Both Belleville Althoff Catholic and East St. Louis have opportunities to play in the IHSA state championship games next weekend, but first will have to get past two very formidable opponents in the semifinals on Saturday afternoon.
The Crusaders, currently 12-0, face a rematch from 11-1 Camp Point Central at George Martz Field, while the Flyers, 11-1, meet Oak Lawn Richards, who are also 11-1, at Clyde C. Jordan Memorial Stadium, with both games kicking off at 2 p.m. The winners go on the state championship games next weekend at Hancock Stadium on the campus of Illinois State University in Bloomington-Normal, the original home of the IHSA finals when the playoffs were first competed in 1974.
The Crusaders go into the semifinal against the Panthers having won their first three games by impressive margins: 60-0 over Dupo, 43-21 at Carrollton, and 54-7 over Casey-Westfield last week in the quarterfinals. Camp Point Central, the defending Class 1A champion, won their three games over Nokomis 34-6, Toledo Cumberland 40-0, and Hardin Calhoun 16-7 last week in the quarters.
Althoff has an exceptionally explosive offense, led by senior running back Dierre Hill, Jr., who will be playing at Oregon next season. Hill is among the area’s rushing leaders, with 1.832 yards and 32 touchdowns, and has also caught 14 passes for 284 yards and five more touchdowns. He’s joined by Steven Brown, with 425 yards rushing and six touchdowns, quarterback Jayden Ellington, who’s ran for 220 yards and seven touchdowns, and Lucas Jacquot, who has 198 yards and a score. Ellington is also 111-for-153 passing for 1,941 yards and 34 touchdowns, while the leading receivers are Charleston Coldon, who had 38 catches for 762 yards and 12 touchdowns, and Kylin Jordan, who had 16 receptions for 306 yards and eight touchdowns. Logan Thompson has 14 catches for 222 yards and three touchdowns, and Brown has 13 receptions for 130 yards and two touchdowns.
East Side has been very dominant in their three playoff wins, defeating Springfield 67-0, Normal Community West 48-0, and Chatham Glenwood 58-14. The Bulldogs come to the semifinal having won over Dunlap 21-20, Washington 42-21, and Kankakee 21-20 last week in the quarterfinals.
The Flyers also have a very explosive offense, and it’s led by senior quarterback Kendrick Lyons, who is 144-for-193 passing for 2,183 yards passing with 21 touchdowns, while Reece Shanklin is a very capable backup, currently 22-of-46 passing for 432 yards and six touchdowns. Lyons has also ran for 112 yards and a touchdown.
The leading rusher is senior Larevious “Fresh” Woods, who’s ran for 615 yards and 15 touchdowns, while TaRyan Martin has 462 yards and three touchdowns, and Amir Tillman has 265 yards and eight touchdowns. Christopher Bennett, Jr. leads the receiving corps with 40 catches for 538 yards and seven touchdowns, while Ronnie Gomiller has 489 yards and nine touchdowns, Kortez Rupert has 434 yards and eight scores, Laron Baker, Jr., has 297 yards and four touchdowns, and Armaad Sharp has 273 yards and six touchdowns.
The Althoff-Camp Point Central winner meets the winner between LeRoy and Lena-Winslow in the Class 1A final Nov. 29 at 10 a.m., while the East Side-Richards winner meets the winner of Cary Grove and Geneva in the Class 6A final Nov. 30 at 1 p.m.
