SPRINGDALE — Ryan Michaelis has made a name for himself this season with his play at wide receiver for Shiloh Christian.
On Friday, in the biggest game of the season, Michaelis proved he was more than a pass catcher in the Saints 16-14 win against Gravette in Champions Stadium.
The junior recovered a fumble at his own 1-yard line, and batted down a Gravette pass that was also headed to the end zone. But his biggest plays came on special teams, when he hustled to down two Saints punts at the Lions 1-yard line, including one in the first quarter that led to a Shiloh (5-3, 4-1 4A-1 Conference) safety and the difference in the game.
“I knew that it was going down there, so I just had to get past my defender and get down there,” said Michaelis, who also caught two passes for 46 yards.
With the score tied 7-7, Shiloh freshman Drew Tyler punted from the Gravette 41 and had a rolling, rugby-style end-over-end kick. Michaelis laid out to bat the ball backward before it could roll into the end zone, downing it at the 1.
Two plays later, Shiloh’s defense swarmed Gravette quarterback Clayton Alexander in the end zone with 30.9 seconds left in the first quarter for a safety and a 9-7 lead.
While the safety turned out to be a critical play, two Gravette fumbles proved to be the difference for the Lions (6-2, 3-2). The first came on Gravette’s opening drive when Alexander lost the snap at the goal line, and the second came with 6:47 remaining when senior running back Darrick Strzelecki lost the ball as he was headed to the end zone for the go-ahead score.
“What can you say?” said Gravette coach Bill Harrelson, whose team lost its second straight game after opening the season 6-0. “They were both well inside the 1-yard line. I guarantee you we didn’t want to (fumble). But I couldn’t ask any more of our kids.”
Both defenses played stellar in the second half, holding the other scoreless. And both teams played with their collective backs against the wall.
“I thought our defense stole the show tonight,” Saints coach Josh Floyd said. “We put them in a lot of tough situations.”
Harrelson also praised his defensive unit.
“We could not have played any better defensively,” he said.
Michaelis gave up a couple of big plays early in the game as Alexander connected with Jordan Lundholm, who was injured in the second half, for three big gains. But when it got to crunch time, Michaelis was ready.
“At the beginning of the game, I got burned, so I guess I just kind of learned the receivers routes,” he said. “I put it in my mind what they were going to do and learned from it.”
The win keeps Shiloh atop the 4A-1 standings with two key road games remaining against Ozark next week and at Farmington in the season finale. Gravette will take on Berryville next week