SPRINGDALE – Tackle No. 1.
That was Shiloh Christian’s defensive game plan coming into Friday night’s nonconference game against undefeated Broken Bow, Okla., in Champions Stadium.
It was a pretty simple plan. And it worked to perfection.
Shiloh Christian’s defense held highly touted Broken Bow running back Jaylon Watson to just 18 yards, and the Saints used a balanced offensive attack to roll to a 44-7 win.
“Just tackle Mr. Watson,” said Saints defensive coordinator Dawayne Hudson. “It was the point of emphasis on our number one goal to victory. He’s big and he’s got some speed, but I felt like we did a very good job of controlling him. We did miss a few tackles, but we had some team tackles.”
The Saints (1-0-1) never let Watson get loose, holding the 6-foot-1, 200-pound junior to no plays longer than 6 yards. Broken Bow (1-1) had just 113 yards rushing with 38 coming on one play after the game was well in hand.
Shiloh Christian exploded for 20 points in the opening 6 minutes, 14 seconds. Adler Goode jump-started the Saints with a 43-yard return of the opening kickoff, and Shiloh Christian scored four plays later when Chris Cox took a screen pass 25 yards for a touchdown with 10:40 left in the first quarter.
“I think that gave us a lot of energy,” said Saints coach Josh Floyd of Goode’s opening kick return. “We’ve got two guys back there that we feel pretty good about. He almost busted it, but I think their kicker made the tackle.”
The Saints dominated the run game, piling up 325 yards on the ground. Cox, who scored three rushing touchdowns in addition to his receiving score, led the way with 93 yards on 10 carries. Chandler Smith added 83 yards on 9 carries and quarterback Daniel Shimer ran for 68 yards to go along with a 10-of-17 for 120 yards passing night.
Floyd said moving Cox back to running back this week paid huge dividends.
“Last week we didn’t do a good enough job of getting him the ball,” Floyd said. “We’ve got to get the ball in his hands. I think he and Chandler really compliment each other.”
EXTRA POINTS
w The Saints scored more than 30 points for the second straight game, hitting that mark just before halftime when J.T. Hale drilled a 37-yard field goal to extend Shiloh Christian’s lead to 30-0.
w Shiloh Christian unveiled a new player of the game award prior to the start of the game. The award will honor former Saints player Andrew Pray, a member of two state championship teams. Pray died this past year. Shimer was the recipient of the first award. The Saints will also wear a “Play Like Pray” helmet decal this season.
w Broken Bow quarterback Jake Callaham was one of the few bright spots for the Savages, leading the team with 82 yards on 17 carried and the lone touchdown. But Callaham went down with a reported broken collar bone in the fourth quarter.
UP NEXT: Shiloh Christian is on the road next week at Greenwood in its final nonconference game of the season.
HOW THEY SCORED
Broken Bow^0^0^7^0^—^7
Shiloh Christian^20^10^14^0^—^44
First Quarter
Shiloh — Cox 25 pass from Shimer (Hale kick), 10:40.
Shiloh — Goode 52 pass from Shimer (Hale kick), 8:49.
Shiloh — Smith 16 run (kick fails), 6:14.
Second Quarter
Shiloh — Cox 1 run (Hale kick), 7:15.
Shiloh — FG Hale 37, :01.
Third Quarter
Shiloh — Cox 3 run (Hale kick), 9:29.
Brok — Callaham 38 run (McNeal kick), 7:49.
Shiloh — Cox 3 run (Hale kick), :00