East St. Louis Flyers head football coach Darren Sunkett was all smiles after his team’s victory over Hoffman Estates in the first round of the Illinois Class 7A playoffs.
Sunkett was very happy with his defensive unit that held Hoffman Estates to only 17 yards rushing and 195 yards of total offense in what was one of the team’s top defensive performances of the season.
“I’m proud of our defensive performance today,” said Sunkett. “If we continue to perform on defense during the playoffs like we did today, we will have an opportunity to make a run at the 7A state title again.”
The state’s all-time winningest program will take its show on the road this weekend for a second-round matchup at undefeated Glenbard East. Kickoff is schedule for 2 p.m. in Lombard, Illinois.
Glenbard East will be making its first playoff appearance since 1999. They have one of the state’s top quarterbacks in Brent Bushka. He passed for 399 yards and five touchdowns in a 40-14 victory over Mt. Prospect in the first round. He also rushed for 83 yards and another score.
Bushka’s main target is receiver Jeremy Johnson, who hauled in nine passes for 251 yards and four touchdowns against Mt. Prospect. Running back Jake Wetchin rushed for 104 yards, adding to Glenbard East’s total of 628 yards on the day.
However, Glenbard East might have wanted to hold on to some of those offensive yards as the Flyers’ high-octane offense is averaging more than 50 points a game this season.
Sophomore quarterback Tyler Macon has passed for 1,899 yards and 21 touchdowns and only four interceptions. Macon has also rushed for 1,092 yards and 17 touchdowns.
The Flyers’ backfield also features a pair of 1,000-yard rushers in DeMonta Witherspoon and Treven Swingler. Witherspoon has rushed for 1,100 yards and 15 touchdowns while Swingler has for 1,105 yards and 15 touchdowns.
Wide receiver Antonio “A.J” Johnson has 26 receptions for 492 yards and six touchdowns while LaWaun Powell Jr. has 30 receptions for 679 yards and 8 touchdowns. In addition, wide receiver Keontez Lewis had 18 receptions for 318 yards and five touchdowns.
If East St. Louis wants to have Thanksgiving dinner in Champaign and play for the state championship, its defense will have to perform for the next four weeks. The defense will lean heavily on defensive tackle Demond Taylor, a Northern Illinois recruit who has 95 tackles. Linebacker Sydney Houston has 88 solo tackles while Kendrick Scarborough has seven quarterback sacks.
The Flyers are making their unprecedented 48th appearance in the state playoffs and they seem to be clicking on all cylinders as they head to Chicago this weekend. And Flyers’ fans will be in full force cheering them on.
Scott’s Notes:
*The Cahokia Comanches will host Carbondale in the second round of the Class 5 state playoffs on Saturday at 3 p.m. It has been a very nice season for the Comanches, who are 8-1 and champions of the South Seven Conference.
However, you Cahokia fans need to stop it with the “All Gas, No Brakes” chant on social media. That has been an East St. Louis slogan for more than 15 years. You guys haven’t made the playoffs since 2009. Enjoy your season. I don’t think the LeBron James production company will be making a documentary on your football team until you guys put some football trophies in the case and produce some football scholarships.
