It has been 17 long years since I have been able to enjoy my Thanksgiving weekend in Central Illinois at the state football championships.
Thanks to head coach Darren Sunkett and his talented group of football players, everyone in the East Boogie will be heading down I-57 to Champaign to watch our Flyers take on undefeated Geneva for the IHSA Class 7A state championship.
Kickoff is scheduled for 4 p.m. on Saturday afternoon at Memorial Stadium on the campus of the University of Illinois.
The Flyers (12-1) will be going for their seventh state championship in its illustrious football history. Saturday’s game will mark the first time that the Flyers will play in the state championship game since 1991 when Bob Shannon led East Side to a 47-6 victory over Glenbard North. It marked the Flyers’ sixth state-championship and fifth in a nine-year period. Back then, I had no idea that it would take nearly two decades for the Flyers to get back into the championship mix once again, but we’re back, baby.
The Flyers advanced to the championship game with a thrilling 27-20 victory over host Glenbard West last weekend. After trailing 20-14 in the second half, the Flyers rallied with two second-half touchdowns to take the victory. The winning score came on junior Courtney Molton’s 7-yard touchdown run on a “Statue of Liberty” play with seven minutes and 55 seconds left in the game.
It has been a tremendous team effort to get the Flyers to the state finals, but senior All-American Terry Hawthorne has raised his game to a superstar level during the state playoffs. After scoring three touchdowns and intercepting two passes in the Flyers’ 35-28 victory over St. Rita in the quarterfinals, Hawthorne came up even bigger on Saturday against Glenbard West. He had six receptions for 186 yards and four touchdown on offense and 10 tackles on defense.
Hawthorne has been a tremendous player for the Flyers in all areas this season, including his 26 touchdowns. He leads the team with 46 receptions for 985 yards. He also has five punt returns for touchdowns. On defense, Hawthorne leads the team with seven interceptions.
Sunkett’s explosive offense nets more than 45 points a game. Junior quarterback Detchauz Wray has thrown for 2,366 yards and 34 touchdowns. Senior Kraig Appleton has 26 receptions for 601 yards and nine touchdowns. Molton leads the rushing attack with 1,483 yards and 20 touchdowns, but he receives ample support from Dantrell Smith and Vincent Arterbridge.
The defense is led by Hawthone, senior Ty Phillips, who has a team-high 17 quarterback sacks, and senior defensive back Tommie Hawthorne.
It has been a great run in 2008, but the job is now over Flyers’ fans. Everyone should remember Geneva from last year’s state quarterfinals when the Flyers had a 26-13 lead in the fourth quarter and they came back to tie the game. A late touchdown pass from Wray to Hawthorne gave the Flyers a 34-26 victory. The game wasn’t decided until the last play when graduated all-state lineman Brandon Harrold sacked the Geneva quarterback to stop the rally.
Get ready Champaign, “The Boogie” is coming down the highway.
