1-4A Saints marching to a beat few 4A teams can emulate

SPRINGDALE - The road to the 1-4A Conference title will go through Shiloh Christian again in 2010.

The Saints have won back-toback state championships and posted a 14-0 mark in the 1-4A Conference in their two Class 4A seasons. This season’s team has been projected as the school’s best, with a number of NCAA Division I players and one of the nation’s top dual-threat quarterbacks.

“Shiloh just jumps off the page at you,” Ozark Coach Brooks Coatney said.

But the Saints must survive maybe the most brutal nonconference schedule in the state.

The Saints face a three-week stretch that includes Class 5A’s Watson Chapel in the season opener Monday at Arkansas-Pine Bluff. That will be followed by a trip to Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas, where the Saints will take on Texas 5A powerhouse Euless Trinity. The final nonconference game is a nationally televised home game against Greenwood, the team that accounted for Shiloh’s lone loss in 2009.

“That’s the main reason we’re doing this is to get ready for conference and hopefully the postseason,” Saints Coach Josh Floyd said. “We’ve been in some big ball games. Our guys are used to playing in close, tight games.”

Shiloh’s 37-36 victory over Evangel Christian and its shootout loss to Greenwood (54-51) last season helped the Saints later in playoff victories against De Queen (56-35) and Nashville (51-49), Floyd said. Shiloh trailed 35-0 at one point against Nashville but never gave up.

Barring injury, there is no reason to believe Shiloh won’t roll to the league title. Quarterback Kiehl Frazier, a 6-3, 215-pound senior who has orally committed to Auburn, passed for 3,817 yards and 48 touchdowns last year and ran for 764 yards and another 14 TDs. He also added a couple of touchdowns on interception returns when he was inserted at safety.

Senior receivers Zann Jones (68 catches, 1,107 yards) and Jon Hawes (33 catches, 697 yards) lead a large group of returning skill players. The return of speedy back Garrett Harper, who missed most of last season with an elbow injury, will only bolster the potent offense. Defensive lineman Samuel Harvill has orally committed to Kansas State and offensive lineman Travis Bodenstein has pledged to Kansas.

“Shiloh is the one we're all chasing,” Prairie Grove Coach Danny Abshier said.

So the rest of the conference is playing for the remaining three playoff spots, right?

Not necessarily.

Shiloh ran roughshod over the rest of the conference last season, but this year’s race could be a little closer with much improved Prairie Grove and always tough Gravette. Add newcomer Ozark to the mix and the conference schedule has an interesting feel.

“From top to bottom, we feel like the conference is very competitive,” said Coatney, who starts his second season at Ozark. “Every team’s goal is to get into the playoffs, and this conference will send four quality teams.”

Gentry Coach Brian Little said the difference between the teams in the conference has gradually narrowed.

“Shiloh is at the top, but the gap between them and the rest of the league is not as large as people might make it out to be,” Little said. “It seems to close up a little more every year.”

Prairie Grove finished last season strong but must replace standout tailback Thomas Soehner. A talented sophomore class will fill that void. In the first round of the playoffs last season, several of the then-freshmen were added to the team and helped the Tigers stun Dumas 49-42.

“They are still a little young, but they have some great players back and have a good mix of younger and experienced players,” Floyd said. “This is a state championship kind of group, very talented, and Coach Abshier is one of the best in the business.”

Coach Bill Harrelson has built Gravette into a solid program that has produced the school’s best three-year run (28 victories). The Lions have a good nucleus of returning players, and if the Lions are close late in the game, kicker Cody Montee is one of the top kickers in the state.

“Gravette is always good,” Floyd said. “Year in and year out, Gravette is going to win 8, 9, 10 games and make a playoff run.”

Ozark replaces Huntsville in the conference this season after the Eagles moved up to Class 5A. The Hillbillies were 3-6-1 in Coatney’s first season and should be much improved.

Farmington has been a playoff regular under Coach Mike Adams, and that trend should continue, although the Cardinals were hit by the transfer of several key players in the summer. Quarterback Trey Spencer (6-2, 175) and two-way starter Jared Martin are back and will hope an improved defensive scheme will result in winning results.

Pea Ridge is looking to move up the ladder as Coach Tony Travis begins his second season, and Berryville will be under new leadership as Eric Daniel takes over for Bobby Bishop.