Class 6A state championship preview capsule: Cary-Grove (13-0) vs. East St. Louis (11-2)

Class 6A State Championship

Cary-Grove (13-0) vs. East St. Louis (11-2)

When: 1 p.m. Saturday, Northern Illinois University’s Huskie Stadium. The game can be seen in the Chicago area on WCIU Ch. 26 or WMEU Ch. 48. Look on ihsa.org for how you can stream the broadcast on your computer. Also, WRLR 98.3 FM will broadcast the game, starting with pregame at 12:30 p.m. It also can be heard on WRLR.FM on your computer.

About the Flyers: East St. Louis is the defending 6A state champion, having beaten Prairie Ridge, 43-22, for the 2019 state title. … The Flyers had not allowed a touchdown against an Illinois opponent until their 42-21 quarterfinal victory over Lemont. They beat Crete-Monee, 54-13, last week to reach the title game. … East St. Louis started the season with wins over Missouri powerhouses Christian Brothers, 48-44, and DeSmet Jesuit, 32-17, both St. Louis schools. Their losses came in Week 3 to St. John Bosco in Bellwood, California, 42-26, and to IMG Academy in Week 9, 49-8. … In 2016, the Flyers won the Class 7A state title, but they were knocked out of the 7A bracket in 2017 and 2018 by Mount Carmel. … WR Luther Burden III (Missouri) is ranked as the top college prospect in the state and No. 6 in the nation. He has 32 touchdowns and 2,080 total yards between receiving, rushing and punt returns. Burden (6-1, 200) has nine punt-return touchdowns, two of which came last week against C-M. He has 71 catches for 1,174 yards and 20 TDs. “Luther goes out there and does some phenomenal things,” Flyers coach Darren Sunkett said. “He definitely lives up to his nickname ‘Touchdown Luther.’ He lives up to that each week.” … Freshman RB TaRyan Martin leads the Flyers with 834 yards rushing, while RB Ali Wells has 558.

… QB Robert “Pops” Battle has thrown for 2,662 yards and 28 touchdowns. … LB Dominic Dixon (158) and DL Frank Wilson (123) lead the Flyers in tackles. … Along with Burden, OL Melvin Priestly (Arkansas-Pine Bluff), DB Lamarr Box Jr. (Northern Iowa), DB Toriano Pride Jr. (Clemson) and DB Ahmad Robinson (Arkansas State) have all committed to D-I schools. Sunkett said DB Dallas Brown and WR Kuran Parchman have offers. Brown is leaning toward Kent State. … “I wish we were playing a spread team,” said Sunkett, alluding to C-G’s vaunted triple-option and the Flyers’ talented defensive backfield. “That’s not going to be a factor.” … The Flyers have nine state championships in their storied history; Sunkett coached the last three champions (2008, 2016, 2019).

About the Trojans: C-G will play in its sixth state title game, having gone 2-3 in previous appearances. This game features the last two Class 6A state champs as C-G won in 2018. … C-G’s triple-option has been scary all season. The Trojans average 421.8 yards and 45 points a game and their first-team offense often has been on the sideline well before the fourth quarter starts.

… FB Nick Hissong leads the attack with 1,489 rushing yards. RBs Drew Magel (931) and Wade Abrams (696) are threats from anywhere on the field and QB Jameson Sheehan has 821 rushing yards. … Sheehan has thrown for 907 yards with 13 touchdowns and one interception. TE Noah Riley is his favorite target with 32 grabs for 620 yards and eight TDs. … The Trojans’ first-team defense has allowed one touchdown in four postseason games. LB Colin Desmet leads C-G with 140 tackles and four interceptions. LB Zach Petko has 90 tackles and DB Toby Splitt has 75 tackles and three picks.

… C-G has won 17 consecutive games and its closest margin this season was a 36-22 win over Jacobs in Week 7. … “We didn’t really know, relative to the rest of the state, where we were,” Trojans coach Brad Seaburg said. “When (the Fox Valley Conference) started to have some success in the playoffs, we thought, ‘OK, the conference was pretty good this year.’ " Jacobs (7A), Crystal Lake Central (6A) and Prairie Ridge (6A) also advanced to the quarterfinal round. … The Trojans played East St. Louis once before, beating the Flyers in the second round of the 1998 Class 5A playoffs, 25-7, in East St. Louis.

FND pick: East St. Louis.