Things were not going well for East St. Louis football coach Darren Sunkett when his Flyers opened the season with three consecutive losses.
The talk around Flyers Nation, especially the “street patrol fans,” was that people were going to be putting the dogs on Coach Sunkett like a scene from the movie “Django Unchained.”
Early-season injuries, combined with a tough schedule, played a major role in those losses. And yes, you can argue that being manhandled by conference rival Edwardsville 57-32 at home was a bit surprising.
But with impressive victories against other conference rivals O’Fallon and Belleville East in the past two weeks, the Flyers seem to be taking off at the right time as they get ready for another playoff run. If you remember last season, the Flyers were 1-3 to start the season, but then got hot and advanced all the way to the IHSA Class 6A state semifinals. The Flyers are starting to look like that team again.
Leading the way for East St. Louis has been sophomore wide receiver Jeff Thomas. The top rated receiver in the class of 2017 is healthy now, and he is playing like the top performer that he was predicted to be before the season.
A healthy Thomas means that much to this team on both sides of the ball when he’s healthy PERIOD! The offense has always scored points this season. But now it seems to be soaring with an almost healthy Thomas.
Thomas is tied for the lead in the Metro East receptions (29) with Danny Hotz of Alton Marquette, and Christian Kimble of Jerseyville. His 29 receptions for 601 yards is currently second in the Metro East. He is averaging a solid 20.7 yards per reception.
But also leading this offense alongside Thomas with his decision-making and throwing ability is the smooth sophomore quarterback Reyondus Estes. Estes’ progression at the quarterback position has enabled massive lineman Tre’vour Simms and Ball State recruit Kenny Knight to protect him better. It also helps to have the 1-2 running back punch of Mizzou recruit Nate Strong and tough Marvin Young in the backfield.
Estes has put up some impressive numbers in his first five games as a high school player. He currently is rated fourth in the Metro East, completing 59 of 111 for 1,008 yards with 11 touchdowns and only two interceptions for the super sophomore.
Reyondus is a winner. He has played on all four levels at some point in the Flyers basketball program as well, logging minutes on the varsity level as well at point guard.
Having a healthy Nate Strong at running back is also big for the Flyers. He trails only Roxana running back Logan Reardon on this side of the river in rushing. Strong has 703 yards rushing this season.
The Flyers’ offense has been quite impressive, but at the end of the day the Flyers defense must continue to get better if they want to reach their ultimate goal of winning a state championship. And that seems to be coming into form as well. Some people didn’t realize that they were playing a lot of young guys early.
You have All-American defensive lineman Terry Beckner Jr. leading the way, but he is surrounded by young players, including junior Markieth McGary, who missed last season due to injuries, along with sophomores Justin Knight and Lamontre’ “State Street” Harvey, one of the best downhill young linebackers in the area.
Coach Sunkett stated last week that Jeff Thomas reminds him of former Flyers great Terry “Black -Kat” Hawthorne! Well, you know what happened the last time the Flyers coach spoke about Hawthorne as a member of one of his teams …
Get your popcorn and get ready for the next eight weeks.
