East St. Louis, Crete-Monee set for playoff rematch in IHSA Class 6A quarterfinals

The East St. Louis and Crete-Monee football teams have history — and recent history at that.

Just last year, the two programs met in the IHSA Class 6A semifinals, with the visiting Flyers blistering the Warriors 54-13. Now, the two teams will meet again — this time in the quarterfinals as sixth-seeded East St. Louis will host seventh-seeded Crete-Monee at 1 p.m. Saturday with a berth into the semifinals on the line.

Warriors coach John Konecki is excited to face the Flyers again with a chance to move one step closer toward a state championship.

“They are a very storied program,” he said Wednesday morning. “They are very talented. Coach (Darren) Sunkett and his staff do a fantastic job. They have a great offensive line. They’re tremendously talented but, more importantly, they’re very well coached. The East St. Louis staff has their kids ready to play week in and week out. They play tremendously and that’s evident when watch them on film.”

As far as any takeaways from last year’s game, Konecki said, “It’s hard to compare the two teams, because, obviously, personnel in high school changes. I think we both have a pretty good idea of what both teams want to do and who we are. They were as good as advertised last year. We’re just looking forward to the opportunity to play them on Saturday.”

East St. Louis coach Darren Sunkett did not return multiple messages from the BND for this story.

Both teams enter the game red hot, with East St. Louis on an eight-game winning streak and Crete-Monee having won nine-straight. The Flyers’ closest contest during this run was a 26-7 win against Edwardsville; otherwise, they’ve been obliterating teams, including 71-0 and 40-0 wins in the playoffs.

Meanwhile, some key early injuries contributed to the Warriors’ 0-2 start. Since healthy, Konecki’s club has played terrific football, including victories over Joliet Catholic (ranked No. 1 in Class 4A), Kankakee (ranked No. 1 in 5A) and Chicago Simeon (seeded No. 2 in 6A) in last weekend’s second round.

“We’ve had to play some really good football teams to get to this place,” Konecki said. “We had some injuries early on and we fought through that and the kids really persevered. We made some changes in positions, put guys in the right spot. We’ve been playing some really good football here the last couple weeks.”

East St. Louis again features a high-powered offense led by junior quarterback Robert Battle, who has thrown from 1,635 yards and 20 touchdowns while rushing for another eight scores. Sophomore TaRyan Martin highlights a stout rushing attack with 946 yards and 15 touchdowns, while Jesse Watson leads a talented wide receiver corps with seven touchdowns.

On defense, junior Dominic Dixon anchors the Flyers with 97 solo tackles and nine sacks while University of Illinois recruit Antwon Hayden has 81 total tackles. Not to forgotten is 6-7, 343-pound offensive lineman Miles McVay, who is committed to the University of Alabama.

Overall, since starting 1-2, the Flyers have averaged nearly 54 points per game while allowing a little less than five points per contest and posting five shutouts.

Scouting the Warriors

Meanwhile, Crete-Monee’s offense — which has posted 40 or more points six times during the winning streak — features D-I talents Josh Franklin and Lynel Billups-Williams, both seniors. Franklin moved from quarterback last year to wideout this year and has 47 receptions and six touchdowns. He will continue his football career at Western Michigan.

Billups-Williams, meanwhile, has 73 receptions for 1,582 and 21 touchdowns. He will continue his career at Miami of Ohio.

“They have both done a fantastic job,” Konecki said.

Throwing to that duo is senior quarterback Corey Stennis, who has passed for 1,858 yards and 25 touchdowns, earning this praise from Konecki, “He has done a really nice job for us and has done a fantastic job managing our team.”

Other key personnel

Konecki also praised his offensive line, noting, “They had some pretty significant injuries early on. That group has come together and gelled nicely.”

He also highlighted senior safety Jamier Miller (seven interceptions), senior defensive back Edward Clark, senior middle linebacker Tyrell Hester and senior defensive lineman Kendall Taggart.

“We play good football in all phases,” Konecki said. “We have guys who can play 48 minutes of football. This is a group of kids who gives their best effort day in and day out at our school.”

Relishing the opportunity

Looking toward Saturday, Konecki simply is thrilled to still be playing.

“Obviously, I think the biggest thing and the takeaway for all of us is there’s eight teams left in our class,” he said. “There’s eight classes in the state of Illinois. When you’re at this point, these are great games. There’s 64 teams left in Illinois and we’re just excited to have the opportunity to be playing football.

“Playing football in November in Illinois is special. We’re looking forward to the opportunity to go to East St. Louis and play against a very good football team.”

Snapshot of East St. Louis & Crete-Monee

Records/seeds: East St. Louis is 9-2 and seeded No. 6. Crete-Monee is 9-2 and seeded No. 7.

Kickoff: 1 p.m. Saturday.

More about East St. Louis, Crete-Monee: The Flyers won the Southwestern Conference with a 5-0 mark. The Warriors won the Southland Conference with a 6-0 record. East St. Louis has won 8-straight games and Crete-Monee has won 9-straight contests.

Second round playoff game: The Flyers defeated Normal Community West 40-0. The Warriors defeated Chicago Simeon 35-12.

Next game: The winner will face either No. 13 seed Chicago Kenwood (8-3) or No. 1 seed Lemont High School (11-0) in the semifinals.

East St. Louis players to watch: QB Robert Battle (130-219, 1,635 yards, 20 TD; 89 rushes, 579 yards, 8 TD); RB Larevious Woods (113 rushes, 761 yards, 12 TD); RB TaRyan Martin (122 rushes, 946 yards, 15 TD); WR Christopher Bennett Jr. (34 catches, 425 yards, 3 TD); WR Jesse Watson (26 receptions, 341 yards, 7 TD); LB Dominic Dixon (97 tackles, 33 assists, 130 total tackles, 9 sacks).

Crete-Monee players to watch: QB Corey Stennis (1,858 yards, 25 TD); WR Lynel Billups-Williams (73 receptions, 1,582 yards, 21 TD); WR Josh Franklin (47 receptions, 6 TD).

This story was originally published November 11, 2022 at 7:00 AM.