SPRINGDALE — The home side press box at Shiloh Christian’s Champions Stadium has a sign proclaiming the school’s string of state football championships.
But nowhere on that sign is there documentation of three championship years in succession. Senior Colt Thomas is hoping that changes this season.
“We’ve been there twice and I just feel like we need to make that statement to do it three years in a row because that hasn’t been done here,” Thomas said.
As the Saints begin practice in defense of their back-to-back Class 4A state titles, Thomas will take on an expanded role this season. The hard-hitting linebacker, who has ranked among the team leaders in tackles the past two seasons, will pull double-duty this fall.
PROFILE
Colt Thomas
SCHOOL: Shiloh Christian
HEIGHT: 5-foot-10
WEIGHT: 180
CLASS: Senior
NOTABLE: A key member of the Saints’ defense at linebacker, Thomas will also play on offense this season. ... Has been a member of back-to-back Class 4A state title teams. ... Two older bothers, Hayden and Heath, were also standouts at Shiloh.
Thomas (5-foot-10, 180 pounds) will see significant action on offense as a receiver. Saints coach Josh Floyd announced the move in the spring, and Thomas was able to get in a lot of reps in summer 7-on-7 games.
“We think he can catch the ball and do some things with it,” Floyd said. “But right off the bat he gives us a guy that’s going to block. And he’s not just going to block, he’s going to try and hurt people.
“That’s a big help for us on the edge.”
Thomas has returned an interception for a touchdown, but he’s never been in the end zone as an offensive player. He’s hoping that changes this season, getting a chance to get into the blue paint — the color of the turf in the end zones in Champions Stadium.
“It’s pretty exciting. I’ve been on defense my whole high school career,” Thomas said. “Playing offense I feel like I can help them out, do some blocking. When coach told me I had the opportunity to help out, I said, ‘Yes sir.’”
Thomas’ two older bothers, Hayden and Heath, were also standouts at Shiloh. And Colt said his older siblings do a great job of keeping him grounded.
“Oh, yes, they critique my play after every game,” he said. “They let me know about plays I missed. They set a good example for me and I just try and mimic what they did.”
The Saints will open the season Aug. 30 in the Hooten’s Kickoff Classic against Class 5A’s top-ranked Watson Chapel at Arkansas-Pine Bluff. Then the next week Shiloh travels to Arlington, Texas, for the Kirk Herbstreit Classic, where it will take on one of the nation’s elite teams in Euless (Texas) Trinity, the defending Class 5A state champion.
Shiloh rounds out the toughest nonconference slate in the state with a home game against Class 5A perennial powerhouse Greenwood.
A schedule that brutal would cause lesser players to faint, but Thomas and a senior-laden Saints team are eager for the opportunity.
“The competition we’re going against will help us out in every area,” Thomas said. “Going against those real tough teams, I feel like it will prepare us a lot.”
Floyd said the goal of the program is to play for a state title at the end of the season, not be concerned with the nonconference heavyweights.
And if the Saints take care of business when it counts, the championship banner on the press box will indeed be a bold statement.