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East St. Louis (Ill.) gearing up to play star-studded 2025 schedule

hunterby:Hunter Shelton•05/02/25•

HunterShelton_

Syndication: Peoria Journal Star
Washington'g Kainon McQueary grabs East St. Louis' Larevious Woods on a run in the first half of their Class 6A football state semifinals Saturday, Nov. 18, 2023 at Babcook Field in Washington.

East St. Louis (Ill.) made its way back to the top of the Illinois 6A high school football mountain last season, winning 13 games while claiming its 11th state championship in program history.

The Flyers have now been to a state title game four years in a row and finished as the No. 17 team nationally and top-ranked team in Illinois in 2024, per the On3 Composite Rankings. Expectations this fall are no different.

Headlined by a trio of road games at some of the nation’s top programs, East St. Louis, led by head coach Darren Sunkett, will take on a stout schedule in 2025. The Flyers will only play three home games this year.

The season will begin in New Jersey on Aug. 28, as the Flyers will once compete in the Battle of the Beach and take on Bergen Catholic (N.J.), which won another state title and finished as a top-10 team nationally last year. The home opener will come the following week on Sept. 6, as Gadsden County (Fla.) makes the trip to the Midwest. The Jaguars were a top-15 team in the Sunshine State last season.

It’s then right back on the road, as East St. Louis heads all the way to Nevada to take on Las Vegas juggernaut Bishop Gorman, consistently one of the nation’s top programs. The Gaels finished as the No. 3 team overall and will compete for a national title once again this fall.

The five-game in-state schedule then gears up in the middle of September, the latter three of which will all come on the road. Headlining the matchups is a trip to Edwardsville on Oct. 17. The Tigers finished as the No. 30 team in Illinois last season — the highest-ranked in-state team on the Flyers’ upcoming schedule.

Then comes a big-time rematch to close the regular season. Florida powerhouse IMG Academy went to Illinois and beat the Flyers 14-13 in overtime last season. East St. Louis is now set to head to Florida on Oct. 24 and will look to exact some revenge on the Ascenders ahead of postseason action.

East St. Louis 2025 Schedule

Aug. 28: at Bergen Catholic (N.J.)
Sept. 6: vs. Gadsden County (Fla.)
Sept. 12: at Bishop Gorman (Nev.)
Sept. 19: vs. Belleville-East (Ill.)
Sept. 26: vs. O’Fallon (Ill.)
Oct. 3: at Belleville-West (Ill.)
Oct. 10: at Alton (Ill.)
Oct. 17: at Edwardsville (Ill.)
Oct. 24: at IMG Academy (Fla.)