East St. Louis rallies for win in 6A semifinals, now on doorstep of 10th state title
East St. Louis is now on the verge of its 10th state football championship.
That opportunity is front of the Flyers by virtue of Saturday’s exciting 32-29 win against Lemont in the IHSA Class 6A semifinals at Lemont High School.
East St. Louis, the No. 6 seed, won its ninth-straight game while improving to 11-2.
“We stayed the course and we just kept fighting to pull it off,” said Flyers coach Darren Sunkett, whose team overcame a 14-0 first quarter deficit. “This is Big Ten football weather and we grinded it out on the ground.”
Indeed East St. Louis did, led by sophomore TaRyan Martin, who rushed for 349 yards and three touchdowns on 40 carries.
Martin and the Flyers now will face No. 2 seed Crystal Lake Prairie Ridge in the state championship game set for 1 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 26, at Memorial Stadium on the campus of the University of Illinois in Champaign. The Wolves defeated No. 4 seed Chicago Saint Ignatius College Prep in Saturday’s other semifinal game.
The Flyers also advanced to the state finals in 2021 where they lost 37-36 to Cary-Grove.
“They call us the city of champions for a reason, so it’s (advancing to state) not a surprise,” Martin said. “Props to Lemont for giving us a great game.”
No. 2 seed Lemont, meanwhile, finished the season at 12-1. Coach Bret Kooi praised both his team and the Flyers.
“We played well, but if we played better, we would’ve beaten a good team like that,” he said. “Their size up front ended up wearing us down defensively and they took advantage of that.”
Touchdown runs of 41 yards and 1 yard from senior running back Nate Wrublik staked Lemont to a 14-0 first quarter lead. Senior Roberto Patino hit both extra points.
The Flyers got within 14-6 late in the first half on the first of Martin’s three touchdown runs. Martin’s 40-yard scoring scamper with 8:48 left in the third quarter got the Flyers to within 14-12, setting the stage for a wild fourth quarter.
Martin’s 6-yard touchdown run with 11:38 left gave East St. Louis its first lead at 18-14. Lemont quickly responded as senior quarterback Payton Salomon hit classmate Luke Wallace for a 38-yard touchdown with 9:22 remaining for a 20-18 margin. Patino nailed the point after.
Less than a minute later, Martin broke loose for a 76-yard touchdown run, putting the Flyers ahead for good. Senior Marquiese Palmer ran in the 2-point conversion for a 26-21 lead. Then, with 4:33 left, Martin’s 33-yard rushing score pushed the advantage to 32-21.
Flyers get a final stop
Lemont, however, needed just 42 seconds to respond as Salomon and Wallace connected for a 63-yard touchdown, trimming the deficit to 32-26. Senior Dylan Swanstorm notched the 2-point conversion.
After stopping the Flyers, Kooi’s club had one final chance. However, East St. Louis stopped Lemont on downs near midfield and then ran out the clock, punching its ticket to state.
“Football is a team sport,” Martin said. “I became a man today and I can’t wait to go to Champaign next weekend.”
This story was originally published November 19, 2022 at 6:08 PM.