1-4A CONFERENCE Harper totals 253 yards in rout

— Garrett Harper tried to be a good teammate in 2009. When Shiloh Christian scored, he tried to be the first one to congratulate his teammate on the sideline.

But it was killing him inside not to be on the field, his left arm in a sling after dislocating his elbow in the third game of the season.

The Saints marched to a second consecutive Class 4A state title, but Harper felt more like a spectator than a contributor last season.

He’s making up for it this season.

Harper scored three touchdowns in three different ways Friday night, the last an 88-yard kickoff return to power the No. 1 Saints to a 47-14 victory against Ozark in Champions Stadium that locked down the No. 1 seed in the 1-4A Conference.

“After last year and not getting to play much, I just wanted to have fun this year and enjoy it while I can,” Harper said. “You’re blessed to play in any game you can.”

The elusive 5-foot-10, 190-pound two-way starter piled up 253 total yards Friday night, including 101 yards rushing and three catches for another 64 yards. He scored on a 38-yard reception and a 39-yard run along with the kickoff return.

“I think he’s getting better every week,” Saints Coach Josh Floyd said. “Themore he gets the ball in his hands, the better he gets. He made some unbelievable runs.”

Ozark, which started a number of sophomores, gave Shiloh its toughest game to date in conference play, although the mercyrule was invoked in the third quarter. The Hillbillies (5-4, 4-2 4A-1) will also be headed to the playoffs in Coach Brooks Coatney’s second season. The former Greenwood star said his team showed a lot of toughness Friday night.

“This was a great learning tool for us,” Coatney said. “I think the kids, the way they grow up, that this doesn’t intimidate them. I think that they were just ready to play football.”

Shiloh (8-1, 6-0) was never threatened in the game and punctuated the victory with an early 94-yard, nine-play scoring march,and capped the first half by going 91 yards in five plays in just 44 seconds for a 33-0 halftime lead.

The touchdown before the half was vintage Harper, taking a short pass from Kiehl Frazier and ripping through a number of arm tackles on a 38-yard play.

Asked how he would describe his running style, Harper offered a simple answer.

“I just try and run away from the other colored jersey,” he joked. “I dodge everywhere I can.”

Sports, Pages 28 on 10/30/2010

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