Friday Night Takeaways: East St. Louis vs Edwardsville

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Friday evening Prep Redzone Illinois was on the sidelines for East St. Louis against Edwardsville.&nbsp; The host Edwardsville was coming off a dramatic win over rival Belleville East last week in the last minute.&nbsp; East St. Louis never let off the gas in this one winning 54-0 in a statement road win for the Flyers.&nbsp; The immense talent across the board on both side was insanely impressive.&nbsp; Here we dive into the game in <strong>Friday Night Takeaways: East St. Louis vs Edwardsville</strong>!</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Flyers Defense Was Phenomenal at All Three Levels</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>There is no doubt the defense for East St. Louis is one of the best in the state.  It was a dominant performance on Friday holding a good offense to zero points.  Lets start with the defensive line.  Class of 2027 defensive tackle [player_tooltip player_id='1335224' first='Caleb' last='Brown'] jumped off the field to us living in the backfield all game long.  The 6'2” defensive tackle is so quick off the snap making plays against the run and pass.  [player_tooltip player_id='401599' first='Cornell' last='McIntosh'] is a Northern Illinois commit in 2026 that is rock solid up front stuffing against the run and making his presence known on a consistent basis.  Linebacker Central Michigan commit [player_tooltip player_id='401621' first='Leon' last='Howard'] was lining up quite a bit as a big defensive end who played well.  We got our first look at basketball standout Jahadi White on the gridiron.  He looks massive out there at 6'7” 240 pounds.  Liked the motor we saw out of him especially pursuing against the run.  At the linebacker level it was the [player_tooltip player_id='498273' first='Phillip' last='White'] show!  The state's #2 linebacker was a monster in this game.  He had two interceptions.  The first one he grabbed in the redzone and took it way down the field setting up a score.  The next one he took in himself for a pick 6.  He was also hitting with force as he was putting opponents down on the ground.  Two other 2027 backers that impressed were transfers [player_tooltip player_id='1131012' first='James' last='Bryant'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1131020' first='Makhi' last='Walker'].  They were flowing to the ball making plays throughout the game.  On the second level Jabari Lofton was an enforcer at safety laying the hammer multiple times.  [player_tooltip player_id='1250731' first='Aireon' last='Bass'] is a 6'2” safety that looks larger as he had a nose for the ball.  Dekarai Weaver is a senior defensive back that covered ground over the middle for an interception setting up a score.  Star 2027 corner [player_tooltip player_id='1335357' first='Raheem' last='Floyd'] did a solid job in one on one against Hill-Lomax.  The Mizzou commit did have a few nice plays and Floyd had a couple PI calls, but overall there is a ton to like in this fluid and rangy corner.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>2027 QB Shanklin Spreads the Wealth</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>In the 2027 class there are a ton of star quarterbacks.&nbsp; East St. Louis junior [player_tooltip player_id='1598810' first='Reece' last='Shanklin'] looked like he belonged every bit apart of that stellar group on Friday night.&nbsp; The 6'2” signal caller is a well built passer that also has quality athleticism.&nbsp; He can definitely run on designed plays for scores, but he is a passer first that would rather scramble and let it fly.&nbsp; His improved accuracy since we saw him last season was a great growth.&nbsp; Made solid reads throughout the night along with getting it out quick when he needed.&nbsp; Tons of weapons for him led by Ronnie GoMiller.&nbsp; The junior was very good using shifty moves moving the chains.&nbsp; Silky smooth as a route runner.&nbsp; Indiana commit [player_tooltip player_id='1669549' first='Kortez' last='Rupert'] caught a deep TD on a go route where Shanklin put it right in the bucket for a score.&nbsp; Did it in front of one of his future coaches for the Hoosiers.&nbsp; Eastern Michigan commit [player_tooltip player_id='1128408' first='Armaad' last='Sharp'] is a jumbo wide receiver/tight end that is a mismatch.&nbsp; Showcased that on a pass over the middle that he took in for a score.&nbsp; &nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Trio of East St. Louis 2027 Running Backs Shine Behind Dominant Offensive Line</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>It is great when you have one quality running back.&nbsp; The Flyers have three that will play at the Power 4 or Group of 5 level.&nbsp; It starts with the #1 overall player in the 2027 class [player_tooltip player_id='788737' first='Myson' last='Johnson-Cook'].&nbsp; He is so physically impressive at 6'3” and 210 pounds.&nbsp; He runs with a lot of strength and power as he racked up a pair of touchdowns in the win.&nbsp; Also got a monster game from [player_tooltip player_id='1282833' first='Amir' last='Tillman'] who is a speedy 5'8” junior back that has homerun speed.&nbsp; A new name that is quickly emerging is [player_tooltip player_id='1604137' first='Ahmad' last='Coleman'] as the 5'9” junior is another back that has speed to burn and good vision.&nbsp; They all ran behind an outstanding offensive line with Purdue commit Terrell Berryhill at left tackle along with senior [player_tooltip player_id='1669942' first='Mytrell' last='Tillman'] and sophomore [player_tooltip player_id='1052306' first='Javell' last='Donley'] on the right side.&nbsp; Jerry Richmond is a 6'2” 280 pound sophomore guard to watch.&nbsp; Jordan Henderson is a senior mauler up front as well going 6'1” 305 pounds.&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>What Can Hold Flyers Back?</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>East St. Louis lost a pair of out of state games and it doesn't look like they are going to have much trouble against local competition.&nbsp; So what can stop this team from another title in March?&nbsp; Two things stood out in way too many penalties and kicking game.&nbsp; They had a lot of penalties on both sides of the ball which didn't matter in a blowout, but in a close game it could.&nbsp; Also the kicking game on extra points could get cleaned up as in the playoffs those points matter if a game is close.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Mistakes and Injuries Hurt Edwardsville</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Not a ton to talk about with Edwardsville on this night.&nbsp; Their starting quarterback got injured early on and that took the air out of the game.&nbsp; The backup gave everything he could, but kept taking hits.&nbsp; They finished with a third QB.&nbsp; There were several miscues including interceptions and mistakes on special teams that made the margin of victory even larger.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Hill-Lomax Flashes in Front of Future Head Coach</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Edwardsville wide receiver [player_tooltip player_id='1404803' first='Devyon' last='Hill-Lomax'] made a couple of acrobatic catches and had a nice kick off return in the loss for the Tigers.&nbsp; He will be playing for another Tigers squad in Mizzou next year as their head coach was in the building as he landed on the baseball field in a helicopter to see his future playmaker.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->