The players have changed for East St. Louis, but the goal remains the same

On a sunny Friday afternoon, members of the East St. Louis High School football team made the trek of several hundred yards from their locker room to the playing surface at Clyde Jordan Stadium to begin practice.

Nearly nine months removed from winning the eighth state championship in school history and second under coach Darren Sunkett, the outward differences between the 2016 and 2017 Flyers are obvious.

Among those gone from a team which won the Class 7A state championship in November are All-American wide receiver Jeff Thomas, currently fourth on the wide receiver depth chart at University of Miami, as well as quarterback Reyondous Estes and linebacker James Knight, both of whom are looking to make their marks in the Big Ten Conference at the University of Minnesota and Illinois, respectively.

But the winning culture in East St. Louis remains the same.

Several student-athletes, including former O’Fallon quarterback Christian Perez, wanting to be part defending state champions, have transferred to East St. Louis this season. Their attitudes and goals are the same as anyone who wears the Flyers orange and blue.

East St. Louis coach Darren Sunkett would have it no other way.

“Pressure? Pressure on who?” Sunkett said smiling. “Pressure is what you make of it. I don’t think we’re feeling any pressure other than as coaches to prepare these kids and this football program to be able to compete to the best of their ability each week.

“The kids know what the goal is for everyone in this program. They just have to realize that they’ll have to work twice as hard this year to get it done.”

Ranked first in the Belleville News-Democrat Large School preseason football poll, the Flyers open their season Saturday when they play host to New Lenox Providence Catholic beginning at 5 p.m. at Clyde Jordan Stadium. The game with the 10-time IHSA state champion Celtics is the start of a difficult schedule to open the season.

East St. Louis will take on Evangel Christian Academy, of Shreveport, La., in the Gateway Scholars Football Classic at Clyde Jordan Stadium on Sept. 2 before conference rival Edwardsville comes to town in the Southwestern Conference opener Sept. 8.

The Flyers, who outscored their opponents 574-143 in rolling up a 14-0 season in 2016, return plenty of talent. Senior running back Jarrell Anderson (5-11, 195) ran for 1,477 yards and 20 touchdowns last season and will team with seniors Kevin Brown (815 yards, 15 TD’s) and Charlando Robinson (5-9, 220 pounds) give East St. Louis a strong running game.

Robinson, a bruising runner with good speed and hands, caught 29 passes for 471 yards and eight touchdowns last season. Other pass catching threats include senior Perez Hall (13 catches, 178 yards) and sophomore Lawaun Powell (12 catches, 188 yards, 1 TD). With those weapons and a huge and experienced offensive line to open the holes, East St. Louis should put up big offensive numbers again this season.

Anderson already has an offer from Syracuse University and has drawn interest from Illinois and Missouri.

“Jarrell had a good summer and he’s ready to go,” Sunkett said. “He really worked hard in the weight room and is much bigger and stronger. Then we’ve got Jigg (Kevin) Brown along with Charlando (Robinson) back there to help out.

“Everybody is saying we lost a lot and we did. But we’ve got all but one of our offensive line back, we’ve got our starting running backs returning and Charlando, Lawaun (Powell) and Perez (Hall), all of who played. Players graduate and move on. It’s part of high school sports.”

Among those expected to open the holes up front for the Flyers are seniors Walter Baxter (6-1, 275), a first team all-area selection last season as well as McKinley Whitehead (6-2, 280). But Perez will make the Flyers’ offense go in 2017.

A two-year starter at quarterback at O’Fallon, Perez transferred to East St. Louis last spring and has spent the summer learning the Flyers’ high-octane offense while bonding with his new Flyers teammates.

Verbally committed to attend the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md., next year, the 6-2, 195-pound Perez threw for more than 2,400 yards and 25 touchdowns the past two years. During the 2016 season, Perez completed 114 of 234 attempts for 1,781 yards and 18 touchdowns.

“It’s been an adjustment for Christian, but he’s come in and worked hard to learn. Our offense is pretty high-octane,” Sunkett said. “He’s a smart kid who has a strong arm but also has the ability to run the football. He’s a very good athlete.”

The Flyers lost several key players on defense but return one of the state’s top defensive lineman/linebackers in Terrion Williams (6-2, 250). Williams, who has also generated interest from Syracuse, had 96 tackles a year ago, while Owens had 66 tackles and 11 quarterback sacks.

Hall, who had 52 tackles a year ago while playing defensive back, also had almost 300 return yards a year ago.

This story was originally published August 22, 2017 at 8:02 PM with the headline "The players have changed for East St. Louis, but the goal remains the same."