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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Those players who go all-in with the Flyers submit to hard discipline and a daily grind. But at the end of the four years, a path out of town opens up. Fifteen of the seventeen seniors on last year's squad enrolled in college -- some to continue with football, some solely to continue their education.
Jennifer Silverberg
Those players who go all-in with the Flyers submit to hard discipline and a daily grind. But at the end of the four years, a path out of town opens up. Fifteen of the seventeen seniors on last year's squad enrolled in college -- some to continue with football, some solely to continue their education.
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The St. Louis Post-Dispatch tabbed Ivy as the eighth best recruit in the greater metropolitan area. Rivals.com, one of the top authorities on college sports recruiting, ranked him as the 23rd best recruit in Illinois.
Jennifer Silverberg
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch tabbed Ivy as the eighth best recruit in the greater metropolitan area. Rivals.com, one of the top authorities on college sports recruiting, ranked him as the 23rd best recruit in Illinois.
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Senior DeMarcus Lee shows what an offensive lineman's helmet should look like by October.
Jennifer Silverberg
Senior DeMarcus Lee shows what an offensive lineman's helmet should look like by October.
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Sunkett-coached squads have reached the Illinois state playoffs in each of his twelve years at the helm, compiling a record of 111-28 and winning seven conference titles, including the past five in a row.
Jennifer Silverberg
Sunkett-coached squads have reached the Illinois state playoffs in each of his twelve years at the helm, compiling a record of 111-28 and winning seven conference titles, including the past five in a row.
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Sunkett and his staff know that football is the motor that drives many of the kids past the potholes on the street and the drug dealers on the corner and the dropouts on the stoops, toward a life that seems otherwise unthinkable for a young man growing up in East St. Louis.
Jennifer Silverberg
Sunkett and his staff know that football is the motor that drives many of the kids past the potholes on the street and the drug dealers on the corner and the dropouts on the stoops, toward a life that seems otherwise unthinkable for a young man growing up in East St. Louis.
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The Flyers' defense was one of the best in the state, allowing an average of less than thirteen points per game.
Jennifer Silverberg
The Flyers' defense was one of the best in the state, allowing an average of less than thirteen points per game.
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"Football is definitely the lifeline here," said Sunkett. "It's something this community has always been able to hang its hat on. It's always been a winner."
Jennifer Silverberg
"Football is definitely the lifeline here," said Sunkett. "It's something this community has always been able to hang its hat on. It's always been a winner."
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East St. Louis Senior High's enrollment is dwarfed by that of its competition. Belleville East, the largest school in the Southwestern Conference, has 72 percent more students than East Side's 1,564. Granite City, the conference's second-smallest school, out-mans East St. Louis by 23 percent. The Flyers are at the lower end of the state's Class 6A division, but the team always petitions to play in the more competitive Class 7A.
Jennifer Silverberg
East St. Louis Senior High's enrollment is dwarfed by that of its competition. Belleville East, the largest school in the Southwestern Conference, has 72 percent more students than East Side's 1,564. Granite City, the conference's second-smallest school, out-mans East St. Louis by 23 percent. The Flyers are at the lower end of the state's Class 6A division, but the team always petitions to play in the more competitive Class 7A.
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Nicholson slides into the end zone for one of the Flyers' five touchdowns on the day.
Jennifer Silverberg
Nicholson slides into the end zone for one of the Flyers' five touchdowns on the day.
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Flyers fans nicknamed Sunkett "The Mastermind" for his brilliant play-calling and high-powered offenses.
Jennifer Silverberg
Flyers fans nicknamed Sunkett "The Mastermind" for his brilliant play-calling and high-powered offenses.
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A familiar sight at Clyde C. Jordan Memorial Stadium.
Jennifer Silverberg
A familiar sight at Clyde C. Jordan Memorial Stadium.
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The Flyers would go on to beat Oswego High School 41-0 in the second round, before falling to to two-time defending 7A champion Wheaton Warrenville South 7-10 in the quarter finals.
Jennifer Silverberg
The Flyers would go on to beat Oswego High School 41-0 in the second round, before falling to to two-time defending 7A champion Wheaton Warrenville South 7-10 in the quarter finals.
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"Coach Sunk helps me 'cause he presses me," said junior wide receiver Bobby Moore (center, with the flat-top). "That tells me he really cares about me, and he wants to see me change. He wouldn't be doing all that if he didn't care. I thought he might give up on me one day, but he hasn't given up."
Jennifer Silverberg
"Coach Sunk helps me 'cause he presses me," said junior wide receiver Bobby Moore (center, with the flat-top). "That tells me he really cares about me, and he wants to see me change. He wouldn't be doing all that if he didn't care. I thought he might give up on me one day, but he hasn't given up."
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Just as his players come to understand that Sunkett expects them to make those difficult catches or blocks or throws or tackles, they absorb the corollary -- that he expects them to apply the same work ethic and confidence off the football field, and to achieve the same results.
Jennifer Silverberg
Just as his players come to understand that Sunkett expects them to make those difficult catches or blocks or throws or tackles, they absorb the corollary -- that he expects them to apply the same work ethic and confidence off the football field, and to achieve the same results.
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