6A IHSA State football final recap

<span style="font-weight: 400;">The East St. Louis Flyers vs the Cary Grove Trojans was an IHSA title matchup in the 6A division that may have had the most eyes on it. Not only because of the staggering number of players with offers on the flyer’s team but the back and forth offensive power that was shown in the first half featuring 2 different philosophies. Cary Grove ran a physical run heavy triple-option scheme, while the flyers had a spread offense that featured more of a zone-blocking/RPO based philosophy to get their playmakers in space. The Trojans had possession of the ball for 15 minutes in the first half. In this time, they had 253 rushing yards to 0 passing yards. This was a statement that not only did they want a physical football game, but also that they did not care or believe that the flyers could stop their downhill approach. Eastside had more of a balanced attack to counter the Trojans, with 127 rushing yards to 126 passing yards. At halftime, the Trojan’s offense had the upper hand, as they were up 30-28. The second half was another game within itself. Both defensive coordinators made incredible adjustments to slow down opposing offensive attacks. The flyers started pinching their lineman more and did a better job at setting the edge to force everything back in. The Trojan’s best adjustment was tackling. In the first half, they allowed the flyers to break tackles for extra yards. In the second half, there were fewer arm tackles and more tackles at the point of contact with help over the top. Overall the Trojans would win the second half 8-7 that was sealed by an interception by Noah Riley for Cary Grove. This nail-bitter was featured by some great players on both sides that are down below. </span> <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><strong>6A Gamebreakers:</strong></em></span> <em><strong>Nicholas Hissong- RB</strong></em> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Nicholas Hissong couldn’t be stopped the whole game. The senior had 32 carries for 224 yards (7 YPC) and 2 touchdowns. He ran the option offense with his fellow teammate [player_tooltip player_id="136006" first="Jameson" last="Sheehan"] as good as you could have. It took multiple Flyers to take him down, and somehow he continued to find the edge in which he would always explode for a big gain. His runs set the tempo for the game from the first snap. </span> &nbsp; <em><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="136006" first="Jameson" last="Sheehan"]-QB</strong></em> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Jameson is a quarterback who was highlighted for his running ability and ability to make seamless exchanges off of run reads with his running back. Jameson had 20 carries for 104 yards and 3 touchdowns. One particular run that seemed to suck some air out of the flyers was his 32 yard run for a touchdown. The energy that he exuded, was carried forth to all his teammates on both sides of the ball. </span> &nbsp; <em><strong>Tyran Martin-RB </strong></em> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Tyran Martin was a game-breaker due to his speed and age. For being a freshman, the backfield is bright down south for east st Louis. In this particular game, he didn’t have any crazy numbers, but you could tell that he made sure Cary grove never lightened the box. This impact alone was enough to make him an impact player for this game. He didn’t see the most daylight, but when he did, you saw what he did on his 15-yard touchdown run.</span> &nbsp; <em><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="37529" first="Luther" last="Burden"] iii- WR </strong></em> <span style="font-weight: 400;">The Mizzou commit had himself a going out game. Although I know he would’ve liked to win the championship, Luther had 106 yards and 2 touchdowns on 6 receptions along with an 80-yard kick-off return. The dynamic receiver was used in every way possible. He had the most success when passed the ball on a quick screen or in any position that gave him either a 50/50 ball or the ability to operate in space. Luther was a player that you could tell the Trojans keyed on in the second half to make Sophmore quarterback Ty Battle look elsewhere.</span> <p style="text-align: center;"><strong>Congratulations to the Cary-Grove Trojans on winning the IHSA 6A State championship!</strong></p> <hr /> <b><i>For more IHSA team previews and the upcoming offseason information regarding Illinois high school football players, you can follow @prepredzone or prepredzoneIL! To have your team featured for a season preview, recruiting advice, or having players featured in future articles, please DM and follow @_D3BO</i></b>