With semifinal victory, East St. Louis gets shot at 11th state football championship

East St. Louis senior quarterback Robert “Pops” Battle made sure that the Flyers would return to IHSA Class 6A championship game on Saturday.

Battle, who is headed to Lindenwood University next year, threw for three touchdowns and broke off a 57-yard touchdown run late in the fourth quarter helping to drive the Flyers to a 34-18 win over Washington in a Class 6A semifinal game at Washington High School.

Fourth-seeded East St. Louis (11-2) will face No. 3 Cary Grove (11-2) for the Class 6A championship next Saturday at 1 p.m. at Hancock Stadium on the campus of Illinois State University.

Special teams got East Side rolling early as Jaion Jackson returned the opening kickoff 82 yards to the house for a quick 7-0 lead.

Washington responded with a 27-yard Devon Miller field goal cutting the lead to 7-3 at the end of the first quarter.

East Side got its passing going in the second quarter as Battle connected with Rico Bond n a 16-yard touchdown pass with 9:10 left in the second quarter. Battle and Bond hooked up again midway through the third quarter on an 8-yard scoring strike, extending the lead to 20-3.

Battle hit Jesse Watson for a 5-yard touchdown toss making it 26-3 with 8:42 left.

The Panthers responded with 4:40 left on a 1-yard Kainon McQueary touchdown and a Maysin Burke to Tyler Brown two-point conversion pass, trimming the lead to 26-11.

After recovering the onside kick, Washington drove 40 yards and scored on an 8-yard McQueary run, shaving the deficit to 26-18.

On the Flyers next series, Battle put the game on ice, racing 57 yards through the Panthers defense for a back-breaking touchdown with 2:50 left to go.

Defending champ East St. Louis will be seeking its 11th state championship next Saturday and looking to win its fourth state title since 2016. Washington saw its season end at 11-2.

This story was originally published November 18, 2023 at 11:57 PM with the headline "With semifinal victory, East St. Louis gets shot at 11th state football championship."