Shiloh Christian's Connor Reece didn't let a pair of interceptions bother him.
Instead, the sophomore led the Saints down the field for the decisive score in a 22-13 win over Class 7A Rogers Heritage on Friday in the Southwest Elite 7-on-7 Showcase hosted by Shiloh Christian.
Saints coach Jeff Conaway, who was hired to replace longtime coach Josh Floyd less than three weeks ago, was pleased with the way his young quarterback responded after the interceptions.
"You have to play the next play," Conaway said. "Get in his mind that play's over. It's time to go score and he did a very good job with that. When we needed to go down the field to score to separate against Heritage we were able to do that."
Shiloh Christian finished pool play 5-2 with losses to Heritage Hall and Harrison. Heritage went 4-3, losing to Harrison and Aurora Christian out of Illinois. However, the War Eagles finished the day with an impressive 25-13 win over Heritage Hall. Single elimination bracket play begins this morning at 10 a.m.
Reece responded after each interception with a touchdown drive. He connected with Adler Goode on a nice long post route for an 11-3 lead. He later added a short completion to Matthew Soloman for another score and a 22-6 lead.
Heritage coach Perry Escalante is still searching for a starting quarterback and used four different ones on Friday. He acknowledged the different signal callers make continuity difficult.
"We didn't do very well on offense against Shiloh," Escalante said. "A lot of missed opportunities. I know 7-on-7 is a different animal, but we've got to get the ball to them.
Junior Joel Brackett played quarterback for the War Eagles against Shiloh Christian and connected late with Joey Saucier for Heritage's lone touchdown to set the final margin.
Escalante was pleased with the way his defense played against the Saints and overall. Jerral Hobbs, who moved into the Heritage district over the summer from Stuttgart, and Tim Cole both had interceptions to account for six War Eagle points.
Hobbs finished with five picks on the day.
"Our defense is doing a lot of good things," Escalante said. "I'm really encouraged by the way our defense has played. The Hobbs kid played real well. Joe Britton played well, Damian Gonzalez. We had several stops and picks."
Sports on 07/12/2014