Coming into what seemed like an already packed house at East St. Louis High School on Monday January 19th, I felt the excitement in the air. The school was hosting their Martin Luther King basketball games in the gymnasium on their day off. I was greeted by the school’s athletic director Leonard Manley who had a few minutes to walk me through their main hallway which was filled with trophies of all shapes and sizes, and sports, but not one that was engraved “Nationally Ranked”. The East St. Louis football team was well known in the community for their outstanding performance this year. After suffering a 20-12 setback to Wayne of Huber Heights, Ohio in the season opener, East St. Louis got its offense in high gear and went on to win its remaining 13 games. They went through the season destroying opponents, 10 teams they defeated by 30 or more points! In the state championship, the Flyers trailed Geneva, 7-6, at halftime but rolled in the second half en route to a convincing 33-14 victory and the Illinois Class 7A state championship.
As the day progressed, I had the opportunity to meet some of the teams very talented football players, as well as Head Coach Darren Sunkett. He expressed the hard work and dedication the boys put into the season, and his hope for another one next year. As presentation time approached and the East St. Louis boys varsity basketball team headed towards the locker room to prepare for the last game of the day, I noticed a few basketball players throwing on the commemorative Tour of Champions t-shirts, “It is always impressive to see multi-sport athletes” said Sergeant First Class Mario Saenz. Sergeant First Class Saenz was very familiar with the community from past coaching experiences and spoke of the tremendous talent this team, school and community brought to Illinois.
As the words of Martin Luther King Jr. “I have a dream” came to an end I knew it was our key. First MaxPreps representative Nick Reasons took the stage. He raved of the teams outstanding wins and the substantial amount of points they scored this season. He then introduced Sergeant First Class Mario Saenz who spoke of the team’s hard work, and overcoming adversity. He expressed how proud he was to be their community representative, and how he looked forward to next season. Then he awarded Coach Darren Sunkett with the well-deserved National Ranking Minuteman trophy. Coach Sunkett called out all the men in attendance from the team, and gave them the opportunity to hold the trophy. They deserved to touch the one trophy that put the football program on the national map. Go Flyers!