GRAVETTE — Peyton Rose looked up just in time to see the pass coming directly into his chest, and the Gravette sophomore held on like a seasoned defensive back.
Gravette took a 7-0 lead on Shiloh Christian four plays into Friday night’s 1-4A Conference showdown when Rose’s interception of Saints quarterback Kiehl Frazier set up teammate Darrick Strzelecki’s short touchdown run.
It was all Shiloh after that.
The Saints (7-1, 5-0 4A-1) went on a rampage following the early mistake, scoring 49 consecutive points to blow out what is likely their only remaining serious threat to the league title with two games left. The 49-7 final over previously unbeaten Gravette was as convincing as it was dominant.
The Saints held Gravette (7-1, 4-1) to minus-35 totalyards, including minus-70 on the ground. Most of that lost yardage was attributed to the Lions’ inability to snap the football in shotgun formation, which resulted in nine fumbles. Of Gravette’s 55 offensive plays, 17 resulted in negative yards.
“I think the defense played really, really well,” Saints Coach Josh Floyd said. “We did a great job of stopping the run other than that first possession.”
Strzelecki, who came into the game with 1,003 rushing yards, was held to 6 yards on 18 carries. His first two carries went for 6 and 5 yards, the last a touchdown. The next 16 carries never produced a gain of more than 9 yards, and that came late in the game when the issue was long since decided.
After Shiloh drove 80 yards in 10 plays to tie the game at 7-7, the Lions had another big play as Dallas Kerley returned the kickoff to the Saints’ 25-yard line with a chance to retake the lead. Shiloh’s defense would have none of it and thedrive ended with Gravette losing a fumble. It was the Lions’ last serious scoring threat.
“We just couldn’t hold on,” Gravette Coach Bill Harrelson said. “We got that kickoff return when it’s 7-7, but we just had trouble handing on to theball all night. You can’t have those problems against a team like Shiloh.”
In just one half of play, the Saints compiled more than 400 yards. Frazier rebounded from the early mistake to complete 13 of 17 passes for 270 yards and 4 touchdowns, and added a 23-yard scoring run. Zann Jones caught six passes for 134 yards, while Garrett Harper caught 4 passes for 84 yards and added 71 more on the ground.
On the botched second play, Floyd said a receiver ran the wrong route.
“Kiehl, he probably should have held on to the ball,” Floyd said. “He probably should have just eaten that one and taken the sack.”
A senior-laden team that has won back-to-back Class4A state titles never panicked, and Floyd said that experience is the reason.
“That first series it was pretty wild here,” Floyd said. “This is always a tough place to play. It’s always a good environment here. It was rocking there for awhile.”
Sports, Pages 24 on 10/23/2010