Friday Night Takeaways: East St. Louis vs Belleville East

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>It was another East St. Louis dominant performance we saw on Friday night as for the second consecutive week they took care of business against their top competition in the Southwestern Conference.&nbsp; This time it was a 55-7 victory on the road at Belleville East.&nbsp; We look at the game and prospects in <strong>Friday Night Takeaways: East St. Louis vs Belleville East</strong>!</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Flyers Dominate on Ground</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>On Friday the majority of the damage was done via the ground with the big boys up front moving bodies and the trio of East St. Louis backs making it look effortless.&nbsp; That was especially the case for #1 2027 [player_tooltip player_id='788737' first='Myson' last='Johnson-Cook'].&nbsp; You truly don't get a feel for how big he is until you are on the field with the 6'3” 210 pound back.&nbsp; He runs with power and in this game he went east and west around the tackle then down the sideline twice for long touchdowns including a 68 yard dash on the first touch of the game.&nbsp; Later he would go for one from 61 yards out.&nbsp; It was the easy acceleration that really impressed us as it doesn't look like he is going full speed, but he blows past defenders who have the angle.&nbsp; Class of 2027 back [player_tooltip player_id='1282833' first='Amir' last='Tillman'] goes 5'8” and 170 pounds.&nbsp; He also had a pair of touchdowns on shorter runs in this game.&nbsp; Like the quickness and vision he shows along with his speed.&nbsp; Yet another emerging 2027 talent in this backfield is [player_tooltip player_id='1604137' first='Ahmad' last='Coleman'] who has a ton of explosiveness on the perimeter along with major speed.&nbsp; Shout out to the offensive line led by Purdue commit Terrell Berryhill at right tackle along with emerging 2028 right tackle Javell Donely.&nbsp; Inside it was [player_tooltip player_id='1669942' first='Mytrell' last='Tillman'], Jordan Henderson, and Jerry Richmond getting the job done.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Gomiller Brings Major Juice as Receiver and Returner</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The most electric athlete on the field Friday might have been [player_tooltip player_id='1335411' first='Ronnie' last='Gomiller'].&nbsp; We are looking at a wide receiver that sits at #15 overall right now, but has made a super strong case to move inside the top 10.&nbsp; The wide receiver put on a clinic as a punt returner taking a pair to the house in the victory.&nbsp; The first one was one the second touch of the game for the Flyers where he ran to a 45 yard TD.&nbsp; Then at the beginning of the second half he ripped off another one that was even longer for a score.&nbsp; He is so slippery with the ball in his hands both in the return game along with as a receiver where he shakes defenders after the catch.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Another Dominant Defensive Effort for East St. Louis</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Flyers defense was very impressive once again not allowing any offensive points for the second game in a row against the other best team in their conference after posting a zero on Edwardsville last week.&nbsp; Up front 2027 defensive tackle Gregory Bell set the tone against the run as the 6'1” 290 pound nose guard was a monster stuffing the run in the first half.&nbsp; Love the quickness and explosiveness getting up field that 2027 defensive tackle [player_tooltip player_id='1335224' first='Caleb' last='Brown'] brings to the table.&nbsp; [player_tooltip player_id='401599' first='Cornell' last='McIntosh'] is a big time defender that plays physical against the run with great use of his hands to get off blockers.&nbsp; We got to see extended time out of Jahadi White Jr with another one of their stars out.&nbsp; At 6'7” 240 pounds he has all the physical tools you could ask for and continues to refine his game as he made a couple big plays.&nbsp; Like what we saw on the second level out of the linebacker trio of [player_tooltip player_id='498273' first='Phillip' last='White'], [player_tooltip player_id='1131012' first='James' last='Bryant'], and [player_tooltip player_id='1131020' first='Makhi' last='Walker'].&nbsp; They are so aggressive, fast, and run to the ball.&nbsp; Bryant and Walker both had sacks in the win.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Lancers Have Three Interesting Plays Rarely Seen</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>For the Lancer the thing that will stand out is three unique plays.&nbsp; The biggest came on an interception by their defensive tackle and Cincinnati commit [player_tooltip player_id='801701' first='Jonathan' last='Rulo'].&nbsp; Very instinctual player that is a disruptor up front read the screen pass, picked it off, and ran like a running back for a pick 6.&nbsp; Then after that score the kicker drilled one of the Flyers front line defenders on the kick return unit and the ball bounced right back to them for a very interesting kind of onside kick recovery.&nbsp; The other was when it looked like East St. Louis was going to go in for a score and a defender punched the ball back what seemed like 15 yards like a ping pong ball.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Under the Radar Lancer Prospects</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>When looking at Belleville East a name that has put his name on the map this season is transfer back Josh Ware who goes 6'0” 187 pounds.&nbsp; I really like how hard he runs.&nbsp; Despite being hammered by the physical East St. Louis front seven he kept attacking the line of scrimmage.&nbsp; Like him at the small college level.&nbsp; Two juniors that go both ways are prospects to track.&nbsp; [player_tooltip player_id='1344621' first='James' last='Johnson'] is one of the better wide receivers from southern Illinois in the 2027 class.&nbsp; He is a crafty route runner that snatches the ball out of the air for first downs.&nbsp; Also has some intriguing skills defensively as a jumbo corner/free safety at 6'3” with ball skills.&nbsp; Reeled in an interception in the endzone.&nbsp; Fellow junior CJ Willis is a versatile weapon who can take short passes and make defenders miss.&nbsp; Can also make the acrobatic grab as well.&nbsp; The 5'10” athlete also has potential as a DB.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->