[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 199 (Wednesday, December 21, 2022)]
[Senate]
[Page S9763]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


     
     
            RECOGNIZING THE EAST ST. LOUIS FLYERS' 2022 FOOTBALL TEAM
     
       Mr. DURBIN. Madam President, on November 26, the East St. Louis 
     Flyers--Illinois' winningest high school football program--defeated the 
     Prairie Ridge Wolves 57-7. By handing Prairie Ridge their first loss of 
     the season, the East St. Louis Flyers took home the Illinois High 
     School Association's Class 6A Championship, the school's 10th State 
     football title.
       As an Assumption High School Pioneer and native son of East St. 
     Louis, I went to school just a few minutes down the road from East St. 
     Louis Senior High School--or East Side as we called it. Even back then, 
     East Side was a dominant force in high school athletics. So much so 
     that in 1960, when the Assumption Pioneers managed to pull off an upset 
     win against the East Side Flyers at Parsons Field, our entire school 
     was given the day off to celebrate. While Assumption High School closed 
     in 1989, East St. Louis Senior High has fought on and is now the last 
     remaining high school in my hometown, serving about 1,500 students. 
     Over the years, they have continued to excel in athletics, enjoying 
     success thanks to coaching legend Bob Shannon, who led the Flyers to 
     six Illinois State championships and two national championships during 
     his time as head coach.
       East St. Louis is a city that has fallen on hard times, a story all 
     too common in this Nation. What used to be an economic powerhouse on 
     the Mighty Mississippi with flourishing meatpacking, rail, and 
     manufacturing industries, the City of Champions now struggles with 
     frequent flooding, limited economic opportunity, a shrinking tax base, 
     and bouts of high crime. Yet despite these challenges, the Flyers of 
     East St. Louis Senior High were able to persevere and fly on to win 
     their 10th State football championship.
       After falling to the Cary-Grove Trojans by one point in the 2021 
     Class 6A Championship game, there was no guarantee that the Flyers 
     would make it back to the State championship. The Flyers had a rough 
     start to the 2022 season, losing two of their first three games after 
     dropping contests to St. Frances Academy from Baltimore, MD, and a road 
     game against the Creekside Seminoles of Fairburn, GA. A testament to 
     the team's resilience, the Flyers would go on an 11-win tear, which 
     included 6 shutouts thanks to the Flyers' stout defense. In the 4th 
     game of that 11-game winning streak--an 80-0 win over the Alton 
     Redbirds--Flyers' Head Coach Darren Sunkett notched his 200th career 
     win. This milestone caught the attention of a coaching legend, none 
     other than the University of Alabama's Nick Saban, who reached out to 
     congratulate Coach Sunkett. After such a dominant victory, you might 
     expect the team would celebrate and rest on their laurels. Instead, 
     after one of the week's grueling 3-hour practices, Coach Sunkett made 
     his team run sprints due to poor coverage on one of the kick-offs. It 
     was back to hard work.
       Despite his demand for excellence and attention to detail, Coach 
     Sunkett knows that success on the field is not all that matters. He 
     wants his players to be well-rounded and has designed a program to help 
     his players succeed on and off the field. Having grown up with little 
     chance to explore outside his hometown of Camden, NJ, Coach Sunkett 
     makes every effort that his players experience life outside of the 89 
     blocks of East St. Louis, often taking his team on the road to test 
     themselves against the Nation's best teams.
       Football is much more than touchdowns or tackles, first downs or 
     sacks, or even wins and losses. It is about collective effort, a group 
     of people coming together to achieve something more than what they 
     could achieve on their own. For many of the young men of the East St. 
     Louis Flyers football team, football represents opportunity. An 
     opportunity to make a better life for themselves and their families, 
     get a quality education from one of the Nation's leading universities, 
     and get a degree that will open up many more opportunities. What these 
     young men have been able to do this season, despite the odds being 
     stacked against them, is nothing short of remarkable.
       To the players: whether you suit up and play at a top-tier collegiate 
     program next fall or you never play another down of football, remember: 
     You will always be champions. Congratulations on bringing the 2022 
     Illinois High School Association's Class 6A Championship home to East 
     St. Louis.
     
                               ____________________