SPRINGDALE — If Ryan Hyde completes his mission of becoming a doctor, he’ll have at least one part of the profession he already enjoys — playing golf.
For now, Hyde is not thinking about his bedside manner, or his putting for that matter. His focus is helping the Shiloh Christian football team win its third consecutive Class 4A state championship, something the program has never done.
The Saints (10-1) can take another step toward that goal tonight when they host McGehee in a second-round playoff game in Champions Stadium at 7:30 p.m.
Hyde, a 6-foot-3, 240-pound senior, has enjoyed a breakout season in 2010, helping anchor the defense alongside Division I prospects Troy Goss and Samuel Harvill. The trio has turned up the intensity level over the past nine weeks, including last week’s 49-7 win over Warren.
In that game, the Saints held Warren without a positive yard or first down in the first half.
“He does a great job for us every single week,” Saints coach Josh Floyd said of Hyde. “He’s playing big his senior year.”
Hyde, who has been a student at Shiloh since the third grade, has played on both the offensive and defensive lines the past three seasons. As a sophomore, he was a starter on the defense line, but shifted over to the offensive line as a junior.
This season he’s back on the defensive side, where in 11 games he has 8.5 sacks and 20 tackles for loss.
Although Hyde saw some time on the O-line earlier this season, Floyd said Hyde has been a defensive player only for most of the season.
“He was just such a great defensive player that we took his starting job on the offensive line away,” Floyd said. “He’s just so hard to move, but he’s also one of our fastest players.”
Hyde, who plans to enter medical school after college, said he worked hard in the offseason on improving his speed with Saints offensive coordinator Rod Washington.
“Coach Washington is a great speed coach and he helped me a lot with my technique,” Hyde said. “Before I would just try and run to the quarterback. My footwork now is so much better and it’s improved my speed a lot.”
The result has improved Hyde’s quickness off the edge, which has increased his sack totals. Hyde said the team also focused on improving its strength over the offseason.
“We started about a month after the state championship game and we busted it in the weight room,” Hyde said. “We’ve been absolutely practicing our guts out and it’s finally paying off.”
When he’s not menacing quarterbacks, Hyde said he enjoys playing golf and X-Box in his free time. Unlike a host of teammates who are headed to the next level, Hyde says when his high school career is over, he has no plans on playing college football.
Hyde credits Goss with keeping the defense loose when the intensity of the playoffs cranks up.
“Troy has a dry sense of humor,” Hyde said. “He finds a way to help us relax with a joke or something he might say.”
During the pregame warmup at Champions Stadium, Goss can be seen showing off dance moves as rap music pulses throughout the stadium.
“Troy has some pretty good moves,” Hyde said.
Today’s Ticket
Class 4A State Playoffs
McGehee at Shiloh Christian
KICKOFF: 7:30 p.m.
WHERE: Champions Stadium, Springdale
ON THE AIR: KAKS-FM 99.5 and 105.3
RECORDS: McGehee Owls, 7-3; Shiloh Christian Saints,10-1.
COACHES: McGehee, Marcus Haddock; Shiloh, Josh Floyd.
LAST WEEK: McGehee defeated Osceola 24-14; Shiloh defeated Warren 49-7.
PLAYERS TO WATCH: McGehee, RB T’Cambry Green (5-10, 200), RB Kendall Lambert (5-9, 160), QB Deondrai Haynes (5-11, 190). Shiloh, QB Kiehl Frazier (6-3, 210), RB Garrett Harper (5-10, 190), WR Zann Jones (6-0, 200), DL Samuel Harvill (6-1, 270).
HOOTEN’S RANKINGS: McGehee is No. 9 in 4A; Shiloh is No. 1.
HOOTEN’S LINE: Shiloh by 35