Morrilton Rolls In Second Half

SPRINGDALE — Cody McNabb didn’t pull any punches with his displeasure with his defensive coordinator at halftime.

So Morrilton’s coach looked in the mirror and told himself he needed to do a better job in the second half.

After giving up 41 points and 434 yards in the first half to Shiloh Christian, the Devil Dogs’ defense pitched a second half shutout and rolled to a 70-41 win in the 5A-West Conference opener in Champions Stadium on Friday.

“I was ready to fire my DC, who is me, at halftime,” McNabb said. “But our kids just played hard and made some plays that we didn’t make in the first half. I thought that was the difference.”

The first half was an offensive frenzy even Oregon would be impressed by. The teams combined for 778 yards and 55 points. Shiloh Christian (1-2-1, 0-1 5A-West) ran 49 offensive plays and Morrilton ran 39.

By the time the first half expired, Shiloh Christian had rallied from a 14-0 deficit to claim a 41-35 lead.

Shiloh Christian quarterback Daniel Shimer accounted for four rushing touchdowns and two passing touchdowns in the first half, leading the Saints up-and-down the field. Shimer finished with 220 yards rushing and 199 passing.

McNabb said the Devil Dogs (3-1, 1-0) did not do anything different schematically in the second half to keep Shiloh Christian off the scoreboard.

“I wish I could tell you it was something magical we did on the board, but we just talked about ‘hey let’s just get back to doing things, playing hard, making tackles,’” McNabb said. “I tell you that’s a really good football team over there.”

Morrilton running back Sharaz Rhodes rushed for 208 yards and five touchdowns, and quarterback Toney Hawkins was 14-of-25 for 225 yards and four touchdowns. Morrilton scored 28 points in the third quarter.

EXTRA POINTS

w Morrilton took the lead for good in the second half when Reese Heidenreich returned a Shiloh Christian punt 62 yards for a touchdown with 11 minutes, 2 seconds left in the third quarter. The score gave Morrilton a 42-41 lead.

w The Saints struggled in the passing game in the second half. Shimer did not complete a pass in the third quarter and completed just three in the second half.

w Shiloh Christian senior offensive lineman Todd Rosamond was named the Andrew Pray Player of the Game from the win over Broken Bow, Okla. two weeks ago. The award is given following home games.

UP NEXT: Shiloh Christian travels to Vilonia next week.

HOW THEY SCORED

MORRILTON^70

SHILOH CHRISTIAN^41

Morrilton^14^21^28^7^—^70

Shiloh^7^34^0^0^—^41

First Quarter

Morr — Criswell 80 pass from Hawkins (Rivero kick), 6:18.

Morr — Rhodes 19 run (Rivero kick), 4:08.

Shiloh — Shimer 18 run (Hale kick), 3:14.

Second Quarter

Shiloh — Shimer 4 run (kick fails), 11:21.

Shiloh — Goode 44 pass from Shimer (Hale kick), 10:34.

Morr — Rhodes 2 run (Rivero kick), 7:38.

Shiloh — Shimer 7 run (Hale kick), 6:16.

Morr — Rhodes 44 run (Rivero kick), 5:46.

Shiloh — Shimer 4 run (Hale kick), 5:02.

Shiloh — Lowe 59 pass from Shimer (Hale kick), 2:42.

Morr — Criswell 2 pass from Hawkins (Rivero kick), 1:02.

Third Quarter

Morr — Heidenreich 62 punt return (Rivero kick), 11:02.

Morr — Criswell 9 pass from Hawkins (Rivero kick), 7:31.

Morr — Rhodes 1 run (Rivero kick), 1:00.

Morr — Rhodes 38 run (Rivero kick), :00

Fourth Quarter

Morr — Cooksey 33 pass from Hawkins (Rivero kick), 7:30.

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