Prairie Grove: Delivered From All Their Fears

Prairie Grove’s theme for Friday’s 45-15 win at Shiloh Christian played out like Psalm 34:4 reads, “I sought the Lord, and he heard me, and delivered me from all my fears.”

Prairie Grove defensive coordinator Craig Laird was concerned about matching up with Shiloh Christian’s spread offense coming into Friday’s game. Studying film last Wednesday, Craig Laird saw the Saints split out three receivers to one side against Berryville.

“How many guys should you have out there?” Craig Laird asked.

The Bobcats only had two defenders and got burned for a touchdown. Craig Laird’s fear materialized early in Friday’s battle for the 4A-1 Conference lead. The Tigers forced Shiloh into a fourthand-5 on the game’s open- ing series but didn’t have anybody on Blake Thomas. The Saints didn’t line up in punt formation and scored on Connor Reece’s 63-yard bomb to Thomas to go up 7-0 in the first quarter.

Throughout this season, the Tigers seem to flourish when facing adversity. From the opening game when they had a punt blocked, then withstood Farmington with a goal-line stand, Prairie Grove has risen to the occasion. Head coach Danny Abshier was concerned that his offense needed to start fast against Shiloh, saying he thought that was going to be a key if the Tigers wanted to score a lot of points.

Abshier’s fear also manifested early in the contest. After reaching Shiloh’s 11 on their first possession, the drive stalled and Prairie Grove turned the ball over on downs at the Saints’ 12. Shiloh’s offense took the field with the Saints holding a 7-0 lead at home and a chance to build momentum. At that point, Abshier, Craig Laird, along with senior defensive end Solomon Walker, were delivered from all their fears.

Walker was diagnosed with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) in June and feared he wouldn’t get to play his senior season. But his parents, Sean and Tracy Walker, took him to specialist Dr. Dermot Phelan at Cleveland Clinic’s Miller Family Heart & Vascular Institute, and Walker received medical clearance to play just prior to the season. That factor loomed large Friday. The coaches were concerned about Reece’s ability to run, but Walker stuffed him on consecutive plays leading to a momentum swing. The Saints were forced to punt and Prairie Grove went on a scoring frenzy, putting five unanswered touchdowns on the board to seize a 32-7 halftime lead.

Senior quarterback Zeke Laird, son of Craig Laird, an underrated, yet strong field general set a school record with 6 touchdown passes. Among his exploits, Zeke Laird completed 12 of 17 passes for 217 yards and ran 54 yards for a touchdown. In the highlights, Isaac Disney hauled in a 59-yard touchdown pass, then intercepted a Saint pass and ran the ball back 48 yards setting up a short field. DeMarkus Cooper capped a 37-yard drive by snagging a 23 yard touchdown pass. In the second quarter, Zeke Laird executed a play-action pass perfectly. After freezing Shiloh’s defense with a fake handoff, Zeke Laird threw over the top to Dustin Burton, who shook off a tackle and ran for a 56-yard touchdown. After Shiloh turned the ball over on downs, Prairie Grove needed just two plays to travel 56 yards for another score. Zeke Laird faked an inside handoff to fullback Kyle Sam, then faked a pitch freezing Shiloh’s Been Moore, who had containment. Zeke Laird slipped past him and ran 54 yards for a touchdown on a quarterback keeper.

On the ensuing possession, Shiloh drove to the Tiger 29 but were halted when Disney timed a hit to dislodge the football from a receiver causing an incomplete pass on fourth down. The Tigers took over with 3:09 left in the first half and Disney culminated the drive by beating double coverage for a 56-yard touchdown. Prairie Grove reverted to their running game in the second half. They held the football for 11 minutes of the third quarter, having to score twice on fourth down after a penalty erased Reed Orr’s touchdown. On the repeat of fourth down, Zeke Laird found halfback Anthony Johnson for a 6-yard touch- down pass. Shiloh got a quick score on Tyler Roth’s 68-yard pass from Reece to cut the Tiger lead to 39-15 at the 4:01 mark of the third period, then recovered an onside kick; but Reece dropped a snap in the shotgun on fourth down and the threat ended.

The Tigers chewed up the rest of the third quarter and nearly three minutes of the fourth before turning the ball over on downs. Disney again halted a Saint drive by tackling a receiver inches short of the first down marker on fourth down. Prairie Grove put the game away with Cooper’s interception caused by Orr’s heat on Reece, who threw while falling backwards. Cooper caught a tipped pass for a 7-yard touchdown to finish the scoring and Prairie Grove won, 45-15. MARK HUMPHREY IS A SPORTS WRITER FOR THE ENTERPRISELEADER.