Top offenses to meet when East St. Louis takes on Chatham-Glenwood in Class 6A semifinal
Led by junior quarterback Tyler Macon, a huge and talented offensive line, solid running attack and a top quartet of wide receivers, the East St. Louis Flyers have averaged nearly 52 points in rolling up 12 straight wins and have outscored their first three Class 6A playoff foes 174-28.
On Saturday at Clyde Jordan Stadium, the Flyers will host an undefeated Chatham-Glenwood Titans team that can also put up points in a hurry.
“East St. Louis has one of the top programs and football teams in the state,” Titans coach David Hay said this week. “But we’ve had a great season as well.
“From the time this group of seniors came in as freshmen they have been a special group and we knew that we had the talent and the work ethic to have this type of year. They’ve done everything we’ve asked of them.”
Making their 17th straight playoff appearance, the 12-0 Titans average 50.7 points per game will take on the top-seeded Flyers beginning at 2 p.m The winner advances to the state title game Nov. 30 at Huskie Stadium on the campus of Northern Illinois University in DeKalb.
“It’s what we’ve worked for all year,” East St. Louis defensive lineman Kevon Billingsley said after the Flyers defeated Oak Lawn Richards 60-0 last week. “All we need to do is stay focused and continue to follow the coaches game plan. We still have one more to win before we get to think about DeKalb.”
East St. Louis coach Darren Sunkett has been successful in his one game at a time approach to the season. Minutes after the Flyers defeated Richards, Sunkett said he knew nothing about the Titans.
“They are in the semifinals and so they have to be a good football team. They have a solid program up there,” Sunkett said.
The Titans, who own victories over both state powers Rochester and Springfield Sacred Heart-Griffin this season, have a balanced offensive attack. Running back Narkel LeFlore (1,388 yards, 21 TD) and quarterback Luke Lehnan (1,244, 27 TD’s) are both among the best in central Illinois.
Lehnan has also thrown for more than 2,000 yards and has 23 touchdown passes. Senior Tyler Burris is one of five Titans with more than 10 receptions and has 20 catches for 590 yards and eight touchdowns.
“We have good balance in our ability to run and throw the football. But it all starts with the offensive line. Those players have done a tremendous job up front for us all season,” Hay said. “Our football team has worked a long time for this. We know we have a tremendous challenge in front of us.”
Flyers play shutdown defense
While the Titans have a a high scoring offense, scoring against East St. Louis hasn’t been easy at times this season. The Flyers, led by Billingsley, a University of Missouri recruit, senior defensive lineman Kendrick Scarborough, linebacker Darius Walker and all-state defensive back Antonio Johnson, have allowed seven or fewer points in seven of their 12 games.
The Flyers also have four shutouts, including two in the playoffs.
“Our defense has stepped up,” Sunkett said last week. “We challenged them to hold the running back from Richards to under 100 yards and they did that. We challenged them to hold Richards scoreless for the first time all season and they did. Those guys have done a great job.”
Quarterback Tyler Macon leads a Flyers offense which averages over 530 yards of total offense a game. Macon, who was 19 of 21 for 308 yards and four touchdowns last week, has thrown for over 3,400 yards this season with 36 scoring passes.
The winner of the East St. Louis-Chatham Glenwood game will play the winner of the Crystal Lake Prairie Ridge-Deerfield game in the Class 6A state title game at 1 p.m. Nov. 30.
This story was originally published November 21, 2019 at 4:24 PM.
