Fenwick Friars Shock Upset-Riddled East St. Louis Flyers to Win State Championship
In a thrilling matchup that saw several twists and turns, Fenwick's junior Jake Thies stole the show with two game-changing plays that propelled his team to a hard-fought 38-28 victory over heavily favored East St. Louis in the Class 6A state championship game.
Thies' first big play came in the third quarter when he burst through a gap and ran 74 yards for a touchdown, giving Fenwick its largest lead of the night. The Friars' defense then stiffened, holding off a late Flyers rally that saw East St. Louis score 10 points to cut the deficit to just eight.
The decisive blow came on the final play of the game when Thies intercepted an East St. Louis pass and set up a three-yard touchdown run by Jamen Williams with just seconds left, sealing the win for Fenwick.
For his heroics, Thies was beaming with pride after the game. "I was just trusting my speed," he said. "I knew once I got into the open field they weren’t going to catch me. It was a good play call. Coaches saw something. I found the gap and burst through."
Williams also had a stellar game, throwing for 155 yards and two touchdowns while rushing for 39 yards and another score.
Fenwick's coach Matt Battaglia praised his team's resilience, saying "It helps when you have a great team around you." He also lavished praise on Thies, calling him "a great player" whose play was impossible to ignore.
Not so fortunate were the Flyers, who struggled with turnovers and mental mistakes that their opponents capitalized on. East St. Louis quarterback Reece Shanklin threw for 158 yards but also tossed two interceptions, while running back Myson Johnson-Cook rushed for 181 yards but couldn't lead his team to victory.
For the Flyers' coach Darren Sunkett, the loss was tough to swallow. "A ton of mental mistakes on our part," he said. "Turnovers on our part. They took advantage of our mistakes and capitalized on them."
The win marked Fenwick's first state championship since 2021 and its third in school history.
In a thrilling matchup that saw several twists and turns, Fenwick's junior Jake Thies stole the show with two game-changing plays that propelled his team to a hard-fought 38-28 victory over heavily favored East St. Louis in the Class 6A state championship game.
Thies' first big play came in the third quarter when he burst through a gap and ran 74 yards for a touchdown, giving Fenwick its largest lead of the night. The Friars' defense then stiffened, holding off a late Flyers rally that saw East St. Louis score 10 points to cut the deficit to just eight.
The decisive blow came on the final play of the game when Thies intercepted an East St. Louis pass and set up a three-yard touchdown run by Jamen Williams with just seconds left, sealing the win for Fenwick.
For his heroics, Thies was beaming with pride after the game. "I was just trusting my speed," he said. "I knew once I got into the open field they weren’t going to catch me. It was a good play call. Coaches saw something. I found the gap and burst through."
Williams also had a stellar game, throwing for 155 yards and two touchdowns while rushing for 39 yards and another score.
Fenwick's coach Matt Battaglia praised his team's resilience, saying "It helps when you have a great team around you." He also lavished praise on Thies, calling him "a great player" whose play was impossible to ignore.
Not so fortunate were the Flyers, who struggled with turnovers and mental mistakes that their opponents capitalized on. East St. Louis quarterback Reece Shanklin threw for 158 yards but also tossed two interceptions, while running back Myson Johnson-Cook rushed for 181 yards but couldn't lead his team to victory.
For the Flyers' coach Darren Sunkett, the loss was tough to swallow. "A ton of mental mistakes on our part," he said. "Turnovers on our part. They took advantage of our mistakes and capitalized on them."
The win marked Fenwick's first state championship since 2021 and its third in school history.
Jake Thies is a total game-changer! That last-minute TD run by Jamen Williams was insane 
Matt Battaglia is one lucky coach to have such an amazing squad behind him 
The Flyers put up a great fight, but East St. Louis just couldn't keep up 
Reece Shanklin and Myson Johnson-Cook are talented players, but mistakes cost them the game 
Can't wait to see what the future holds for Fenwick! 
! How can you have a Class 6A state championship game where the winner is only down by 10 points with like 2 minutes to go?! That's just crazy! 
The Flyers were so close, but those turnovers and mental mistakes killed them for sure. And Thies' interception return at the end was just lucky, TBH 
fenwick's jake thies is literally the man 
and jamsen williams was on fire too 
38-28 is a crazy score though lol what a game 
i'm still on the edge of my seat just thinking about it. fenwick's coach matt battaglia should be so proud of his team, they showed so much heart and resilience. sorry east st louis flyers, u got game but fenwick came out on top this time 
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. The coaches made some smart calls, and it paid off big time 
. And let's not forget about Thies' interception - pure perfection 
! This kid's got the skills 
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. Turnovers and mental mistakes cost them the game 
. It's gonna be tough for them to bounce back from this one 
.
! The school hasn't had a championship since 2021, so this must mean the world to them 
It takes a lot of guts to be yourself, even when you're not the biggest or the strongest. 
. I'm not buying that Thies just "trusted his speed" on those big plays 
. And what's with all the turnovers? if they can't even keep the ball for a quarter, how's that gonna take them far in the future? 
they were so down but Thies and his team came through in the clutch. it's crazy how one play can change everything, like that 74-yard run in the 3rd quarter was insane 
. It's awesome for Fenwick that they're back on top after a few years out 
. And credit to coach Battaglia for building a resilient team – it makes all the difference in moments like this 
Thies is literally a superhero, his 2 big plays sealed the deal for them. And Williams had an amazing game too! 
he single handedly took it to the flyers and sealed the win for fenwick. tho, gotta say, east st louis had some major mental fumbles 
. Plus, where was East St. Louis' defense when it really mattered? They got torched by the Flyers all game and couldn't stop them from scoring. It's not fair that Fenwick gets all the credit for their win 
but still, fenwick deserved it more or less. congrats to thies on his "heroics" 
.