Top IHSA football game to watch this weekend 9/24-9/25

Debo Olaleye

September 24, 2021 @ 02:31 AM

The state of Illinois has been off to an incredibly hot start with football this fall! Now about a month into the season, teams are starting to dive into their conference games against crosstown rivals that they got to play in the spring, but not in full capacity with fans since the fall of 2019. This week, the most intriguing game of the week will take place in East St. Louis. This conference matchup will take place with the East St. Louis Flyers matching up against the O’Fallon Panthers! The East St. Louis (3-1) are hosting conference rival O’Fallon Panthers (3-1) in an inner conference match-up that could determine the winner of their conference. In the spring, the O’Fallon Panthers handed the Flyers their only loss of the spring season 29-18. This win was the first for O’Fallon since 2013. This time around, both teams have started the fall strong with 3-1 records that come with some strong wins from both teams. The Panthers junior QB: Colt Michael, RB: Deandre Lawrence and lead receiver Tamarion Bivines will look to take advantage of the flyer’s defense led by players like [player_tooltip player_id="20936" first="Lamar" last="Box"], [player_tooltip player_id="103081" first="Frank" last="Wilson"], and Jaylen Byrd. With the Flyer’s defense already amassing 13 sacks in 4 games, O’Fallon’s offensive line will have their work cut out for them. This game is an inter-conference rivalry, and the statement win from the O’Fallon Panthers in the spring, this game will bring a lot of energy and implications for playoff seeding and bragging rights.   Players to keep an eye out for: Colt Michael: Junior quarterback for the Panthers who have put together a solid season so far throwing for a little over 100 yards a game, and has 7 TDs to 4 Int. To start the season, you could tell that he was adjusting to the speed of the varsity game. In the win against Edwardsville (30-14) you can tell that the team has gotten behind him and he’s starting to settle down making accurate throws and not trying to force passes to his skill positions. This game on Saturday will be his biggest game of the season so far.   Tanner Hollerich- Tanner is a defensive lineman who has been a terror all season. So far he has 3 sacks, 4 TFL’s, and has been disruptive in any run scheme teams try to set up. Against Edwardsville, Tanner was constantly the first one off of the ball and found his way in the backfield. He has been a DE who is very easily top 5 in Illinois right now. Looking forward to seeing him being a game wrecker this Saturday.   [player_tooltip player_id="37524" first="Toriano" last="Pride"]- The senior corner for the flyers has been keeping his side of the field under lock. The Clemson Tiger commit has been fit in perfectly in the flyer’s defense with 22 tackles under his belt right now. He’s an instinctual player who hasn’t been blocked by a receiver yet this season and doesn’t let many ball carriers past him. He still hasn’t gotten an interception yet this season, so I would not be surprised if he starts to bait quarterbacks, or simply continue to play within the system.   [player_tooltip player_id="37529" first="Luther" last="Burden"] lll- in 4 games, Luther is always one of the best players on the field. He’s the flyer’s number one target with 23 catches, over 300 yards, and 8 touchdowns! He has a nose for the endzone that stems from his ability to beat corners with his release, and also speed out of his cuts at the top of the route. He’s an offensive player that you want to watch for East St. Louis every week, and this week is no different.   Other top games to watch in Illinois: Lincoln-Way East HS (3-1) vs Bolingbrook (4-0) Simeon Academy(2-2) vs Phillips (2-2) Loyola Academy(4-0) vs Fenwick HS (3-1) Crete-Monee HS(3-1) vs Joliet Catholic (4-0)