East St. Louis quarterback made the Flyers unstoppable in 2019
East St. Louis junior quarterback Tyler Macon entered the 2019 season with something to prove. He ended it with an Illinois High School Association record of 56 combined touchdowns and a Class 6A championship ring.
On a frigid and windy Saturday in late November at Northern Illinois University in DeKalb, Macon and his Flyers teammates put the finishing touch on one of the most dominating seasons in state history when they defeated Crystal Lake Prairie Ridge, 43-21, in the state title game..
It was the second state championship in four years and ninth overall for a program which has long been the pride and joy for the citizens in the City of Champions.
But for Macon, a 6-1, 185-pound junior, it buried the memory of a second straight Class 7A quarterfinal loss the previous season at Chicago Mount Carmel once and for all.
“The way last year ended ... left a bad taste. It definitely lit a fire under all of us heading into this season,” Macon said. “When we won the game, it was like all the work, all the time we had put in the spring and summer and then during the season for 14 weeks, it was all worth it.”
Voted by area coaches as the Belleville News-Democrat Large School (Class 5A-8A) Offensive Player of the Year, Macon was the leader of an East St. Louis offense which scored 714 points and averaged 51 points per game. Under Macon’s leadership, East St. Louis put up 50 or more points nine times and went over the 60 point mark on three occasions.
From a huge and athletic line, headlined by University of Tennessee recruit Javontez Spraggins, to a quartet of elite wide receivers and running back DeMonta Witherspoon’s 1,700 rushing yards and 34 touchdowns, the Flyers offense was stacked with playmakers.
The leader was Macon, who, with 4,241 passing yards and 827 yards on the ground, became just the second player in state history to account for over 5,000 yards of total offense (5,068) in a single season. He passed for 39 touchdowns and ran for 17 more.
“Tyler was just a great leader for all of us,” senior linebacker Kendrick Scarbrough said. “We have a lot great players on this team and he is one of them. He’s smart and his knowledge of the offense is really something.”
Currently, Macon is working out in the weight room several times a week as well as competing with his 7-on-7 team. He is rated the No. 21 overall prospect in Illinois for the Class of 2021 by 247 Sports and has scholarship offers from several NCAA Division I programs.
“Right now, I’m looking at UCLA, Michigan State, Arkansas and Missouri,” Macon said. “I’m not feeling any pressure to make a decision. There are a lot of great schools out there. I’m just enjoying the recruiting process right now.”
Operating behind his offensive line, Macon was deadly accurate, completing 219-of-314 passes (69.7). He only had seven passes intercepted.
“Macon is a heck of a player. The thing that makes him so good is that he does everything at such a high level,” Belleville East coach Michael Harrison said. “He’s dynamic throwing the ball both inside and outside of the pocket and he can beat you with his feet as a runner as well.
“He’s about as good of a high school quarterback you will see.”
With his ability to run the football and the offensive prowess of wide receivers Dominic Lovett, Keontez Lewis, Lawaun Powell and Antonio Johnson to go to, the Flyers were unstoppable on most nights.
“I think having played last season and having the one year of experience helped. I had a lot more trust and confidence in my offensive line. I was more mature,” Macon said. “With our offensive line and the wide receivers we had, we were difficult to defend.
“Those guys ... man. You couldn’t double team us because if left another player open. They made it look pretty easy at times.”
The Flyers were pushed to the limit by Naperville Neaqua Valley in a 50-48 week 3 victory, but weren’t tested again until the state title game against Prairie Ridge.
After a tight first half, the Flyers took control late in the third quarter.
“I really think our schedule helped get us ready for the post season. Batavia and then Neaqua (Valley) were both good tests for us,” Macon said.
“We weren’t really nervous before the state title game. Just the game and atmosphere ... it took time to play like we can. We got an inspirational speech at halftime and that got us even more motivated. We came out in the second half and played better.’’
2019 News-Democrat All-Area Large School Football Team
Offensive Player of the Year
Tyler Macon, East St. Louis (219-of-314, 4,241 yards, 39 TD, 7 Int, 112 rush attempts, 827 yards, 17 TD)
First Team
QB: Tyler Macon, East St. Louis. jr. (219-of-314, 4,241 yards, 39 TD, 7 Int, 112 rush attempts, 827 yards, 17 TD)
RB: DaMonta Witherspoon, East St. Louis, sr. (230 attempts, 1,742 yards, 34 TD)
RB: Devin Wills, Mascoutah, sr. (253 attempts, 2,210 yards, 32 TD)
WR-TE: Dominic Lovett, East St. Louis, jr. (73 receptions), 1,541 yards, 16 TD)
WR-TE: Keontez Lewis, East St. Louis, jr. (39 receptions, 826 yards, 10 TD)
WR-TE: Lawaun Powell, East St. Louis, sr. (50 receptions, 799 yards, 4 TD)
OL: Javontez Spraggins, East St. Louis, sr.
OL: Sam Buck, Highland, jr
OL: Ryan Ritchie, O’Fallon, sr.
OL: Tyreese Williams, East St. Louis, jr.
OL: Ryan Norwood, Mascoutah, sr.
Kicker: Logan Seibert, Belleville West, jr. (44 points, 20 PAT, 8 FG)
Second Team
QB: Devon Ross, Mascoutah, sr. (102-of-202, 1, 710 yards, 19 TD, 11 Int.)
RB: Logan Chandler, Highland, jr., (236 attempts, 1,530 yards, 19 TD)
RB: Justin Johnson, Edwardsville, jr. (161 attempts, 1,132 yards, 9 TD)
WR-TE: Yohance Flager, Belleville East, sr. (61 receptions, 635 yards, 5 TD)
WR-TE: Aiden Jones, Mascoutah, jr. (29 receptions, 590 yards, 6 TD)
WR-TE: Antonio Johnson, East St. Louis, sr. (40 receptions, 827 yards, 7 TD)
OL: Lloyd Reynolds, Edwardsville, sr.
OL: Matt Wilson, Mascoutah, sr.
OL Trevor Zobrist, Highland, sr.
OL: Jayme Copeland, Alton, sr.
OL: Cameron Kirkpatrick, Edwardsville, sr.
Placekicker: Travis Speer, Triad, sr. (48 points, 33 PAT, 5 FG)
Honorable Mention
Quarterback: Noah Turbyfill, Civic Memorial; Matthew Jackson, Jerseyville; Freddy Edwards, Granite City; Lucas Maue, Belleville East; Jack McCloskey, Belleville West; Chris Bradley, Cahokia
Running back: Mason Blakemore, O’Fallon; Jordan Bruce, Belleville West; Sam Yager, Triad; Tyson Roedl, Waterloo; Vincent Perry, Cahokia; Gabe Miller, Collinsville;
Wide receiver-tight end: Kuron Parchman, Civic Memorial; Timothy Middleton, Mascoutah; Joey Kossina, Belleville West; Logan Turbyfill, Civic Memorial; Connor Sands, Highland; Mason Ahlers, Edwardsville; Javion Morgan, Alton; Latrell Bonner, O’Fallon; Steven McCall, Cahokia; Shawn Binford Jr., Cahokia; Kayshawn White, Granite City
Lineman: Miles McVay, East st. Louis; Alex Strebel, Jerseyville; Cole Van Tieghem, Triad; Elijah Petersen, Mascoutah; Payton Cave, Highland; Wyatt Daniels, Jerseyville; Wes Schmollinger, Highland; Kaeden Toenyes, Civic Memorial; Carlos Blanco, Belleville East, Alvin Gulley, Belleville West; Blake Moss, Edwardsville; Juel Little, O’Fallon; Paris Patterson, East St. Louis; Keyon White, Granite City; Brian Bonnett, East St. Louis
Placekicker: Ian Wagner, O’Fallon; Sam Bartels, Jerseyville; Tyson Roedl, Waterloo; Jake Lombardi, Alton; Chase Reeves, Granite City; Logan Timmon, Mascoutah; Alex Maxim, Belleville East
