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East St. Louis DL Ke’Andre McClendon leads nightmare defense to fifth straight state finals

East St. Louis DL Ke’Andre McClendon leads nightmare defense to fifth straight state finals

When Geneva High football coach Troy Thorgesen scanned the defensive film on East St. Louis, he found himself in the inevitable position of 13 coaches in front of him.

How will he prevent senior defensive lineman Ke’Andre McClendon from disrupting his offense?

“I bet a lot of teams sat here on Sundays or whenever they made game plans and talked about the same things,” Thorgesen said.

On Saturday at 1 p.m., human wrecking ball McClendon will lead East St. Louis (12-1) against Geneva (12-1) onto the field for the Class 6A state championship at Illinois State University’s Hancock Stadium.

The Flyers are currently third all-time in Illinois state history with 10 state championships, trailing only Chicago Mount Carmel (15) and Joliet Catholic (15). But they lost to Cary-Grove in the 6A title game last year.

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“We had a bad taste in our mouths last year and we want to make sure we get rid of it in the regular season and playoffs and now we’re headed to state,” East St. assistant coach Trevor Dismukes said. Louis. “This taste won’t go away until we lift the trophy and bring it home.”

Nevertheless, the dominance has reached another level of success under head coach Darren Sunkett and his team.

The Flyers are making their fifth consecutive state championship appearance, including titles in 2019 and 2022 and runner-up finishes in 2021 and 2023.

The 2020 fall season could not be played due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

This season, a wall disguised as an East St. Louis defense led by McClendon led the way. The Force of Destruction has spread throughout the defense and Sunkett jokes that he would put McClendon in the defensive backfield if he could.

“This guy has absorbed a lot of information from his coaches for four years,” Sunkett said.







East St. Louis vs. Chatham Glenwood

East St. Louis senior Ke’Andre McClendon (9) sacks the quarterback during a Class 6A quarterfinal game on Nov. 16, 2024 at Chatham Glenwood High School in Chatham, Ill. Paul Halfacre, St. Louis Post-Dispatch


Paul Halfacre


McClendon racked up an incredible 128 tackles and 10 sacks for a defense that ate up and spit out multiple offenses.

“He’s a great player who is explosive,” Thorgesen said. “He plays with great hands, tenacity and great leverage. He will be a burden (to stop). You have to give it a different look. Make sure you know the protection and where the help is.”

Dismukes has seen his heat-seeking rocket evolve from year one into the monster it has become.

“Ke’Andre is a game-changer,” Dismukes said. “He played against every lineman he could face, he rises to the challenge. He takes on this challenge every week.”

The Flyers only allowed an incredible 6.7 points per game, including six shutouts. Three of those shutouts came in the playoffs, including 48-0 last week in the semifinals against Oak Lawn Richards.

“Everyone knows if you want a great defense, the front and back ends of the defense have to be on the same page, and these guys have been on the same page all year,” Sunkett said.

Sunkett points out that while McClendon has grabbed the headlines, if Geneva focuses too much on him, another part of this monster defense will emerge.

“If they plan to take Ke’Andre away, there are other players playing alongside and behind him that will pick up the slack,” Sunkett said.

Lurking right behind McClendon are senior Elmo Gilliam Jr. (119 tackles and five sacks), sophomore Caleb Brown (109 tackles and 14 sacks), senior Charles Bass (97 tackles and one interception) and sophomore Phillip White (72 tackles, four sacks and three interceptions).

“The greatest thing about the team is that they stick around,” Dismukes said. “They believe in the system we put in place and it worked.”

McClendon is playing in its fourth straight state championship game and is ready for the big lights.

And return home with some hardware.

“There’s not a lot of pressure,” McClendon said. “We’ll play this back and get the ring.”

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