LITTLE ROCK — Saints focused on 1-4A
All eyes will be on the scoreboard Friday night when Shiloh Christian hosts Berryville, but the Saints have been focused more on the trainer's room this week.
Shiloh Christian, the topranked team in Class 4A, came out of Friday night's 54-51 loss to Greenwood banged up.
Running backs Garrett Harper (ankle) and ChrisBryant (ribs) played at less than 100 percent against the Bulldogs, who are ranked No. 1 in Class 5A.
Linebacker Mitchell Roberts sustained ahip pointer in the first half and didn't return, and safety David Petrino left with a separated shoulder.
Roberts should be OK this week, but Petrino is out indefinitely.
Saints Coach Josh Floyd said the defense must improve after Greenwood quarterback Tyler Shook threw for 489 yards and six touchdowns. The Saints also had two turnovers in the red zone and struggled at times to protect junior quarterback Kiehl Frazier.
Still, the Saints figure they should benefit from their narrow victory over Shreveport Evangel Christian earlier this season and the loss to Greenwood.
"Both of those games were decided by just a few plays," Floyd said. "We could have won by more against Evangel if we played better, and we could have lost if we had not made some plays. The same with Greenwood. They made plays at the end.
"I think once we get healthy, some our situations will take care of themselves."
Friday night's 1-4A Conference opener against Berryville (1-1-1) has drawn plenty of interest.
The Saints defeated the Bobcats 65-0 last season in Berryville, and the lopsided loss helped spur a raging debate during the offseason about whether public and private schools that provide financial aid should be split into their own divisions for the state playoffs.
Floyd said the Saints (2-1) understand there is a lot of interest in this game because of the recent turmoil involving the teams.
"There are going to be a lot of people talking about the game, but we're trying to block it out," he said.
"We're just wanting to play a conference game, no matter who it is, and it happens to be Berryville this week.
"We're trying to win a conference game, and I think they're wanting to do the same thing."PEA RIDGE Line does nice job
Pea Ridge discovered a winning combination Friday night in its 40-21 victory at Greenland: Control the clock and win the turnover battle.
Senior running back Tyler Ramsey gained more than 100 yards for the third consecutive game as the offensive line helped the Blackhawks (1-2) dominate the time of possession.
"They stayed with their blocks a little longer, and that allowed us to control the clock in the second half, which we wanted," Pea Ridge Coach Tony Travis said. "Our offensive line stepped up."
The Blackhawks didn't turn the ball over, and they made Greenland pay for its mistakes.
Ethan Rhine scored twodefensive touchdowns, one on an interception return and one following a recovered fumble.
Travis said his team needs to replicate the things it did last week to compete in 1-4A Conference play. It opens the conference season Friday night at Gravette (3-0) and gets Shiloh Christian next week.
"I don't know that it can get any tougher than Gravette and Shiloh back to back," Travis said.
SUBIACO ACADEMY An early lift
Some Class 4A schools like to play larger schools in nonconference play, but Subiaco Academy prefers to go smaller.
The Trojans opened the season against three Class 2A schools, going 2-1.
"Our program is at the point where every win is a big win for our school," Subiaco Coach Michael Berry said. "Confidence is the big thing we're trying to get."
The Trojans won their second consecutive game Friday, defeating Hackett 47-7. Senior Keon Walters ran for four touchdowns, pushing his season total to 10, and Jacob Nehus added three touchdowns.
The Trojans didn't commit a turnover Friday, something they will need to do to compete in 4-4A Conference play. Subiaco opens conference play Friday against Dover (2-1).
"We feel like if we can play our conference schedule without making too many turnovers, we can play with anybody," Berry said.
Sports, Pages 21 on 09/24/2009