Wisdom shows in sharing ball for Saints

CLASS 4A SHILOH CHRISTIAN 48, DeWITT 12

SPRINGDALE — Eli Wisdom spread the wealth for Shiloh Christian on Friday night.

Wisdom threw four touchdown passes to four different receivers in the first half as the Saints cruised to a 48-12 victory over DeWitt in a Class 4A state playoff game at the Field of Champions Stadium. Shiloh Christian (10-1) built a 41-6 lead after scoring on all six of its possession in the first half against DeWitt (2-8), which finished seventh of eight teams in the 4A-8 Conference.

All teams were eligible for the playoffs this year in Arkansas because some teams did not get to play a full schedule because of covid-19 concerns. The competition will pick up next week for Shiloh Christian, which will host Malvern, a 53-0 winner over Trumann on Friday.

Wisdom threw four touchdown passes and scored on a 2-yard run to stake Shiloh Christian to a 41-6 halftime lead. Wisdom completed 23 of 31 passes for 285 yards and 4 touchdowns before being replaced in the second half by backup quarterback Bodie Neal. Reserves saw plenty of action in the second half.

“I thought [Wisdom] distributed the ball well,” Shiloh Christian Coach Jeff Conaway said. “Being a sophomore quarterback and not having some of the preparation in the spring and summer we really wanted, I thought tonight was one of his better nights distributing the football.”

Shiloh Christian opened the scoring on its first possession when Cooper Hutchinson caught a 20-yard touchdown pass from Wisdom to culminate an eight-play, 64yard drive. Wisdom found Drew Dudley for a 32-yard touchdown, then threw short to Ben Baker, who went 28 yards for the score. Baker’s touchdown was set up when Braden Tutt stripped the football from a DeWitt runner and recovered the fumble.

Baker added a 1-yard touchdown run against the Dragons, who managed only 32 yards of offense in the first quarter.

The Saints added two more touchdowns in the first half to increase their lead to 41-6. Shiloh Christian continued its defensive dominance in the second half when Tutt picked up a fumble and ran 68 yards for a touchdown on DeWitt’s first possession in the third quarter.

“Tutt, he’s been a leader on the defensive side all year,” Conaway said. “Good things happen when you play as fast and as physical as Tutt plays.”

But DeWitt put together a good drive, helped by a fourth-down conversion, and scored on a 17-yard run up the middle by quarterback Luke Smith in the second half.