EDWARDSVILLE — East St. Louis junior quarterback Reece Shanklin had a good explanation for the Flyers' surprising 0-2 start to the campaign.

"They weren't losses," Shanklin said. "They were lessons."

Shanklin and his teammates appear to have aced those tests.

The 6-foot-1, 186-pound Shanklin threw for three touchdowns and ran for another to lead the Flyers to a 54-0 win over Edwardsville on Friday in a Southwestern Conference football showdown at the District 7 Sports Complex.

East St. Louis won its third successive game following the back-to-back setbacks, which came at the hands of nationally ranked opponents in New Jersey and Nevada.

"You lose and then you move on," junior defensive back Phillip White said.

East St. Louis, the nine time-defending Southwestern Conference champion,

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