St. Louis Wing Week Returns April 8-15, 2024

East St. Louis High School Football Flyers

The East St. Louis Senior High Flyers have won more high school football games than any other program in the country. Even though the city is hemorrhaging population-- over the last five years, the team school's enrollment has dropped by 25 percent -- head coach Darren Sunkett has rebuilt the program into a powerhouse. After getting kicked out of the playoffs last season for playing an ineligible athlete, the Flyers had much to prove this year, as evidence by their motto "Unfinished Business." The team finished the season 9-3, tied at the top of the conference, and made the playoffs for the twelfth straight year under Sunkett. They eventually lost in the quarter finals. Here are images from their 33-7 win over Granite City High School in the first round of the playoffs. Photos by Jennifer Silverberg. Read Albert Samaha's feature about Sunkett and his Flyers.
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In the tense moments before the opening post season game, the only sounds in the locker room are cleats clicking the linoleum floor and the squish shoulder pads make when arms move.
Jennifer Silverberg
In the tense moments before the opening post season game, the only sounds in the locker room are cleats clicking the linoleum floor and the squish shoulder pads make when arms move.
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Senior quarterback Lamontiez Ivy, one of the best college prospects in the region, led the Flyers to a 9-3 season and another conference championship.
Jennifer Silverberg
Senior quarterback Lamontiez Ivy, one of the best college prospects in the region, led the Flyers to a 9-3 season and another conference championship.
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Defensive coordinator Marion Stallings, a former Flyer standout himself, has worked under ever East Side head coach since the mid '70s.
Jennifer Silverberg
Defensive coordinator Marion Stallings, a former Flyer standout himself, has worked under ever East Side head coach since the mid '70s.
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East Side's demographics make it an outlier in its conference. The school, like the city, is 99 percent black; no other school in the eight-team Southwestern Conference is less than 55 percent white.
East Side's demographics make it an outlier in its conference. The school, like the city, is 99 percent black; no other school in the eight-team Southwestern Conference is less than 55 percent white.
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At East Side there are half as many seniors as freshmen. The pull of the streets is the school's -- and the Flyers' -- top competition. When you're living with a sputtering infrastructure, vast poverty and ubiquitous crime, there's little incentive to put in fifteen hours of football practice each week and keep your grades high enough to maintain athletic eligibility.
Jennifer Silverberg
At East Side there are half as many seniors as freshmen. The pull of the streets is the school's -- and the Flyers' -- top competition. When you're living with a sputtering infrastructure, vast poverty and ubiquitous crime, there's little incentive to put in fifteen hours of football practice each week and keep your grades high enough to maintain athletic eligibility.
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Since 1897, the Flyers have won more games than any team in the country, compiling a record of 877-252-45.
Jennifer Silverberg
Since 1897, the Flyers have won more games than any team in the country, compiling a record of 877-252-45.
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Stallings is famous for his passionate pre-game speeches. He is the fire to Sunkett's ice.
Jennifer Silverberg
Stallings is famous for his passionate pre-game speeches. He is the fire to Sunkett's ice.
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Back in the in the '70s and '80s, close to a hundred kids came out for football each season. But things have changed. Nowadays Sunkett is lucky if he can field a 40-man varsity squad.
Jennifer Silverberg
Back in the in the '70s and '80s, close to a hundred kids came out for football each season. But things have changed. Nowadays Sunkett is lucky if he can field a 40-man varsity squad.
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Game faces all around as the Flyers head onto the field for their first round playoff game against the Granite City Warriors.
Jennifer Silverberg
Game faces all around as the Flyers head onto the field for their first round playoff game against the Granite City Warriors.
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In May the state took over School District 189 for the second time in twenty years, citing newspaper reports of patronage on the part of school-board members and the fact that only 9 percent of the high school's students meet state academic requirements.
Jennifer Silverberg
In May the state took over School District 189 for the second time in twenty years, citing newspaper reports of patronage on the part of school-board members and the fact that only 9 percent of the high school's students meet state academic requirements.
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Senior quarterback Lamontiez Ivy has drawn interest from Division I programs like Indiana, Kentucky and Illinois.
Jennifer Silverberg
Senior quarterback Lamontiez Ivy has drawn interest from Division I programs like Indiana, Kentucky and Illinois.
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"Growing up down here in this city, outside of school we're always dealing with something in our family or whatever" said Jeremy Nicholson, senior running back and team co-captain. "We rely on sports to get us through. Get us through everything."
Jennifer Silverberg
"Growing up down here in this city, outside of school we're always dealing with something in our family or whatever" said Jeremy Nicholson, senior running back and team co-captain. "We rely on sports to get us through. Get us through everything."
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When you're sprinting and hitting inside Clyde C. Jordan, the streets seem distant. The stadium is big and pristine, with brightly painted walls and well-tended turf, an oasis plunked down amidst a battered, crumbling landscape. The Oklahoma drills and summer conditioning sessions are grueling. But they're far easier than the empty stretches of time between practices.
Jennifer Silverberg
When you're sprinting and hitting inside Clyde C. Jordan, the streets seem distant. The stadium is big and pristine, with brightly painted walls and well-tended turf, an oasis plunked down amidst a battered, crumbling landscape. The Oklahoma drills and summer conditioning sessions are grueling. But they're far easier than the empty stretches of time between practices.
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In the early twentieth century, East St. Louis was a burgeoning industrial hub. Then shipping routes shifted and companies followed, leaving behind chemical brownfields and the shells of antiquated buildings. Whites and working-class blacks left , usually headed for more promising nearby towns such as Belleville and Fairview Heights. Recent census figures show that 99 percent of East St. Louis residents are African American.
Jennifer Silverberg
In the early twentieth century, East St. Louis was a burgeoning industrial hub. Then shipping routes shifted and companies followed, leaving behind chemical brownfields and the shells of antiquated buildings. Whites and working-class blacks left , usually headed for more promising nearby towns such as Belleville and Fairview Heights. Recent census figures show that 99 percent of East St. Louis residents are African American.
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The Flyers began the season as the top-ranked team in the Associated Press Illinois High School Football Class 7A poll.
Jennifer Silverberg
The Flyers began the season as the top-ranked team in the Associated Press Illinois High School Football Class 7A poll.
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Darren Sunkett is the only active high school football coach to have won a state championship in both Illinois and Missouri. After taking the reins at East St. Louis in 2000, he pulled a moribund program out of a half-decade of disappointment and hauled it back to national prominence, bringing the school its first state title in seventeen years in 2008. But much controversy has accompanied the success.
Jennifer Silverberg
Darren Sunkett is the only active high school football coach to have won a state championship in both Illinois and Missouri. After taking the reins at East St. Louis in 2000, he pulled a moribund program out of a half-decade of disappointment and hauled it back to national prominence, bringing the school its first state title in seventeen years in 2008. But much controversy has accompanied the success.
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East Side athletic director Leonard Manley is known for his eye-catching attire on game days.
Jennifer Silverberg
East Side athletic director Leonard Manley is known for his eye-catching attire on game days.
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"They're fast, they're athletic, and they're aggressive," said Brandon Joggerst, head coach of O'Fallon Township High School, who tied East St. Louis at the top of the Southwestern Conference. "It's hard to simulate that speed in practice. I think that's what teams struggle with a lot, is you can't have a scout team portray that look that they give you on a Friday night."
Jennifer Silverberg
"They're fast, they're athletic, and they're aggressive," said Brandon Joggerst, head coach of O'Fallon Township High School, who tied East St. Louis at the top of the Southwestern Conference. "It's hard to simulate that speed in practice. I think that's what teams struggle with a lot, is you can't have a scout team portray that look that they give you on a Friday night."
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Sunkett's competitive fire has rubbed some opposing coaches and fans the wrong way. "He's cocky," says Manley. "He believes that you can't beat him, you're not gon' beat him, and if you beat him he's pissed off about it."
Jennifer Silverberg
Sunkett's competitive fire has rubbed some opposing coaches and fans the wrong way. "He's cocky," says Manley. "He believes that you can't beat him, you're not gon' beat him, and if you beat him he's pissed off about it."
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Nicholson and sophomore running back Natereace Strong formed an imposing backfield duo that fueled the offense.
Jennifer Silverberg
Nicholson and sophomore running back Natereace Strong formed an imposing backfield duo that fueled the offense.
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