After some dramatic wins and one narrow loss to kick off the 2026 season, no team in the state of Illinois has been as dominant over the last nine to weeks than East St. Louis.
The Flyers opened postseason last Friday and like they did in the six games prior to that, they rolled as they kicked off the new part of the season with a dominant 69-0 home win over Reavis (IL). As good as the team was as a whole, no player was more impressive in that game than senior quarterback Reece Shanklin.
Following a poll of the USA TODAY Sports audience, Shanklin was voted as the USA TODAY Sports Super 25 Playmaker of the Week following a four-touchdown night for the No. 20 Flyers. In the win, Shanklin accounted for five of the Flyers' eight touchdowns.
By the
time the final whistle blew, Shanklin had more touchdown passes than incomplete passes.
He diced up the Reavis defense, completing 11 of his 15 pass attempts for 313 yards and four touchdowns. Shanklin didn't just do damage with his arm.
Carrying the ball only four times, he ran for 73 yards and another touchdown.
With that performance now under his belt, Shanklin's numbers for the year sit at 2,366 yards and 28 touchdowns to just two interceptions as he's completed 65% of his passes.
Given how dominant the Flyers have been, he hasn't had to run much but has accounted for 278 more yards and three more touchdowns on the ground.
Shanklin and the state's top-ranked Flyers are back at home this Friday, Nov. 6 for their second postseason matchup against St. Patrick (IL).
Follow Sports Reporter Joe Spears on X at @joe_spears7 or via email: JSpears@usatodayco.com. For additional high school sports coverage, be sure to follow USA TODAY High School Sports on Instagram and X.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: East St. Louis' Reece Shanklin voted USA TODAY Sports Super 25 Playmaker of the Week
