Game Recap: East St. Louis v De Smet Jesuit

Saturday night East St. Louis Senior Highschool hosted the #1 team in Missouri, the De Smet Jesuit (St. Louis, MO) Spartans, for their home opener. ESL came into the game with a ranking of #1 in Illinois and #61 in the country on MaxPreps. The atmosphere upon arrival was electric even though the downpour of rain all of Southern Illinois had experienced this weekend, and the City of Champions had no issue showing out to support their ESL Flyers with a packed house. These two programs during warmup were impressive; It’s not every day you witness in person this level of leadership and commitment from high school football programs the way they do. It was an honor to be a part of it all, thanks to the fantastic coaching staff that let me witness it up close. <hr /> The Flyers deferred on the coin toss. Robert battle to [player_tooltip player_id="37529" first="Luther" last="Burden"] III for a 24 yd touchdown with 7:51 left in the 1st. In the next possession, ESL stops the Spartans in their tracks in a three and out with a shanked punt giving the Flyers the ball inside the Spartan 40yd line. Robert Battle throws an interception on the drive, which the Spartans picked up big return yards to bring the 1st quarter to a close. <h5>End of 1st- East Saint Louis 8 De Smet Jesuit 0</h5> The defense held firm with their backs against the wall after the turnover with swarming defense with all 11 helmets on the ball carrier and a restricted airspace coverage by the secondary. Later in the 2nd De Smet had a 43-yard field goal attempt that was short, and [player_tooltip player_id="20936" first="Lamar" last="Box"] had an 80-yard return of the missed field goal that Box brought back to the14 yd line of the Spartans. Robert battle capped drive with a 3-yard TD run to give them the lead 14 - 0 with 5:54 left before halftime. https://twitter.com/Ryan_Bennett77/status/1435227783958081541?s=20 <h5>Halftime- East Saint Louis 14 De Smet Jesuit 0</h5> ESL fumbled on the opening drive of the 2nd half, and now De Smet Spartans have made it into ESL red zone for the first time at the eight-minute mark in the 3rd qtr. The defense comes up big again, allowing only a field goal with 6:25 left in the 3rd ESL leading 14 to 3. <h5>End of the 3rd- East Saint Louis 14 De Smet Jesuit 3</h5> Marquis Palmer runs a robust 9 yards for a touchdown with 11:49 left in 4th qtr. to put ESL up 20 - 3. De Smet answers with an immediate kickoff return for a touchdown with 11:36 in the 4th qtr. 20 - 10 ESL ESL responds on the next play with a kick-off return for a touchdown by 2025 RB Christopher Bennett for 97 yards. 26 to 10 ESL with 11:20 in the 4th qtr. https://twitter.com/Ryan_Bennett77/status/1434335526895693828?s=20 Robert Battle throws a 10-yard touchdown pass to [player_tooltip player_id="37529" first="Luther" last="Burden"] III with 9:21 left in the 4th qtr. 32 -10 ESL. De Smet scores with 1:07 left on the clock to make it 32-17. <h5>Final Score- East Saint Louis 32 De Smet Jesuit 17</h5> <hr /> <h4>Take-Aways</h4> All-American 5 Star and #1 Wide Receiver in the country has reopened his recruiting after de-committing from Oklahoma before the season’s kickoff. He was the star of the game with his electrifying punt returns even better route running. The way he plays the game is on another level; his knack for getting in the head of the defenders is uncanny. You can see the difference in his abilities and athleticism from everyone else on the field; he changes gears so quickly defenders are left stuck, and his football IQ is through the roof, constantly in the heads of the other players living rent-free. More so than his words, his actions will shake the foundation of defense whenever he is getting the ball to start second-guessing themselves. Sophomore Robert Battle had a good day after throwing an early interception to a lurking LB in the middle of the zone. He improved as the game went on, demonstrating poise under pressure and running the ball at the right time. Robert is getting some of the best experience of any sophomore QB in the country. With the schedule they play, he will see competition at the highest level. Marquis Palmer has that IT factor of not taking no for an answer when running the ball. Strong, fast, aggressive describes him best when you see him carry the ball. He can pound the rock between the tackles effectively to keep the chains moving. He has put on some weight this past summer and for the better. The offensive line was nothing short of spectacular, having multiple pancakes across the line on every play. The best offensive line in the state, without any doubts. [player_tooltip player_id="20841" first="Miles" last="McVay"] 23’, [player_tooltip player_id="155272" first="Melvin" last="Priestly"] 22’, Timothy Pitts 23’, [player_tooltip player_id="20842" first="Paris" last="Patterson"] 23’, Brandon Henderson 23’ make up the front 5 for ESL who will play an integral part of the success for the Flyers this season. They are a family unit that most players stay away from on the sideline; they have mean streaks on another level that I have not seen before, so they are giving a lot of room when not on the field. https://twitter.com/Ryan_Bennett77/status/1435231350034948098?s=20 The defense was stingy and flew to the ball so fast that De Smet did not have many opportunities to open the game up. They tried [player_tooltip player_id="20908" first="Jireh" last="Mays"], [player_tooltip player_id="20919" first="Jamol" last="Molton"], [player_tooltip player_id="155509" first="Jalen" last="Byrd"], [player_tooltip player_id="20928" first="Ahmad" last="Robinson"], [player_tooltip player_id="139446" first="Dallas" last="Brown"], [player_tooltip player_id="20936" first="Lamar" last="Box"], [player_tooltip player_id="37712" first="Antwon" last="Hayden"], Michai Hubbard, Keyshawn Hayden, [player_tooltip player_id="103081" first="Frank" last="Wilson"], and [player_tooltip player_id="37524" first="Toriano" last="Pride"] shut it down. You thought they were going to get something here and there, but the overpowering speed and strength that the Flyers have made it difficult to run their offense. There was no single stand-out player for the defense they played as a unit, and all of them were on the ball extremely fast, not allowing much yardage. Allowing only one touchdown on the night against a potent Spartan team shows the one-week improvement in the defense from last week against CBC, where they were victorious 48-44. [player_tooltip player_id="37524" first="Toriano" last="Pride"] 4 Star Clemson Commit is the real deal playing on an island. When he was challenged, which wasn’t often, he shut it down with exceptional speed and instincts. Clemson has a good one on the way, and we will see him on Saturdays in the future. <hr /> <h5>Talking with Players </h5> I spoke with All-American Myles McVay about how he feels the way they opened the season up? He said he feels good about opening the season against the top teams in Missouri with big wins against Christian Brothers College High School and De Smet Jesuit. <img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-197631" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/redzone/uploads/2021/09/C900D32F-DC6F-4236-9EB8-84B315BCD708-231x300.jpeg" alt="" width="231" height="300" /> How does it feel to be traveling to California to play #3, St. John Bosco, this coming week? "I feel good about what we are capable of, especially after opening up the season. This game is going to big test for us before we come back and get into conference play." All-American 5 Star and #1 Wide Receiver in the country has reopened his recruiting after de-committing from Oklahoma before the season’s kickoff. [player_tooltip player_id="37529" first="Luther" last="Burden"] III, I was able to talk with him, and he is a humble young man. Telling me he is ready to show what ESL is and that they’re one of the best teams in the country, and I believe him after watching the game tonight; they are a well-rounded team, well-coached, and everyone is on the same page. [player_tooltip player_id="155272" first="Melvin" last="Priestly"] I also spoke with has become my favorite 2022 offensive lineman to watch play. I said, you look like you have trimmed down since the spring? He responded with the biggest smile, saying," Yes, sir, I have put in work; I’m ready for anyone who lines up across from me." He wants to play the guard position at an extremely high level to accomplish the Flyer’s goals this season. <hr /> This game was amazing to go to so much talent all over the field; it’s an absolute joy to watch them play a game of football the way they do. East St. Louis will travel to St. Bosco (CA) for a September 10th kickoff.