EACH WEEK, WE'LL TAKE A LOOK BACK AT A MEMORABLE MOMENT IN ILLINI HISTORY, THANKS TO THE WORDS OF THE NEWS-GAZETTE

This week: With Illinois losing Terry Hawthorne to injury, a look at a happier time for the East St. Louis star — when he was named News-Gazette All-State Player of the Year.

Headline: Quite a catch

Date: Nov. 27, 2008

By BOB ASMUSSEN

EAST ST. LOUIS — On three inside walls at Clyde C. Jordan Stadium, bulletin boards are filled with faded newspaper clippings. The headlines celebrate past champions. With an emphasis on the word "past."

It's been 17 years since the East St. Louis Flyers took home a football state championship. The 1991 season was the end of Bob Shannon's great run at the school. Starting in 1979, East St. Louis won six state titles and reached two other championship games.

Darryl Dixon, Alvin Jones, Jay Johnson, Ronnie Cameron, Dana Howard, Homer Bush, Dennis Stallings and Chris Moore became Flyer legends. Terry Hawthorne wants to join the list.

One little problem: You don't make the cut of Flyer greats without winning a state championship. Hawthorne and his East St. Louis pals can take care of that Saturday against Geneva when they play for the 7A title.

"In this city, all that counts is the state championship," East St. Louis coach Darren Sunkett said. "We can win 11, 12, 13 games, but if we don't win that title, it was an average season. It's first place or nothing."

Unbelievably, it's the first championship game appearance since Moore and Stallings helped East St. Louis dominate Glenbard North in 1991. The streak might not have ended without the help of Hawthorne.

He leads the team in catches, touchdowns and interceptions. On the rare times the Flyers have to punt, Hawthorne gets the call. And gets into it, averaging 45.6 yards per boot. He is second on the team in tackles.

Total it up and it reads News-Gazette All-State Player of the Year. An East St. Louis player earns the honor for the first time since .. 1991 Moore was the last downstate winner. Until now.

Hawthorne understands what it takes to rank among the greats. He knows that team comes first.

"My goal was to go to state, win state and to get awards," Hawthorne said.

Hawthorne has impressed rival coaches.

"He's phenomenal," said Belleville West coach Ric Johns, who saw the Flyers beat his playoff-bound team 61-7. "He's everywhere."

Hawthorne also has im-pressed a bunch of colleges, which came to him long before his senior year with scholarship offers. Missouri, Texas Tech, Arizona, Arkansas, Kansas and others made their pitch. Ultimately, two months before the start of his senior year, Hawthorne picked Illinois.

He'll finish his '08 season at Champaign's Memorial Stadium. For his next game, Hawthorne will return to St. Louis for his college debut against Missouri. It's 2.9 miles from Hawthorne's East St. Louis home to the Edward Jones Dome.

"Not many kids commit early and stick to their decision this late in the year," Sunkett said. "Some get to wavering. He's been that kid, 'I've committed to Illinois. I'm going to play there.' "

The commitment didn't keep Hawthorne from taking a look at another school. In mid-October, he made an official visit to Texas Tech.

"I think that's more just really wanting to see the world, wanting to visit," Sunkett said. "If you have an opportunity to do that, why not see another university?"

Forget college. Johns thinks Hawthorne and teammate Kraig Appleton are ready for another level.

"They could line up for the Rams right now and not look out of place," Johns said.

First things first, which for Hawthorne means moving to Illinois during the summer. He'll get to know returning quarterback Juice Williams and the rest of the receivers. The Illini lose one senior receiver, Will Judson.

Hawthorne has set another goal for himself at Illinois.

"If I come in and do what I've got to do, I feel that I can start as a freshman," said Hawthorne, who wants to study engineering.

Good move

If not for the keen eye of Sunkett, Hawthorne might be on his way to play for Bruce Weber's Illini.

As a freshman, Hawthorne was a basketball player. Football wasn't a big part of his future. Until Sunkett took a look. Fast and athletic, Sunkett didn't see a guard, he saw a receiver.

"You can do both, but we weren't happy with our veteran receivers," Sunkett said. "I knew this kid had talent. I got a hold of him and said, 'Make sure you're at workouts every day after school. We'll be throwing the ball three, four days a week.' From that day on, he never missed a workout. He came up and he beat a senior out."

It didn't take Sunkett long to realize he had much more than a receiver. Hawthorne's specialty is doing everything. Well.

Give him the ball on a run, he goes 20 yards. Let him punt, he looks like a Ray Guy finalist. Let him return the ball and he becomes 2006 Devin Hester. Tell him to play defensive back, he's the high school version of Ed Reed.

"He wants to kick," Sunkett said. "He's not on our kickoff, kick return. He's on everything else."

Early in Hawthorne's football career, Sunkett pinned a nickname on him, "Black Cat." It's written on his locker. And it's heard in the East Side halls.

"He's cat quick," Sunkett said. "It's stuck. It's a city-wide thing now."

Hawthorne is old school. He prefers defense. He likes tackling. He doesn't want to come off the field.

"Today's ballplayers, not everyone can go both ways," Sunkett said. "It takes a certain kind of athlete. You have to have a certain mentality also. He's got it all. He studies the game. He knows what his opponent is going to do in a certain situation."

During free time during the school day, you're likely to find Hawthorne in Sunkett's office, watching tape of the upcoming opponent. Two days before his team played Chicago St. Rita in a quarterfinal game, Hawthorne watched the Mustangs' offense. Watch, stop, rewind. Over and over.

The extra video time must have helped. Thanks to Hawthorne's two interceptions and 11 tackles, East St. Louis rallied from a 28-7 third-quarter deficit to win 35-28. Hawthorne took one of the interceptions back 15 yards for a touchdown.

"Offensively, you know what you're going to do," Sunkett said. "He's so confident in himself, he feels like he can dominate any corner that's in front of him."

The Flyers have dominated most of their opponents. Except for the first week, when they lost 20-12 to Huber Heights (Ohio) in Cincinnati. East St. Louis led 12-0 at halftime. Lesson learned.

"We know how it feels to lose," Hawthorne said.

Family matters

Hawthorne's hard work doesn't end on the field. It continues when he gets home.

Hawthorne's older brother Antonio has sickle cell anemia, a blood disease that can cause chronic pain and fatigue.

"He'd take care of his big brother," said Diane Hawthorne, Terry's mom. "He's just a great person."

That Hawthorne helps his brother doesn't surprise Sunkett.

"That just speaks on his mentality," Sunkett said. "He's a strong kid. He had to grow up and help nurture his brother. He does that in the locker room. He helps nurture these young guys. He guides them in a positive way."

Hawthorne grew up early as an athlete, too. He started playing football at age 7. Hawthorne and his pals would be at a field near his house, throwing and tackling until Mom called.

"They'd come in, eat dinner, then he'd go right back outside," Diane Hawthorne said.

Sitting in the East St. Louis library, Diane Hawthorne beams when talking about Terry. Mom and son are close. So close, in fact, that Diane Hawthorne is thinking about moving to Champaign when Terry starts college at Illinois.

"I'm trying to make it there, too," she said.

At East St. Louis and when he gets to college, Terry Hawthorne plans to follow the motto he taped to his locker:

"Good teams become great ones when the members trust each other enough to surrender the me to the we."