EAST ST. LOUIS - East St. Louis High quarterback Tyler Macon had a big first half, throwing for 301 yards and four touchdowns, while running for a fifth. while Dominic Lovett scored twice in a dominating first half as the Flyers defeated Oak Lawn Richards 60-0 in the IHSA Class 6A football playoff quarterfinals Saturday afternoon at Clyde C. Jordan Stadium.

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East Side jumped out to a 22-0 lead in the first quarter, then extended the lead to 44-0 at halftime, with the running clock rule being used throughout the entire second half.

It didn't take long for the Flyers to jump out on top, as Kenneth Cotton took the opening kickoff back 71 yards for the first touchdown, with Lovett catching a two-point pass from Macon to give East Side a quick 8-0 lead. It became 14-0 with 6:52 left in the first, when Macon threw 30 yards to Keontez Lewis for the second touchdown of the day, but a two-point pass was incomplete to keep the score where it was. On the next Flyer possession, Lawaun Powell, Jr. took a pass from Macon from 22 yards out for another touchdown, with Antonio Johnson catching a pass from Macon for a two-point convert with 3:18 left in the first quarter, making it 22-0 for East St. Louis.

At the start of the second quarter, Macon scored his only touchdown of the game, taking it in from one yard out, with Johnson getting another two-point pass from Macon to make it 30-0 for the Flyers. Lovett then scored twice, catching passes of 28 and 54 yards from Macon for the touchdowns, with one two-point run being stopped short, and a second two-point run from DaMonta Witherspoon good to give the Flyers a 44-0 lead at halftime, causing the second half running clock.

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In the third quarter, Witherspoon took the ball in from seven yards out, then added a two-point run to make the score 52-0, and in the fourth, a 17-yard run from Jaylen Reed, along with a two-point convert pass from Richard Williams to Rayvion Smith, completed the scoring as the Flyers went on to win 60-0.

Macon was 19-of-21 passing for the 301 yards and the four touchdowns, and Williams was four-for-four passing for 58 yards. Lovett caught six balls for 119 and his two touchdowns, while Johnson had five catches for 72 yards, Lewis and Powell each had four receptions for 65 yards, Smith caught two passes for 20 yards, and Cotton had two catches for 16 yards.

Witherspoon was the leading rusher with nine carries for 43 yards, while Reed carried twice for 35 yards, and Macon had eight carries for 21 yards. The East Side defense forced two turnovers on the day, while getting 12 sacks on the Bulldogs quarterback, with Kendrick Scarbrough leading the way with three sacks, and Jireh Mays and Jamal Molton had two sacks each. Jalen Byrd, Derrion Perkins, Powell, McCaleb Rich and Darius Walker had one sack apiece.

The Flyers are now 12-0 and advance to next week's semifinals, where they'll host Chatham Glenwood, also 12-0 and a winner over New Lenox Providence Catholic 40-8, with the date and time announced by the IHSA office on Monday. The Bulldogs end the season 10-2.

The Titans-Flyers winner advances to the Class 6A final Saturday, Nov. 30 against the winner of Crystal Lake Prairie Ridge and Deerfield, with the final being played at Huskie Stadium at Northern Illinois University in DeKalb. The kickoff for the final is set for 1 p.m.

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