vanessa “Nurse” Smith (Northwest Basketball ’88), Brian “Hi Ho” Silver (Troy ’88); Nathaniel “Snoop” xx (Normandy Track ’05); Andre “Meat Dog” Cooper (Sumner Football ’95); Demarco “Book” Snipes (Alton Basketball ’00); Felicia “Smooth” James (Normandy Track ’03); Lorenzo “Man Man” Gordon (Vashon Basketball ’00); Willie “Flash” Moore (Berkeley Track ’96); Curleta “Blondie” Harris (Metro Basketball ’98); Andrew “Smokey” Evans (Cardinal Ritter Basketball ’91); Kevin “Curley” Kullum (Brentwood Basketball ’91); Duane “Scooter” Hawthorne (Ladue Football ’93); Marquis “Shug” Walker (Sumner/Berkeley ’90); Jonathan “Roundhead” Rodgers, Ritenour Track ’89)
Best All-Around Athlete: In 1992, Parkway Central star Isaac Byrd led the Colts to the Class 5A Show-Me Game as the team’s starting quarterback. He averaged nearly 20 points a game for the basketball team that advanced to the Final Four of the state tournament. He was also a starting pitcher and outstanding outfielder on the Colts baseball team that advanced to the state-championship game. Isaac Byrd did it all and he did it at an incredibly high level.
Best Individual Rivalry: From 1994-97, Larry Hughes of CBC and Johnnie Parker of Webster Groves waged several terrific battles on the basketball court. Both players led their teams to state championships during this era and each player had a game-winning moment as well. Hughes hit a last-second 3-pointer to give CBC a one-point victory in a district championship game when both were freshman. In ’96, Parker had a tip-in at the buzzer to give the Statesmen a victory in a regular-season game. Together, they helped lead the St. Louis Eagles’ summer basketball team to the 1996 Amateur Athletic Union National Championship.
From Sports to Hip-Hop: It’s amazing to watch how so many athletes that I covered become young rap stars on the hip-hop scene. For the record, I did not cover Nelly during his prep baseball career at U. City, but I covered St. Lunatic member Ali (Ali Jones) averaged more than 25 points a game during his career at Valley Park. Willie Moore (a.k.a. P-Dub/Pretty Willie) was a state-champion sprinter at Berkeley in the mid-1990’s. Shaunessi Holmes (“Shaunessi”) was a starting forward for Gateway Tech’s Final Four basketball team in 2002. Gerald Fulton, Jr., who just finished a fine football career at Hazelwood East, is also “Yung Holla,” an up-and-coming rapper. Another young up-and-comer if recent Lindbergh High basketball standout Richard Williams, who is part of the group THC.
Top Family Moment: Watching my younger brother, Richard Austin, helped Cardinal Ritter win a Class 2A basketball championship in 1995 while achieving a national ranking against several top teams from around the country. Richard was a starting guard on a team that was led by All-Americans Chris Carrawell and Loren Woods. When Ritter played Urbana Skyline for the state title, I sat in the same exact seat at the Hearnes Center that I did nine years earlier when I watched my sister Courtney’s McCluer North team defeat Hickman Mills for the Class 4A girls state title.
The Dynasties: During my 20 years, the Vashon boys’ basketball team has won seven state championships, the East. St. Louis Lincoln girls track team has won six state titles, the Lincoln boys’ basketball team won state titles in ’87, ’88 and ’89 to become the first Illinois ever to with three consecutive state titles…The Lutheran North football team won three consecutive Class 3A state titles in ’88, ’89, and ’90.