Notes & Quotes: Shiloh Christian vs. Fayetteville

FAYETTEVILLE — For those keeping track when it was "ones vs. ones," Fayetteville outscored Shiloh Christian 34-13 during a scrimmage at Harmon Field on Monday night. Despite several Shiloh Christian turnovers — including three deep in 'Dogs territory — the Saints still earn the Bulldogs' respect and had many on Fayetteville's sidelines commenting that Shiloh Christian could even compete at the Class 7A level. "They are a very good, well-coached football team," said Fayetteville offensive coordinator Jared McBride. "They definitely gave us a tough matchup and was exactly what we needed to get ready to compete in the tough 7A West this season." McBride said the Bulldogs didn't use "a whole lot" of their playbook, but that wasn't by choice as he had sophomore quarterback Brandon Allen throwing deep more times than planned because of the coverage. Allen completed 18 of 29 passes for 214 yards and four touchdowns. All of Allen's early deep balls sailed over the outstretched arms of open receivers, but he was quick an sharp on most of the short routes. Overall, McBride still gave Allen a "B-" for his for time to suit up in a high school uniform. "He's definitely got to improve on a lot of the intangibles," McBride said. "He got a little too anxious on those early passes, but I think you could see that he plays very smart and has a very good arm." On the flip side, Saints' coach Josh Floyd also had a pair of sophomore quarterbacks making varsity debuts in David Mathews and Kiehl Frazier. Both had their "ups and downs" with solid plays often followed by a fumble or interception. "I wish our guys were as calm in the pocket as Brandon Allen, but they still have some work to do," Floyd said. "Both David and Kiehl made some good plays, but both need to do a lot of things better. We can't turn the ball over like that. It's hard to say much else without watching the film." Floyd said he worked in about half of his playbook because he didn't want to give away too much — He's trading the game film from the scrimmage with coaches from Shreveport (La.) Evangel Christian, the national powerhouse that the Saints open with on Sept. 5 on the road. The Saints also were without the services of one of their top players in injured junior Mitchell Roberts, who plays linebacker, inside receiver and fullback and expected back for the opener. "We felt like we were right there with them but having six or seven turnovers or however many we had is really disappointing," Floyd said. "We can't do that, especially against the defending 7A State Champions." The fact the game was even played was somewhat of a surprise considering the two Washington County teams have never hooked up in a regular season game or scrimmage. Fayetteville had the opening after Texarkana pulled out of a scheduled scrimmage and the result was a strong following for both teams, especially on Shiloh's side where the crowd appeared to be at least as large as Fayetteville's. "This is an excellent turnout and it speaks volumes for the support of both programs," said Fayetteville athletic director Dick Johnson. "And this has been a very competitive and very civil game, which is also good." Both teams traded early touchdowns with Allen connecting with senior Kellen Summers for a 40-yard touchdown pass and tailback Chris Bryant scoring a touchdown for the Saints. An interception by Franco Broyles led to Fayetteville's touchdown. Allen then found Summers again for another 17-yard touchdown on a slant pattern with 11:51 remaining in the second quarter. On the ensuing play, Mathews was intercepted when Bobby Petrino made a one-hand grab on a deep pass near midfield. Bulldogs sophomore sensation Demetrius Dean then danced 66 yards — breaking countless tackles and even hurdling two defenders — for a touchdown that was nullified by a penalty. But he then got into the end zone later in the drive when he spun out of a tackle to score on a 15-yard touchdown reception that made it 20-7. After another Petrino interception on a pass from Frazier near the goaline, Shiloh Christian responded with a 40-yard touchdown pass from Frazier to a wide-open Zann Jones to cut the lead to 20-14 with 1:08 remaining in the half. However, Allen hit Josh Hale for another scoring strike and Garreth Booth would return an interception 52 yards for a touchdown to end the first half and the "ones vs. ones" part of the scrimmage. Fayetteville tailback Cody Hammer spent most of his time on defense in the first half and "made some great plays," and he also figures to be the Bulldogs' starting tailback this season. "We know what Cody can do, so we tried a few others our running game was not very good," said Fayetteville coach Daryl Patton. "Our pass protection was not very good and our defense didn't really tackle well, but overall, I didn't see a lot of mental mistakes and that's really good to see this early." The second half did see Hammer get a few carries at tailback and Colby Berna, starting left tackle and Arkansas pledge, line up at defensive tackle. He;s listed No. 2 on the depth chart there after senior interior linemen Addison Ginnaven, a two-year starter, decided to sit out his senior season. Fayetteville, No. 1 in Class 7A in VYPE's preseason rankings, hosts Little Rock Central on Sept. 5 for its season opener.