The quest for another state championship continues for the East St. Louis Flyers football team this weekend when they host Chicago Simeon in the IHSA Class 6 state quarterfinals.
Saturday afternoon’s kick-off is scheduled for 2 p.m. at Clyde C. Jordan Stadium in East St. Louis.
The Flyers advanced to Saturday’s quarterfinals by defeating Chatham-Glenwood 53-14 last weekend in front of 7,000 fans in Chatham, Illinois. It was a most interesting afternoon in Chatham for all of us who were wearing the orange and blue colors of East St. Louis Senior High.
It was a close game into the third quarter when the Flyers held a 20-14 lead, but East Side then scored 33 unanswered points to steamroll the Titans.
Standout running back Myson Johnson-Cook rushed for 257 yards and three touchdowns, including a 99-yard gallop in the third quarter. Quarterback Reece Shanklin completed 10 of his 13 passes for 203 yards and two touchdowns.
However, the Flyers’ dominant victory was somewhat marred by a multitude of subplots over the course of the afternoon. For one, East St. Louis was called for 27 penalties (unofficially) during the game. Also, there was the principal of Chatham Glenwood coming into the press box to curse out and threaten to remove the Flyers’ coaching staff from their coaching positions from the press box.
It was a day in which the fans, administrators and hecklers from Chatham-Glenwood were very upset. It wasn’t just the outcome of the game that got them upset, but the fact that the state of Illinois’ all-time winningest program was ending their undefeated season.
The kids who play for Chatham Glenwood had absolutely nothing to do with the behavior that I witnessed. The game itself was hard fought and played very well on the field. It was the fans and administrators who were the problem on Saturday.
It was the insults by some adults thrown at the East St. Louis kids and the lack of class displayed by the principal of Chatham Glenwood that was totally out of line. I will not print what I witnessed and what I heard from him. But, I will say that I’ve never seen anything like that from a school administrator acting toward the opposing coaches, who were in their designated area doing their jobs. In addition, this was going on while a live radio broadcast was happening back to the St. Louis area.
What I witnessed on Saturday in many ways set high school activities back 20 years. It took away from the spirit of sportsmanship that is supposed to be displayed by the fans and administrators. It was a day where two good football teams were competing on the field for the right to advance to the next round of the state playoffs. Instead, it turned into an adult version of Get Out of Town by Sundown for many.
It reminded me of what the Cardinal Ritter football team went through earlier this year in Ohio; just without the pepper spray. To be clear, there were many people from Chatham who were friendly and respectful hosts. But the antics of the principal and many others really turned a IHSA playoff football game into the Twilight Zone.
It’s very safe to say that I hope I never have to go back to Chatham for anything. Especially while this principal is leading young men and women.