East St. Louis on verge of 5th-straight state title game appearance. Here’s who’s in the way

East St. Louis’ football team has used a devastating combination of electric offense and stifling defense to bulldoze its way through the first three rounds of the IHSA Class 6A postseason.

The top-seeded Flyers (11-1) now will look for that combo to vault them into the state championship game as they face No. 2 Oak Lawn Richards (11-1) at 2 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 23, in a semifinal contest at Clyde C. Jordan Stadium on the campus of East St. Louis High School.

East St. Louis — which defeated Oak Lawn Richards 54-0 in the second round of the 2022 playoffs en route to the state championship — has outscored its first three playoff opponents 173-14, and did not allow any points in the postseason until last week’s quarterfinal.

The Flyers’ offense, meanwhile, is averaging nearly 58 points per game in the playoffs.

It’s a potent attack that has caught the attention of Oak Lawn coach Tony Sheehan.

“East St. Louis is a very good team,” he said. “They are big and fast. They play extremely good defense and their offense is explosive. They are very well coached.”

Saturday’s winner advances to the state championship game and will face either No. 1 Cary-Grove (12-0) or No. 3 Geneva (11-1). The title contest is set for 1 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 30, at Hancock Stadium on the campus of Illinois State University in Normal.

The Flyers are seeking their 11th state championship and 5th-consecutive state title game appearance (there was no postseason in 2020 due to COVID).

SCOUTING EAST ST. LOUIS

Senior QB Kendrick Lyons anchors the East St. Louis attack. Lyons threw 17 touchdowns in the regular season and has added nine more to his total this postseason, including four scoring strikes in a 58-14 quarterfinal win against Chatham Glenwood.

Overall, Lyons completed 19-of-21 passes for 434 yards against the Titans and has 2,211 passing yards this season.

Meanwhile, the Flyers have a talented collection of running backs, including senior Larevious Woods (13 touchdowns, 625 rushing yards) and sophomore Amir Tillman (483 rushing yards, nine touchdowns). Senior TaRyan Martin also has rushed for 473 yards this fall and posted two rushing touchdowns in the quarterfinal victory.

Sophomore Ronnie GoMiller (eight touchdowns) and junior Kortez Rupert (616 receiving yards, seven touchdowns) have enjoyed terrific seasons at wide receiver. GoMiller has hauled in 29 receptions for 507 receiving yards and eight touchdowns.

Rupert has 616 receiving yards on 23 receptions (26.8 average) while grabbing seven touchdowns. In the quarterfinal round, Rupert caught four passes for 132 yards (33 yards per catch) and two touchdowns.

Senior Christopher Bennett Jr. also has seven receiving touchdowns and five rushing touchdowns this fall. In the quarterfinal win, he ran for three touchdowns and caught another.

Senior inside linebacker Keandre McClendon spearheads the Flyers’ defense, averaging 10.4 tackles per game, with senior outside/middle linebacker Elmo Gilliam Jr. close behind at 10.3 tackles per game. McClendon also has six sacks, while senior cornerback Raheem Floyd leads the team with four interceptions.

SCOUTING OAK LAWN

Senior running back Myles Mitchell headlines the Oak Lawn offense. Mitchell, a North Dakota State recruit, rushed for 1,712 yards and 38 touchdowns on 220 carries this fall and is a two-time player of the year winner for the South Suburban Conference and a two-time IHSFCA 6A all-state selection.

Meanwhile, senior linebacker Chase Dryier leads the Bulldogs with 85 tackles and senior defensive back Austin Synoga is a two-time honorable mention IHSFCA all-state selection.

“We are not the biggest team, but we play together,” Sheehan said. “We lean on playing good defense, special teams and running the ball.”

After losing in Week 2, Oak Lawn has ripped off 10-straight wins, including a pair of one-point outcomes in the postseason, the latest being a 21-20 victory against third-seeded Kankakee in the quarterfinals. The Bulldogs also captured the South Suburban league championship this fall with a 6-0 mark.

Regardless of Saturday’s outcome, Sheehan is proud of his team’s season.

“This is a great group of kids we have and we are very proud of them,” he said. “We have a lot of alumni that are on the coaching staff and we are very proud to get this far. They have worked very hard since the loss last year and understand the significance of a run like this.”

IN BRIEF

Kickoff: 2 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 23, at Clyde C. Jordan Stadium on the campus of East St. Louis High School.

How the Flyers got here: East St. Louis defeated No. 16 Springfield High School 67-0, No. 8 Normal West 48-0 and No. 5 Chatham Glenwood 58-14.

How the Bulldogs got here: Oak Lawn Richards defeated No. 15 Dunlap 21-20, No. 7 Washington 42-14 and No. 3 Kankakee 21-20.

Additional note: If the Flyers and Cary-Grove advance, it’ll mark the third time in the past four seasons the two teams will meet in the state title game. The Trojans defeated East St. Louis 37-36 in the 2021 state title game and 23-20 in the 2023 state title game.