GRAVETTE — Peyton Rose looked up just in time to see the pass coming directly into his chest. And the Gravette sophomore held on like a seasoned defensive back.
Four plays into Friday night’s 4A-1 Conference showdown saw Gravette take a 7-0 lead on Shiloh Christian when Rose’s interception of Saints quarterback Kiehl Frazier set up teammate Darrick Strzelecki’s short touchdown run.
It was all Shiloh after that. The Saints (7-1, 5-0 4A-1) went on a rampage following the early mistake, scoring 49 consecutive points to blow out what is likely their only remaining serious threat to the league title with two games left.The 49-7 final over previously unbeaten Gravette was as convincing as it was dominant.
The Saints held Gravette (7-1, 4-1) to minus-35 total yards, including minus-70 on the ground. Most of that lost yardage was attributed to the Lions inability to snap the football in shotgun formation, which resulted in nine fumbles. Of Gravette’s 55 offensiveplays, 17 resulted in negative yards.
“I think the defense played really, really well,” Saints coach Josh Floyd said. “We did a great job of stopping the run other than that first possession.”
Strzelecki, who came into the game with 1,003 rushing yards, was held to 6 yards on 18 carries. His first two carries went for 6 and 5 yards, the lasta touchdown. The next 16 carries never produced a gain of more than 9 yards, and that came late in the game when the issue was long since decided.
After Shiloh drove 80 yards in 10 plays to tie the game at 7-7, the Lions had another big play as Dallas Kerley returned the kickoff to the Saints 25-yard line and a chance to retake the lead. Shiloh’s defensewould have none of it, and the drive ended with Gravette losing a fumble. It was the Lions' last serious scoring threat.
“We just couldn’t hold on,” Gravette coach Bill Harrelson said. “We got that kickoff return when it’s 7-7, but we just had trouble hanging on to the ball all night. You can’t have those problems against a team like Shiloh.”
Sports, Pages 14 on 10/27/2010