It seemed like old times in East St. Louis on a Saturday afternoon in November.
More than 7,000 people were in attendance at Clyde C. Jordan Stadium to see the Flyers’ football team that is in the hunt for an IHSA state championship. Darren Sunkett’s talented young team was in quite a battle with an undefeated Geneva team that came in as the No. 1 seed in their bracket.
Such games were commonplace back in the day as the Flyers were consistent visitors to Normal, Ill., the site of the state championship game. Old Parsons Field would come alive for what would become a community event in the East Boogie.
Before the game, you could get you get anything you wanted to eat from the dozens of people who were stoking up the grill outside the stadium. Once you got inside, you were treated to a show, courtesy of Bob Shannon’s nationally-ranked Flyers, as they were on their way to another state championship. The atmosphere was electric, and the quality of play was even better.
Those old feelings were starting to stir up in my soul last Saturday as I called the Flyers’ game against Geneva in the Class 7A state quarterfinals at Jordan Stadium for local cable television. The Flyers came away with an exciting 34-26 victory over Geneva to advance to the state semifinals for the first time since 1995. East Side will travel to undefeated Wheaton Warrenville South for Saturday’s semifinals at 1 p.m. Wheaton Warrenville won the Class 8A state title last year.
Thanks to coach Darren Sunkett and his talented group of young bucks, the folks of East St. Louis are talking about winning championships and taking on the big boys up North once again. As I looked around the stadium on Saturday, I could see many of the great former Flyers in attendance, watching these youngsters carry on the great tradition of Flyers’ football.
I was proud of that fighting spirit that the young Flyers displayed, even when Geneva fought back from a 26-6 deficit to tie the game in the fourth quarter at 26-26. Never one to play it safe, Sunkett’s offense faced a fourth down and nine at the Geneva 26-yard line. Sunkett decided to go for it, and the final result was the winning touchdown on a great catch by junior Terry Hawthorne.
The 6’3” Hawthorne is one of many talented underclassmen who have made the Flyers’ offense go during their 11-1 season. Hawthorne has 41 receptions for 973 yards and 15 touchdowns, while fellow junior receiver Kraig Appleton has 38 receptions for 850 yards and 11 touchdowns. Throwing them the ball is sophomore Detchauz Wray, who has passed for 1,982 yards and 23 touchdowns.
The bread-and-butter of the Flyers’ offense has been the double-threat running combination of sophomore Courtney Molton and freshman Vincent Arterbridge. Arterbridge rushed for 182 yards and two touchdowns against Geneva while Molton rushed for 126 yards and one score. For the season, Molton has rushed for 1,288 yards while Arterbridge has run for 1,152 yards. Both backs have scored 16 touchdowns. I haven’t seen such a talented tandem of backs this young in Flyers’ uniforms.
The best part about this crew is that all of them will be back next season.
The anchor of the defense has been All-American candidate Brandon Harold at defensive end. The 6’7” 260-pound Harold had a key sack late in the game to preserve the Flyers’ victory. He is being recruited by several major colleges around the country. Keeping it all together is Sunkett, who has a chance to accomplish something really special. If he wins two more games, he would have won state championships in Illinois and Missouri at the large-school level. That would be a first.
The road to the championship game will be a difficult one. Standing in the Flyers’ way is a talented Wheaton Warrenville South team that is riding a 26-game winning streak. After winning the Class 8A state title a year ago with a 14-0 record, the Tigers have been dropped to Class 7A. They are the champions of the DuPage Valley Conference, which is annually one of the top football conferences in the Midwest region.
There are eight busloads of fans expected to make the trip North for the big showdown, not to mention a caravan of cars.
Get ready, East Side. It’s on again.
