Leopards play hard but come up short to top-ranked Saints
It was a defensive battle on a chilly night for football Friday as the Malvern Leopards traveled to Springdale to take on the top ranked Class 4A team the Shiloh Christian Saints at Champions Stadium in the third round of the Class 4A State Playoffs.
Both teams played fierce but the Saints’ defense was able to edge out the Leopards and hold the offense scoreless to win the game. The Saints returned the opening kickoff for a touchdown, had a pick-six, and scored twice offensively to get the win 28-0. Shiloh Christian (11-1 overall) now moves on to the quarterfinals of the state playoffs where they will face Dumas (9-3 overall).
The loss for the Leopards ends their 2020 season. They return home with a 6-6 overall record having defeated Glen Rose in non-conference play; Bauxite, H. Harmony Grove, Ashdown, and Arkadelphia in conference play; and Trumann in the playoffs. The Leopards will look to grow from this season and come back stronger for the 2021 season.
In Friday’s contest, the Saints won the coin toss and elected to receive the opening kickoff. The strategy paid off for the Saints, who returned the opening kickoff 70 yards for a touchdown. Only 14 seconds had elapsed with the Saints taking the lead 7-0.
It was the only score of the first quarter as both defenses managed to get stops. The Leopards were forced to punt on their first possession and was intercepted in the end zone by Shiloh Christian’s Kaden Henley on their second drive. The Saints’ two drives of the first quarter end
ed with a turnover on downs and a punt. The Leopards held possession of the ball at the end of the first quarter.
In the second quarter, Malvern quarterback Cedric Simmons tried to keep the Leopards’ drive alive by stretching for a first down on
a fourth and four yards to go, but was stopped short to turn the ball over on downs. The Leopards were forced to punt twice and turned the ball over on downs once more in the second quarter.
The Saints would punt once before finding the end
zone on their next drive in the second. At the 7:47 mark, quarterback Eli Wisdom broke through the Leopards’ defense for a 42 yard touchdown. The Saints’ PAT was good as they took the lead 14-0. The rest of the Saints’
drives in the second would be an interception by Malvern’s Charles Sanders and an incomplete pass as time expired in the quarter. At the half the Saints led the Leopards 14-0.
In the third quarter, it was the Saints’ defense that came up big. They held the Leopards to a turnover on downs to start the third, then intercepted Simmons for a picksix at the 3:39 mark to extend their lead to 21-0, and forced one Leopard punt. Offensively, the Saints were forced to punt once and ended the third quarter in possession of the ball on a fourth and 16 yards to go.
In the fourth, the Leopards continued to battle, but were held to two turnovers on downs and were in possession of the ball as the game ended. For the Saints, they had one punt and a last minute touchdown in the fourth quarter. Shiloh Christian’s Ben Baker scored on a 30 yard touchdown run with 36.7 seconds left to put the Saints up 28-0.
For the game, Simmons was 7 of 26 passing for 87 yards and had 18 rushes for 75 yards. Senior Jacobe Hart had 18 rushes for 73 yards while seniors Malique Reliford had 5 rushes for 35 yards and Keith Caradine had 3 rushes for 14 yards. Freshman Jehnoah Harris had 3 rushes for 14 yards. Receiving seniors Dante Reed had 2 catches for 44 yards, Malaki Asher had 1 catch for 19 yards, and Braxton Allen had 2 catches for 11 yards. Carter Martin had two catches for 13 yards.