Frazier Flips Over McGehee

Shiloh Christian’s Kiehl Frazier catches a pass for a touchdown as McGehee’s Chase Garner gives chase in the Saints’ 58-7 victory Friday night.
Shiloh Christian’s Kiehl Frazier catches a pass for a touchdown as McGehee’s Chase Garner gives chase in the Saints’ 58-7 victory Friday night.

— Auburn coach Gene Chizik’s heart probably skipped a beat when he saw prized recruit Kiehl Frazier flip head-over-heels into the end zone for a second-quarter touchdown.

But the Shiloh Christian senior bounced up, flipped the ball to an official and jogged to the sideline. It was one of the few times McGehee was able to get a clean hit on the Saints quarterback all night.

With Chizik and Auburn offensive coordinator and former Shiloh coach Gus Malzahn looking on, Frazier accounted for six first-half touchdowns as the Saints crushed McGehee 58-7 in a Class 4A second-round playoff game in Champions Stadium.

Saints coach Josh Floyd also had an anxious moment when Frazier, who has verbally committed to the No. 2 Tigers, went airborne from nine yards out and landed on his back in the end zone to extend Shiloh’s lead to 35-0 with 10 minutes, 10 seconds left in the first half. The score capped a 91-yard Shiloh drive — the only drive the Saints had of more than 69 yards — and put an exclamation point on the program’s 32nd straight home playoff win.

“I thought ‘oh, no,’” Floyd said of Frazier’s flip. “That’s the way he got hit, right at the knees and it flipped him up in the air. It made me a little nervous.”

Frazier finished the night completing 6 of 9 passes for 143 yards to go along with five carries for 77 yards.

Shiloh (11-1) scored on its first three possessions as Frazier scored on an 11-yard run to cap the first drive and hit senior receiver Zann Jones on a 27-yard strike. Both scores capped drives that lasted a combined 1 minute, 43 seconds. The third score was a flea-flicker with sophomore backup quarterback Michael Slone hitting Frazier down the left sideline on a 51-yard scoring pass. That drive lasted just 10 seconds and increased the margin to 21-0.

If the three-touchdown margin didn’t seal the deal, the next play did as McGehee quarterback Deondrai Haynes’ pass was deflected backward into the arms of Saints linebacker Chase Richards, who returned it 14 yards for a touchdown.

“We had some breaks go our way,” Floyd said. “That interception, then (McGehee) put the ball on the ground a little bit and that’s when it got out of hand.”

The Saints established a couple of milestones in the game, with Frazier going over the 10,000 career total yardage mark and running back Garrett Harper eclipsing the 1,000-yard rushing mark for the season, becoming the first Saint to do that since 1997. Harper (4 carries, 109 yards) has 1,013 yards on the season. Jones (3 catches, 79 yards) is also nearing a milestone and needs just three touchdown receptions to tie the Arkansas career record of 55.

For McGehee coach Marcus Haddock, the loss did nothing to diminish a turnaround season that saw the Owls continue to revive a once dominant program. McGehee (7-4) scored a late touchdown as Haynes connected with Chase Garner on a 22-yard scoring strike.

“We’re back where we need to be,” Haddock said as players wiped away tears. “We ran into a buzz saw (Friday), they’re an outstanding team. Like I told my kids, I don’t know if we’d have played a perfect game if it would have been enough.”

The Saints will be at home again next week for a third-round playoff game, hosting Nashville. Last season the two teams staged an epic battle as Shiloh overcame a 35-0 deficit to win 51-49.

Prep Football

Class 4A State Playoffs

Second Round

SHILOH CHRISTIAN 58, MCGEHEE 7

McGehee 0 0 0 7 — 7

Shiloh 28 28 2 0 — 58

First Quarter

Shil — Frazier 11 run (Hale kick), 11:12.

Shil — Jones 27 pass from Frazier (Hale kick), 7:59.

Shil — Frazier 51 pass from Slone (Hale kick), 5:27.

Shil — Richards 14 interception return (Hale kick), 5:17.

Second Quarter

Shil — Frazier 9 run (Hale kick), 10:10.

Shil — Harper 68 run (Hale kick), 7:09.

Shil — Jones 15 pass from Frazier (Hale kick), 5:57.

Shil — Hawes 2 pass from Frazier (Hale kick), :14.

Third Quarter

Shil — Safety, 7:09.

Fourth Quarter

McGe — Garner 22 pass from Haynes (Haynes kick), 3:02.

Gamebreaker

Shiloh Christian 58, McGehee 7

WHY THE SAINTS WON

Saints QB Kiehl Frazier accounted for six touchdowns passing and rushing and the Saints also scored a defensive touchdown en route to a 56-0 halftime lead.

WHY McGEHEE LOST

Too many turnovers. The Owls had two passes intercepted with one returned for a touchdown and lost two fumbles.

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