Frazier Leads Shiloh’s Comeback

By Tom Glave

Posted: November 28, 2009 at 4:31 a.m.

Shiloh Christian quarterback Kiehl Frazier, right, reaches to fend off Nashville defensive back Erin Adams during the second quarter of Friday’s Class 4A playoff game in Champions Stadium in Springdale.

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SPRINGDALE — Junior quarterback Kiehl Frazier felt the pressure but never went down for the count.

Frazier had a hand in all seven of Shiloh Christian’s touchdowns Friday, leading the Saints back from a disastrous start and 35-0 defi cit.

“I knew the game was in my hands,” Frazier said after the Class 4A quarterfi nal win. “I knew I had to convert and win this for our seniors.”

Frazier used his arm in the third quarter, passing for three touchdowns as the Saints erased Nashville’s 35-21 halftime lead. He used his feet in the fourth as the Saints (11-1) controlled the clock to preserve their small lead.

Frazier ran 15 times in the final quarter for 91 yards and eight of his team’s nine fi rst downs.

He finished the game with 106 rushing yards and 257 passing yards.

“He’s a good player,” Nashville coach Billy Dawson said. “He took over in the second half. That’s their whole deal. They put all this window dressing on stuff, but when it gets to nut cutting time, (Frazier) is fixing to carry it. That’s what they did late in the game.”

The first half was a diff erent story as an energetic Nashville jumped on Frazier and the Saints.

Frazier had two turnovers in the first half — both returned for touchdowns by Nashville’s Alan Copeland.

“I just knew I had to play better,” Frazier said. “I knew I had been making mistakes I shouldn’t be making.”

Copeland’s fumble return for a 35-0 lead capped Nashville’s sprint out of the gates.

“They just had all that energy,” Frazier said. “They had so many fans up there yelling and screaming. We weren’t ready to play at the beginning. Once we got rolling, our fans got into it.”

Frazier said Nashville was the best team his team had faced since its nonconference slate.

“They’re just so good, so well coached, so talented,” he said. “We weren’t really ready for that. Since Greenwood, we haven’t played anybody like that. It was kind of a surprise.”

A trick play — installed this week — finally woke up the Saints and their crowd.

Frazier took a lateral from Wilson Huett and hit a streaking Jake Scott for a touchdown and a swing in the momentum.

The Saints outscored Nashville 44-14 after that — including an interception return, two rushing touchdowns and three passes from Frazier.

“Whenever it was 35-0, we said we just have to get that first score. We have to put it in,” Frazier said. “At halftime, we had scored 21 in a row. We knew we could do it, we just had to get it done.”

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