Class 6A state championship: Cary-Grove holds off East St. Louis in epic title matchup

DeKALB – Cary-Grove’s Noah Riley entered the Class 6A state championship game against East St. Louis on Nov. 27 for only one defensive snap.

Riley, a senior tight end, certainly picked the right moment.

With 28 seconds remaining, Flyers sophomore quarterback Robert Battle’s pass attempt popped into the air and into the waiting hands of Riley. C-G’s offense then sealed things with a kneel-down for a 37-36 win at Northern Illinois University’s Huskie Stadium, Cary-Grove’s third state title in school history.

Riley’s instructions were a simple, yet highly daunting task: “Cover [Flyers wide receiver] Luther Burden and follow him wherever he goes.”

[ Photos: Cary-Grove stops East St. Louis on final drive to win Class 6A state championship ]

Burden, the East St. Louis senior superstar and state’s top college prospect, entered the game with 32 touchdowns and 2,080 total yards between receiving, rushing and punt returns. He scored two receiving touchdowns against C-G and had a kick return for another TD.

Burden finished with six receptions for 106 yards.

“He was right there. I tried staying as close as possible as I could,” Riley said. “Ball just went up and I just went for it.”

Battle, trying to make a play, knew he couldn’t take a sack.

“So I was trying to make a bigger play,” said Battle, who finished 15-of-20 passing for 196 yards and two touchdowns. “I’m going to take my learning lesson from this and move forward.”

TV replays showed Battle potentially might have been down before throwing the pick.

“I don’t really know [if I was],” Battle said.

Cary-Grove (14-0) was playing in its sixth state title game, having gone 2-3 in previous appearances. C-G previously won in 2009 and 2018.

“I think the game spoke for itself [as] for an opening statement,” C-G coach Brad Seaburg said. “Wow.”

Trailing 37-36, East St. Louis (11-3) still had a chance after a Trojans fumble was recovered with 3:15 left.

The Flyers overcame two costly penalties to reach midfield.

Yet it was the Trojans who made one more crucial play.

“We told our kids on Monday we thought we were the best team in the state of Illinois,” Seaburg said. “I think we did everything today to prove that’s certainly a possibility.”

C-G took a 30-20 lead into halftime, but with 4:48 remaining in the third, Burden climbed the ladder for a 12-yard touchdown and Battle’s two-point conversion pulled the Flyers to within 30-28.

On the ensuing possession, the Trojans opted to attempt a fourth-and-17 from the Flyers’ 32 to open the fourth quarter. Jameson Sheehan, who had 99 rushing yards and three touchdowns, converted his first pass of the game for a crucial 23 yards to Riley.

Nick Hissong, who revealed postgame he likely tore his ACL on a fourth-quarter run, ran in for a 9-yard score with 11:49 left to give the Trojans a 37-28 lead.

Hissong finished with 224 rushing yards on 32 carries and two scores.

Burden, again, had an answer.

The Missouri recruit motored the ensuing kickoff 80 yards for a touchdown, and the two-point try was good to pull East St. Louis to within a point, 37-36, with 11:37 left.

“[Burden] is a special talent,” Flyers coach Darren Sunkett said. “I’ve said it before, he’s definitely the best I’ve seen. What we want to do is just get the ball in his hands and let him make plays.”

C-G, which has won 18 consecutive games, showed its collective heart to preserve the program’s third title.

“I think we just had so much confidence going into this game that we were going to be the one coming out on top,” Sheehan said. “Our team, we all work together. I’m kind of at a loss for words right now. It was just such a great atmosphere. Just playing the game of my life. It’s awesome.”

C-G narrowly edged the Flyers in total offense, 409 to 406, and led 22 to 21 in first downs.

The Flyers (11-3) piled up big plays from the opening kickoff, but still trailed 30-20 at the half.

It didn’t take Burden long to find the end zone.

The senior took a pass from Battle 53 yards for a score within the first 30 seconds for an early 8-0 lead.

The Trojans answered with Sheehan’s 31-yard run to even it.

Flyers freshman running back TaRyan Martin (101 yards) had a 5-yard touchdown run to retake the lead but was stopped on the two-point try.

Hissong converted a key fourth-and-1 on the ensuing possession and then scored from 6 yards out to make it 15-14 C-G with 3:34 remaining in the first quarter.

Battle scrambled for an 11-yard score to put the Flyers ahead again 20-15.

After C-G senior linebacker Wade Abrams forced a fumble and the Trojans recovered, Sheehan had a 3-yard score for a 23-20 lead with 3:58 left in the half.

C-G kicker Toby Splitt then recovered his own onside kick, which led to Sheehan’s 5-yard score – his third of the half – for the 30-20 halftime lead.

“I thought both teams played an outstanding game,” Sunkett said. “It was an offensive shootout, came down to a few stops. They [C-G] made their stops when they had to and we had our opportunities. We didn’t capitalize.”