RB Dave Matichak, QB Mark Morel and future Bears lineman Tom Thayer led the offense, and defensive standouts included DL John Piazza and DBs Paul Carberry and Tim Tyrell. The 1988 team, led by QB Efrem Haymore, outscored its opponents 520-66 and 200-40 in the playoffs. CHAMPAIGN - East St. Louis was tired of hearing how it couldn't stop the triple-option. He also played free safety during the playoffs and had two interceptions in the semifinals and another in the final against Addison Trail while throwing four and three TDs in those games. They kept plugging away.. Why the Hilltoppers were great: It's hard to pick the best of their four straight 4A champions from 1975-78. St. Laurence`s Ernie Wulff, a second-string fullback, scored from the 7 to tie the game and Matt Oskalunas kicked the extra point to win it. One bobble set up an early field goal and the last lost fumble stopped the Vikings on the Glenbard West 13 with 38 seconds left in regulation. Art Sargent scored on a 33-yard pass from Kerwin Price and took an interception 70 yards for a score on a dazzling broken-field run 92 seconds later. East St. Louis played in its third consecutive championship game, and had the playoffs not been canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic in 2020 Sunkett believes it would have been four. We were really going out and doing it for my brother Jaylon, McVay said. Sean King, Special to STLhighschoolsports.com, East St. Louis' Michael Tillman (12) breaks up a pass intended for Prairie Ridge's Luke Vanderwiel (6) during a state 6A championship game at Memorial Stadium in Champaign on Saturday, Nov 26, 2022. Ten players went on to play Division I football. Just ask the East St. Louis Flyers football team. QB Mark Venegoni passed for 1,629 yards and 15 TDs and rushed for 782 and 17 but missed the championship game with an injury. A year after finishing as runner up to Cary-Grove in a 37-36 heartbreaker, East Side was not going to be denied again. They topped 40 points 11 times and allowed seven or fewer points nine times. In a Catholic League playoff game against Loyola, Marek couldn't play, but Sherwin Hunt filled in with 200 yards in a 26-8 win. McVay is a 6-6, 330-pound senior committed to Alabama. That kicked off the mercy rule running clock the rest of the game. For 1 1/2 quarters it was a scoreless game, but when the scoring began, it never stopped. Their 1970 team that didn't allow a point all season earns the right to be called the best of the bunch. After the game, Lenti still going strong in 2017 with 374 wins and 11 state titles and counting in his 34th season said: "I told the kids it was (a matchup of) two of the greatest traditions in state football history, and it was an opportunity for them to be remembered as one of the greatest teams at Mount Carmel. . RBs Bob Hanlon and Robert Kelly went on to play for Notre Dame's 1943 national champions. He went on to play football at Michigan State. Battle connected with senior Antwon Hayden for the two-point conversion and an 8-7 lead. Photos: Chicago Bulls and Detroit Pistons in Paris, Aurora Pride files lawsuit against city stemming from parade controversy, Mayor Lori Lightfoots campaign spending outpacing how much shes raising, Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information. Congratulations to Rico Bond, Robert (Pops) Battle and Dominic Dixon for being selected the East St. Louis players of the game. They defeated Englewood 111-0 in 1911 and Evanston 101-0 in 1912. {{start_at_rate}} {{format_dollars}} {{start_price}} {{format_cents}} {{term}}, {{promotional_format_dollars}}{{promotional_price}}{{promotional_format_cents}} {{term}}, Area college signings: NCAA Division I and II, Area college signings: NCAA Division III, NAIA, JUCO, Dress code for women legislators debated in Missouri House, From his home in California, Nolan Arenado says he wants to be a lifelong Cardinal, Matt Holliday resigns as Cardinals bench coach; Super Joe McEwing joins staff, Messenger: St. Louis County jury to landlord: you cant steal a renters stuff, 'Problematic' blackout rules must change as sports networks struggle, Cardinals say, Maryland Heights man charged in case of headless torso found along I-70 in 2004, FOX's Mark Titus says Illinois basketball is better without Skyy Clark, who left the team, Cardinals commit $30 million to dodge arbitration with 7 players, but 2 head for hearings, Cardinals ink deals with Jack Flaherty, Jordan Montgomery, five others, per sources. Playoff victory margin: 30.2 points (Sandburg 43-6, Wheaton South 29-18, Larkin 42-6, Glenbard East 49-7, Schaumburg 56-31). They beat Vocational 42-7 in the Prep Bowl behind 231 yards and four TDs from RB John Byrne in front of 81,270 fans at Soldier Field, capping a season in which they outscored opponents 348-60. Why the Corsairs were great: They rushed for 4,196 yards behind "The Great Wall of Carmel," an offensive line led by Dan Osterhout (6-2, 280), Drew Cairo-Gross (6-3, 295) and Luke Krombach (6-4, 255). Sean King, Special to STLhighschoolsports.com, East St. Louis fans cheer their team against Prairie Ridge during a state 6A championship game at Memorial Stadium in Champaign on Saturday, Nov 26, 2022. Flanagan quarterback Jim Braksick connected with Gregg Gundy on an 18-yard pass, and the Falcons went on to beat heavily favored Concord Triopia 13-8 in the Class 1A final. Stadler took over, whipsawing Deerfield downfield. Prairie Ridges Tyler Vasey (7) looks on after taking second place in the IHSA Class 6A state football game against East St. Louis. Why the Friars were great: They outscored opponents 317-32, including a 40-0 Prep Bowl win over Schurz that was highlighted by All-America RB Jim DiLullo's 224 yards and five TDs on 12 carries in front of 91,328 fans at Soldier Field. QB Anthony Kropp passed for 3,010 yards and 31 TDs. East St. Louis state champs for the 10th time in program history, Body of 22-year-old missing since 2017 found, Illinois family says. Saturday also marked the 14th time in program history that the Flyers appeared in a state championship game. Playoff victory margin: 22.0 (Belvidere 30-13, T.F. Playoff victory margin: 24.8 (Normal West 45-0, Taylorville 49-8, Springfield Sacred Heart-Griffin 52-35, Pontiac 28-20, Metamora 27-14). "We let them down last year." McVay is a 6-6, 330-pound senior committed to Alabama. You cant match up with that talent. East Side sophomore receiver Christopher Bennett Jr. capped the Flyers ensuing 56-yard drive with a 13-yard touchdown run for a 43-7 lead. Once we got here we did a great job.. Sean King, Special to STLhighschoolsports.com, East St. Louis' TaRyan Martin (6) Carries the ball for a touchdown against Prairie Ridge during a state 6A championship game at Memorial Stadium in Champaign on Saturday, Nov 26, 2022. He rushed for 539 yards and 12 TDs as a sophomore in 1999, 2,073 and 29 in 2000 and 2,340 and 37 in 2001. No one injured. Playoff victory margin: 26.4 points (Stevenson 63-29, Loyola 26-7, Barrington 42-0, Bartlett 23-6, Hinsdale Central 41-21). RB Russ Calabrese and Mike Mannott each rushed for more than 1,000 yards. The Flyers have qualified for three consecutive state championship games, the first East St. Louis program to tout that achievement since the team claimed two runner-up finishes and a 6A state . Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Vintage 90s East St. Louis Flyers Football Illinois State Champions T-Shirt M at the best online prices at eBay! 9 in USA Today national rankings. Those mistakes cant happen, especially with our offense, Vasey said. East St Louis DaMonta Witherspoon ran for. Similarly, a recent run of dominant Class 6A champions from Prairie Ridge, Nazareth, Springfield Sacred Heart-Griffin and Cary-Grove were too hard to differentiate from each other to include one over the others. Gone were the undefeated ''mythical'' state champions from the suburbs or Downstate. The reason he was so effective? Added senior right tackle Miles McVay, He decided to let his arm go to work today.. Sean King, Special. His only pass completion of the day started the march and his 15-yard run to the Joliet 8 set up the dramatic finale. The Flyers secured the 10th state football title in program history by virtue of a 57-7 win against Prairie Ridge in the IHSA Class 6A championship game Saturday at Memorial Stadium on the. Haydens 69-yard touchdown run midway through the fourth quarter extended the lead to 56-7. And with [East St. Louis] being so fast.. The Flyers football team had a perfect season. 8 in USA Today's national rankings. Sean King, Special to STLhighschoolsports.com, East St. Louis' Christopher Bennett Jr (3) reacts after scoring a touchdown against Prairie Ridge during a state 6A championship game at Memorial Stadium in Champaign on Saturday, Nov 26, 2022. With the state football playoffs, the nature of the sport in Illinois high schools changed forever. More specifically, the Flyers averaged a whopping 13.9 yards per play, compared to just 3.5 for the Wolves. Dynasties get represented once. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Copyright 2023 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This story was originally published November 26, 2022 5:33 PM. McHugh, Carey and FB Dan Shannon were named All-Americans, and OL Ted Cachey would be a captain at Michigan. Get the Android Weather app from Google Play, Chiefs Jerick McKinnon breaks down recovery process, Mahomes reveals how he celebrated first playoff win, TKO: Cheering dilemma, Jerry Jones or Tom Brady. LB Mark Zavagnin played at Notre Dame, and QB Mark Strimel played at Purdue. They beat Tilden 46-13 in front of 95,000 fans at Soldier Field to win the Prep Bowl on Nov. 29, 1941, eight days before the bombing of Pearl Harbor. Battle then hooked up with Bond for a 41-yard touchdown pass with 33 seconds left in the quarter for a 49-7 lead. The Flyers compete in the Southwestern Conference. They did not allow a point throughout the playoffs, winning their four games by a combined 106-0. Two years of Flyers football during that period were the subject of a book, The Right Kind of Heroes . They capped a run of three straight state titles, finishing with national rankings of 2 in 1984 and 4 in 1983. Sean King, Special to STLhighschoolsports.com, East St. Louis' Antwon Hayden (0) scores a touchdown against Prairie Ridge during a state 6A championship game at Memorial Stadium in Champaign on Saturday, Nov 26, 2022. prior to the game, the flyers held a skate for local lgbtq+ youth and officers from the greater philadelphia g.o.a.l organization, whose mission is to "advocate for and on behalf of lgbtq+ first. Battle found senior linebacker and tight end Antwon Jojo Hayden for a 2-point conversion to give East Side an 8-7 lead with 5:10 remaining in the first. With Glenbrook trailing 13-6 early in the fourth quarter, Don Broadbridge, who began his football career as a third-string quarterback on the freshman B team, threw a 50-yard touchdown pass to Sam Poulos. The Flyers entered the old Class 5A state final, the biggest division at the time, with a 12-0 record, a host of sensational running backs nicknamed the. Talent-wise, we obviously met our match, Wolves coach Chris Schremp said. East Side sent the 6-foot-7 McVay, the 6-foot-5 Patterson and the 6-foot-3 Henderson out for the opening coin toss and they simply dwarfed their Prairie Ridge counterparts. They displayed offensive balance with 2,802 rushing yards and 2,799 passing yards, led by QB Emmett Clifford, RB Dara Laja and All-State brothers Sam and Jack Badovinac on the line. Sophomore TaRyan Martin, meanwhile, rushed for 174 yards and three touchdowns on 17 carries and credited the offensive line for his performance. 15 in USA Todays national rankings. From then on the only way to brag about being No. Here then is our view of the top 32 high school football teams in Illinois history. This is an archived article and the information in the article may be outdated. Gillespie said his first state champs were his best, but the '78 team's defensive dominance gives them the edge here. Joliet wins one of the most exciting title games in history 8-7. 6, finished their outstanding campaign at 12-2 and on an 11-game winning streak. The number 10 sure has a nice ring to it. They trailed only once all season, 7-0 against Stagg in an eventual 42-13 win. It was big (for me to win it) because I wanted to come back and finish (state), said Battle. The company said it will also be making changes to its hardware portfolio and consolidating its leased office locations. Why the Lions were great: Five-foot-six QB Babe Baranowski (Illinois, Georgetown) was described as the "legend of his day." The team was named national champion by the National Sports News Service. The triple option has many benefits, but moving the ball over a long distance in a hurry is not one of them. For the game, Battle completed 10 of 12 passes for 207 yards and two touchdowns and rushed for 63 yards and another touchdown. Saturday's 57-7 drubbing against Prairie Ridge - one of the state's premiere triple-option teams - to win the Class 6A state championship should silence any doubters. Congratulations to Taryan Martin, Keshawn Hayden and Rico Bond for being selected the East St. Louis players of the game. I cant say enough about our group of guys. The 1912 team put up a point differential of 431-17, again with eight shutouts. We had great leadership, and those guys knew what it took to get back here.. Last chance! Three players RB Ira Matthews, DE Jerry Holloway and LB Stuart Walker were selected in the NFL draft, and QB Dean Schlueter, RB Russell Pope and RB Joe Black were stars as well. 1974: Glenbrook North-East St. Louis was a king waiting to be crowned. Edwards. The Mid-Suburban League's first state champion was the only undefeated team in any class in 1986. When they have D-I talent up and down the lineup and right now we dont even have a kid that is going to play in college, the matchup is tough.. Hard work pays We End on Top as State Champs #AllGasNoBrakes #RollTide #CityofChampions 0:23 1.9K views Why the Wildcats were great: RB LaMarr Thomas was an All-Stater in football and basketball, helping Thornton win the 1965 mythical football state championship and the 1966 hoops state title in the same school year. Sean King, Special to STLhighschoolsports.com, East St. Louis' Robert Battle (9) carries the ball on a keeper against Prairie Ridge during a state 6A championship game at Memorial Stadium in Champaign on Saturday, Nov 26, 2022. The Flyers, perhaps the finest team in state history, scored three times in the final 3:56 of the second period to open the floodgates. The 1937 city championship is legendary for packing an estimated 120,000 about 45,000 over capacity into Soldier Field to see Austin defeat Leo 26-0 on Nov. 28. Though their paths have separated since, the two teams still have some rough and tumble games.. Price ended with four TD passes. TROY, Ill. Triad High didnt have to look far to find its new football coach. It was big. Thats all we heard from the time we lost the state championship last year until this week. Ranked No. The 58-point difference is the largest margin of victory in the history of college football championship contests, surpassing Nebraska's demolition of Florida in 1995. The five guys in front of me work hard every game.. loud single in extra innings makes Benilde-St. Margaret's the Class 3A champ; By RON HAGGSTROM . We let the city down last year. They outscored their opponents 455-159, including 191-38 in playoffs, and went 7-0 in the Catholic Blue. Pulling guards Rob Weigmann and Todd Moore, wearing bright orange towels behind them as guides to the runners, spearheaded a 79-yard, 15-play drive that ate up more than seven minutes. Georgia smashed TCU, 65-7, when all was said and done. Battles nifty 26-yard touchdown run with 5:28 left in the third quarter, followed by Bonds PAT, swelled the lead to 36-7. Fans of small- and medium-sized schools especially Bishop McNamara, Driscoll, Montini, Geneseo, Metamora, Rochester and Phillips' historic 2015 squad have a right to be upset at their teams' absence here, but their best squads just did not play the level of competition that make comparisons to the teams represented here possible. Sean King, Special to STLhighschoolsports.com, East St. Louis' Robert Battle (9) throws a pass for a touchdown against Prairie Ridge during a state 6A championship game at Memorial Stadium in Champaign on Saturday, Nov 26, 2022. This would have been Jaylon McKenzies senior year. The 6-3, 195-pound senior had 13 solo tackles and five assists as the Spartans shut down most of the Flyers` running and passing attack. East St. Louis players celebrate their victory over Prairie Ridge for the state 6A football championship at Memorial Stadium in Champaign on Saturday, Nov 26, 2022. 21 in USA Today's national rankings. 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