A Statement Win in Normal

East St. Louis mounted a furious fourth-quarter comeback to defeat Mount Carmel 42-23 on Saturday night at Illinois State's Hancock Stadium, ending the Caravan's 19-game winning streak. The Flyers scored 28 unanswered points, all in the final period, to overcome a 23-14 deficit and hand the four-time defending state champions a season-opening loss.

Mount Carmel, which entered the game as the country's No. 17 team according to the Rivals National 2026 High School Football Composite Rankings and the state's top team per the Massey Ratings, led 23-14 before the Flyers' decisive run. Ronnie Gomiller's 6-yard touchdown run with 10:13 remaining gave East St. Louis a 28-23 lead, and the Flyers never trailed again.

Gomiller, a 2027 four-star athlete, was the offensive catalyst, scoring four touchdowns. He ran for three scores in the fourth quarter and added a 16-yard touchdown catch in the first half, finishing with 13 carries for 91 yards and a receiving touchdown, as reported by the Chicago Sun-Times.

East St. Louis coach Darren Sunkett credited Gomiller for stepping up after running back Myson Johnson-Cook, an Auburn commit, left the game in the first half with an undisclosed injury. Johnson-Cook had 12 carries for 88 yards before his exit.

"When Myson went down, it would have been easy to drop our heads," Sunkett said, according to the Sun-Times. "[Ronnie Gomiller] came and said to put him in at running back. We listened to him and he came out and made some big plays for us."

Sunkett also framed the win as a statement about his program's standing. "We hear we couldn't win. We had something to prove," he told the Sun-Times. "We have been at state seven years in a row. Win or lose we were there. It is tough to win in the state of Illinois. We came out with a chip on our shoulder. We wanted to show that we could play with Mount Carmel and beat them."

Mount Carmel's Turnover Trouble and Quarterback Uncertainty

Mount Carmel's defeat was compounded by turnovers and an injury to starting quarterback Ryder Startz, who exited in the first half and did not return. According to Rivals, Startz left at halftime and was taken to a hospital by ambulance. The Sun-Times reported that Startz had taken roughly 70 percent of the first-team snaps in practice.

The Caravan turned the ball over twice in one minute early in the fourth quarter, and the Flyers converted both into touchdowns. Brady Cloherty, a transfer from Plainfield East, came off the bench to start the second drive after a three-and-out and threw two interceptions, including one that Florida commit Raheem Floyd returned 35 yards for a game-sealing touchdown.

Cloherty finished 13 of 23 for 279 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions, according to the Chicago Tribune. He connected with Marshaun Thornton on a 40-yard and a 36-yard touchdown pass, while Thornton also returned a free kick 78 yards for a score. Nathan Samuels added 19 carries for 88 yards.

Despite the impressive numbers, Cloherty acknowledged the team's miscues. "We made too many mistakes as a team," Thornton said, as quoted by the Tribune. "We just have to learn from them, watch film, bounce back."

Mount Carmel coach Jordan Lynch did not mince words about his team's performance. "Losing sucks," he told the Sun-Times. "We have to grow as a program. We are lazy, undisciplined all over. It is Week 1 struggles for sure. When you play a team like that that is well-coached, that travels and plays the best of the best, it is a great challenge for your program. I have great respect for [East St. Louis coach Darren Sunkett]."

A Wider Shockwave Across Illinois

The Caravan were not alone in suffering an opening-week upset. No. 2 Brother Rice and No. 5 Nazareth also lost, raising questions about the preseason rankings. The Sun-Times noted that the common thread among these top teams was unsettled quarterback play.

East St. Louis, in contrast, returned starting quarterback Reece Shanklin, who played nearly perfectly other than an interception in the end zone. Mount Carmel, meanwhile, was still working out its quarterback situation after a preseason competition between Startz and Cloherty. Brother Rice started an inexperienced senior and a star freshman, while Nazareth had a junior transfer from Wisconsin.

The Sun-Times pointed to Nazareth's JJ Chapman, who holds multiple Power Four offers, as the best of that bunch so far after he threw for 292 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions in a loss at IC Catholic. Despite the setbacks, the Sun-Times argued that the rankings were not necessarily wrong, citing the likelihood that Mount Carmel (Class 8A), Brother Rice (7A) and Nazareth (6A) would still contend for state titles.

"It is where a team finishes in November," the Sun-Times concluded.

Looking Ahead

Both teams now turn their attention to marquee matchups. Mount Carmel is scheduled to face St. Joseph Regional on ESPN, while East St. Louis travels to South Florida to play in the Broward County Classic against Plantation American Heritage. The status of both Startz and Johnson-Cook will be closely monitored as the season progresses.