Chasing the champs Shiloh Christian primed for repeat
Shiloh Christian Coach Jeff Conaway saw something out of his team during last week’s preseason benefit game against Springdale that left him smiling from ear to ear afterwards.
That’s not exactly good news for future Saints’ opponents.
“I was really pleased because we did a good job of attacking in all three phases of the game,” Conaway said of his team’s 35-13 spanking of the Bulldogs. “We opened the game with a kickoff return for a touchdown, and our defensive line did a great job of eliminating the run and putting pressure on the quarterback. It just felt like on the defensive side of the ball, we attacked, and attacked well.
“And then offensively, the same thing. We went 97 yards on the first play of our first offensive drive. Just attacking in all three areas is something that I was really proud of, especially this early.”
That two-quarter scrimmage offered a sneak peek as to how Shiloh Christian plans to operate a year after dissecting nearly everyone they faced. This year, the field in Class 4A is hoping things flow differently.
“[Shiloh Christian] is the defending champs,” said Stuttgart Coach Josh Price said, whose Ricebirds lost to the Saints in last season’s semifinal round. “They always have talent, and I think everybody knows that. But
to me, 4A is the hardest classification in all of the state of Arkansas. You’ve got Robinson, Nashville, Warren, Arkadelphia, Shiloh, Stuttgart just about every year.
“And then every once in a while, you throw in a Prairie Grove, a Crossett, teams like that. It’s going to be interesting to see how we match up against all of those guys.”
No one in the state could keep up with Shiloh Christian last season. The Saints went 14-1 and beat its 12 in-state opponents by an average score of 5314. In the postseason alone, Conaway’s team invoked the Arkansas Activities Association’s sportsmanship rule three times, including in the state-title game against Rivercrest.
With a plethora of returning starters, another banner year is in the works for Shiloh Christian, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette’s preseason No. 1 team in Class 4A.
“I think there’s that desire to do well,” Conaway explained. “You don’t want to let anybody down. You know that you’ve got some ability, and you definitely don’t want to fail.
“But I think the guys are doing a good job of turning that into a positive. They know and understand that all good things come from above. If God’s will is for us not to do well, then we’re not gonna do very well. It’s totally up to Him. The process of preparing is up to us.”
If the scrimmage against Springdale was any indication, the Saints are more than ready to defend their title.
Quarterback Eli Wisdom, who was the Most Valuable Player in last year’s final, opened his junior season on a high note in the Springdale scrimmage with the 97-yard touchdown pass to senior Cooper Hutchinson. Wisdom accounted for 3,589 yards of offense and 47 touchdowns a season ago. Still, Conaway thinks Wisdom has a chance to be even better.
“Last season, he didn’t really get to play 7-on-7 in the summer, and that was a huge deal for him as a sophomore QB,” he said. “This year, he got a lot of games, and I really think that’s gonna be the biggest difference. I think he was 8 for 11 [vs. Springdale], and those eight he completed were exactly where they needed to be.
“I really think his maturation as a passer has accelerated, and he’s just gotten much more comfortable not only with throwing the football but throwing the football on time in the right spot.”
Hutchinson is one of many who Wisdom will rely on to catch passes. The Saints also have Ben Baker as well as University of Arkansas commit Kaden Henley helping out at running back.
The offensive line will again be solid, and Henley, who piled up 159 tackles, 4 sacks, 4 interceptions and 3 blocked punts from his linebacker spot, leads a defense that held the opposition to 12 points or fewer in five of its last six games.
Stuttgart was one of those teams that hard a tough time scoring against Shiloh Christian when the Ricebirds lost 56-7 in last season’s playoffs, but Price said his team is excited about the chance to make another deep postseason run.
“The biggest thing that I’ve got to worry about with this bunch is complacency,” said Price. “We had a lot of success last year, but we’re not practicing at the level that we need to to get better. The big deal from 2019 to 2020 was that we got so much better. We’re trying to convince them that we’ve got to do that again.
“We’ve got to continue to get better in 2021.”
The Ricebirds, who went 12-1 last season, have 16 starters returning, spurred by quarterback Tymir Coppins, running back Cedric Hawkins and wide receivers Arlie Lee and Jaidan Strange. Price, though, is antsy to see what his defense can do, a unit led by linebacker Bryer West.
“We’ve got nine of them back on that side,” he said. “We feel like we’re gonna be pretty good there by the time we get some things ironed out.”
Joe T. Robinson, another team Price believes will challenge for the Saints title, will be a bit less experienced at certain positions. However, Senators Coach Todd Eskola thinks his group will be much better toward the end of the regular season.
Running back Daryl Searcy will be a big-play threat for Robinson, which lost to Stuttgart 23-20 in the second round of the 2020 playoffs, and lineman E’Marion Harris, also a Razorback commit, will be a force along the offensive and defensive lines.
“We’re like everybody else in that we’ve got a long way to go,” Eskola said. “This team will be a little bit different because we will not be anywhere near as good Week 1 as we will be late in the season. That’s exciting for a coach because you feel like there’s a lot of room to get better.
“It’s a team with a lot of young players. It’s gonna take time to gel, take time for everybody to find their roles. But it’s going to be a fun year.”