The East St. Louis Flyers will host their IHSA first round playoff game, Friday night against Reavis. (Photo: Thomas Grove)
EAST ST. LOUIS, IL — After finding out last week they were named the No. 4 seed in the IHSA Class 7A state football playoffs, the East St. Louis Flyers found out this past weekend that their first opponent in the playoffs will be Reavis High of Burbank, Ill.
The Reavis Rams went 5-4 in the regular season, but pulled off one of the big upsets of the weekend when they knocked off Elgin High, 31-28, in a first round game this past Friday night. It was Reavis’ first playoff win in more than a decade and the entire town was in attendance and on the field excited when the Rams held on to win.
“This was super important for the kids,” Reavis head coach Josh O’Shea told the Southwest News Herald. “They knew it’s been a while since we had a playoff win. I think it’s exciting and we have some JV players up with us on the playoff roster. It’s important for the program in the sense of it being a fun win and the kids are excited about it.
“The investment from the younger kids, I think that’ll be a big help. This was good. The kids were excited and it was a fun bus ride home. It was a close game and the whole game was back and forth. The kids are super-excited to move on to the next round.”
Senior RB/WR Ronnie Gomiller has scored 18 touchdowns this season and is a strong candidate for St. Louis-area Offensive Player of the Year. (Photo: Thomas Grove)
But Reavis hasn’t seen anything like the No. 1 ranked Flyers, who will go into Friday’s matchup with an 8-1 record, after winning the Southwestern Conference for the 11th straight season.
East Side is averaging 45.9 points per game this season, which includes scoring 50 or more four different times. And on defense, the Flyers are giving up 10.3 points per game, with most of that coming early in the season, when the team played against fellow nationally-ranked opponents.
In six games against fellow state of Illinois opponents, East Side has given up only 14 points — that’s two touchdowns and a single two-point conversion — in all its games since early September.
“We’ve really tried to be tough with opposing offenses,” ESL head coach Darren Sunkett said in an article with SportsIllustrated.com. “We try to be very physical and very aggressive, and challenge our opponents to make plays against us.
“We know we have a talented group. So we really get after it and try to make plays for ourself. It’s gone well this year, but we’ve got a lot more to do to get where we want to go.”
The goal every year at East St. Louis is to be in the state championship game, and the Flyers have been in that title game in each of the last four seasons — winning it twice and losing in heartbreak twice.
“Our kids are still not happy about how last year ended,” Sunkett said. “We’ve got one prime goal and everybody in this building has their eyes on getting us there.”
The East St. Louis-Reavis game will kickoff at Clyde C. Jordan Stadium, Friday night at 6 p.m., and the game will be streamed live on YouTube TV.
The winner will play the winner of another Friday night game, between two Chicago-area teams — Westinghouse Prep and St. Patrick. That second round game will be next weekend at a location to be determined depending on who wins this weekend’s games.
The state championship game will be November 28 at Illinois State’s Hancock Stadium in Normal, Ill.
2026 EAST ST. LOUIS FLYERS FOOTBALL SCHEDULE
| Date | Time | At | Opponent | Location | Results |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| August 22, 2026 (Saturday) | 6 pm | Neutral | #1 Chicago Mount Carmel | Normal, IL | W, 42-23 (1-0) |
| August 28, 2026 (Friday) | 6 pm | Neutral | American Heritage (FL) | Fort Lauderdale, FL | L, 35-28 OT (1-1) |
| September 4, 2026 (Friday) | 7:30 pm | Home | Gainesville (GA) | Clyde C. Jordan Stadium | W, 24-21 (2-1) |
| September 11, 2026 (Friday) | 7 pm | Home | O’Fallon* | Clyde C. Jordan Stadium | W, 64-6 (3-1) |
| September 18, 2026 (Friday) | 7 pm | Home | Belleville East* | Clyde C. Jordan Stadium | W, 61-0 (4-1) |
| September 25, 2026 (Friday) | 7 pm | Away | Edwardsville* | Edwardsville, IL | W, 35-0 (5-1) |
| October 2, 2026 (Friday) | 7 pm | Away | Belleville West* | Belleville, IL | W, 70-0 (6-1) |
| October 9, 2026 (Friday) | 7 pm | Home | Alton* | Clyde C. Jordan Stadium | W, 54-0 (7-1) |
| October 16, 2026 (Friday) | 7 pm | Away | Naperville North | Naperville, IL | W, 35-8 (8-1) |
| October 30, 2026 (Friday) | 6 pm | Home | #36 Reavis | Clyde C. Jordan Stadium |
* – denotes Southwestern Conference game