Familiar Territory: Saints Keep Focus, Repeat As Champs

Shiloh Christian junior quarterback Kiehl Frazier carries the ball as Lonoke senior defender Brandon O’Brannon closes in on the play during the first half of the Class 4A State Championship game Saturday in War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock.
Shiloh Christian junior quarterback Kiehl Frazier carries the ball as Lonoke senior defender Brandon O’Brannon closes in on the play during the first half of the Class 4A State Championship game Saturday in War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock.

— The bull’s-eye affixed to its back was sometimes a heavy burden for Shiloh Christian in 2009.

Much maligned and almost voted off the public playing field last summer, the Saints stayed focused and found a way to defend their Class 4A state championship with a 56-20 win over Lonoke on Saturday in War Memorial Stadium.

The Saints scored in all phases and earned the school’s third state championship in the past four seasons and sixth in school history in front of 4,891 fans.

And with a team comprised primarily of underclassmen, the Saints are primed to make it three straight next season.

“It was a little bit of a burden, but our guys stayed focused,” Saints coach Josh Floyd said. “We have a great senior class. They have played in so many battles, I don’t think it affected them too much.”

Floyd said the tumultuous offseason was a motivating factor.

“I think there were a lot of people who said a lot of different things about our kids,” Floyd said. “That bothers me a lot because they don’t know how hard our guys work.”

Lonoke opened the game with a balanced attack, marching from its own 25 to the Shiloh 18. But the drive ended when Shiloh junior linebacker Colt Thomas intercepted a Michael Nelson pass and returned it to the 42. It was a sign of things to come as the Jackrabbits were intercepted five times in the game.

“We played good in the first quarter, then we started making turnovers and just couldn’t hang on,” Lonoke coach Doug Bost said.

The Saints (13-1) scored three touchdowns in just over 3 minutes in the second quarter to take a 21-0 lead.

Shiloh’s first score was a special teams punt block by Samuel Harvill. Jake Scott recovered the block in the end zone with 11 minutes, 41 seconds left in the second quarter.

Less than 2 minutes, later the Saints went up 14-0 when junior quarterback Kiehl Frazier hit Scott on a 27-yard pass, then Zann Jones set up the third score when he returned a Nelson pass 52 yards to the Lonoke 1, setting up Frazier’s 1-yard run.

One play after the Frazier score, the Jackrabbits (11-4) answered when Nelson hit Brandon Smith on a swing pass out of the backfield. Smith raced down the right sideline 67 yards to put Lonoke on the scoreboard with 7:40 left in the first half.

The Saints extended the lead to 28-7, but it took a lucky bounce when Chris Bryant caught a tipped pass in the end zone for a touchdown.

Another Jones interception set up Shiloh’s fifth touchdown of the first half. Jones returned Nelson’s third interception of the half to near midfield and the Saints scored in eight plays on Frazier’s 6-yard run for a 35-7 lead at halftime.

Lonoke opened the second half with an onside kick, but the Saints recovered. On the first play, Jordan Lynch stepped in front of a Frazier pass and returned the interception 56 yards for a touchdown, cutting the Shiloh lead to 35-14.

The Saints answered with an eight-play, 80-yard drive. Frazier hit five passes on the drive, including a 24-yard strike to Jones. Bryant scored his second touchdown of the game on a 12-yard run for a 42-14 lead with 9:42 left in the third quarter.

Twice the Saints appeared to have invoked the mercy rule. The first came on an 80-yard interception return by Chase Richards, but the score was negated by a block-in-the-back penalty. Later, Frazier hit Zann Jones on a 27-yard pass that was also wiped out by a holding penalty.

But Lonoke fought back to pull within 42-20 on another Smith breakaway, this time a 65-yard run with 2:09 left in the third quarter. The Saints blocked the extra-point try.

Frazier’s 25-yard interception return for a score early in the fourth quarter extended Shiloh’s lead to 49-20.

Frazier, who was named the game’s Most Valuable Player for the second straight year, was ended the year with 64 touchdowns, including 48 passing and 14 rushing. He also scored twice on interception returns during the postseason.

“It’s just amazing,” Frazier said. “To do this for our seniors back-to-back. They’ve been here four times. It’s just a great way to end it for them.”

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