East St. Louis captures state football championship No. 9 with win over Prairie Ridge
It was cold, it was windy and it was wet.
But neither the Crystal Lake Prairie Ridge Wolves or the elements could chill the East St. Louis Flyers and stop them from winning their ninth state football championship Saturday at Huskie Stadium in DeKalb.
Flyers Junior quarterback Tyler Macon threw a 60-yard touchdown pass to Dominic Lovett with just over four minutes left in the third quarter to break a 14-14 tie and East St. Louis went on for a 43-21 win in the Class 6A championship game.
“Man, we worked for this. All of us in the weight room since January to get for this season and this game,” Flyers senior offensive tackle Javontez Spraggins said in the post game press conference. “I can’t tell you how proud I am. I wouldn’t have wanted to do this with any other group of guys.”
East St. Louis finishes its season at 14-0. Prairie Ridge, which had won three Class 6A titles since 2011, ends its season at 12-2.
The winning score was set up by a Flyers’ defensive stand early in the third quarter. East St. Louis stopped the Wolves four times inside the 10 yard line.
Lovett added a 5-yard touchdown reception and defensive lineman Darran Perkins rumbled 90 yards on a fumble return to put the finishing touch on the Flyers’ perfect season.
The state championship is the third for coach Darren Sunkett at East St. Louis. Led by current assistant coach Terry Hawthorne, East St. Louis won the Class 7A title in 2008 and then won the Class 7A title again in 2016. The first six state Flyers state championships came under the direction of head coach Bob Shannon.
Sunkett also won a Missouri state title while coaching at Riverview Gardens in 1998.
Sunkett, a large “F” for Flyers chain and his state championship medallion around his neck, said the Flyers’ ninth championship was one well deserved. Surrounded by eight of his players and many of his coaches in the press conference, Sunkett said the Flyers adjusted after halftime and the offense kept rolling.
“The kids responded. We were playing well, but we just had to make some adjustments against their offense. We did that,” Sunkett said. “We had the big stop on the drive early in the third quarter and then we were able to make some big plays on offense.”
The win also put the “City of Champions” into a class by itself as the first IHSA school to win the state championship in basketball, football and track and field in the same calendar year. In March, the Flyers defeated Evanston to win the Class 3A state basketball title. They then ran away with the Class 2A track championship in May.
The Wolves ran their triple option offense to perfection and limited East St. Louis to just four first half possessions. They tied the game at 14 with 4:34 left in the first half when quarterback Connor Lydon ran 39 yards for a touchdown.
East St. Louis responded by marching to the Wolves’ 42 yard line, but senior wide receiver Lawaun Powell was stripped from behind after a reception and Prairie Ridge senior defensive back Mason Loucks recovered at the 11-yard line..
The Wolves then ran out the first half clock.
But the first half had plenty of offense. Macon, who was 7-of-12 for 106 yards in the first two quarters, connected with junior Keantez Lewis on a 4-yard run and added a 42-yard touchdown run. Macon ran for 73 yards in the first half while senior DaMonta Witherspoon added 63.
Proving once again he is at his best against the best competition, Macon would finish the game with 106 yards rushing and was 13 of 19 passing for 304 yards and three touchdowns. The junior finished the season with 39 touchdowns passes and more than 4,000 yards through the air.
“We were a team all season. Everybody contributed to this championship,’’ Macon said in a quiet moment. “The offensive line, the receivers ... everybody. I’m proud to be on this football team.”
Following the Macon-to-Lewis scoring pass, Lydon found Taighgin Trost on a 16-yard scoring pass to tie the score at 7 late in the first quarter.
Celebration announced
Following the game, East St. Louis Superintendent Arthur Culver said the Flyers will be honored with a parade Wednesday. The time has been tentatively set for 2 p.m.
This story was originally published November 30, 2019 at 4:30 PM.
