The Saints went 14-0 and became State Champions

Private School, Public Victory:

There is a common misperception that private-school athletes can’t compete with public schools – that the kids in private school don’t have the necessary toughness to work through pain and become good athletes. Anyone who thinks that all that private -school kids do athletically is play croquet, cricket and badminton needs to hear about Shiloh Christian High School in Springdale, Arkansas. Against stiff competition, their football team went 14-0 this season. The only private school in their football conference, the Saints showed in 2006 that they were just as talented and driven as players from any public school.

And this year, they were a lot better, winning all their games and clinching the 3A state championship against Prescott High, 48-6. Early on, things didn’t look so certain: During the third game of the season, a non-conference game against Greenwood High School, a 5A team, the Saints’ quarterback broke his foot. He was not only out of the game but also out of much of the regular season. Nevertheless, the Saints kept their composure and won that game 49-48. What makes this accomplishment even more impressive is that Greenwood went on For a private school, Shiloh Christian has provided its football team with a great playing field. to win the 5A State Championships for the second year in a row.

Offensively, the Saints were a virtual juggernaut, averaging 44 points a game and totaling 4,000 passing yards and 2,000 rushing yards. Defensively, the team gave up only 24 total points in seven conference games and had a state record 29 fumble recoveries.

The Pressure’s On Earning a Division I football scholMARCH/APRIL 2007 BFS Clinician Jim Brown worked with Coach Josh Floyd to design a hardcore weightroom for serious athletes. arship is a remarkable accomplishment; the fact is that there are only enough scholarships for an average of one athlete in every seven high schools. Many high school football coaches might never see a single one of their athletes play Division I ball. It’s also true that many college recruiters overlook smaller private schools. Amazingly, six players at Shiloh Christian High School earned Division I scholarships this year!

John Floyd, the head football coach and athletic director at Shiloh Christian, shed some light on the reasons for his team’s success. “I just feel like God blessed us with a great senior class of hard-working guys.” Floyd adds that because many of the seniors on this team also started as sophomores, there was great anticipation and pressure for them to win. “When we started the season, we were ranked number one because we had so much experience, so we had big expectations not just from ourselves but from the entire state as well.” To help deal with it, Floyd and his coaching staff adopted the slogan “Leave No Doubt.”

“Our thinking was that our players wanted to leave no doubt in anyone’s mind that we were the best #42 Noseguard Jordan Moore gets another quarterback sack Amazingly, six players at Shiloh Christian High School earned Division I scholarships this year! Josh Floyd, Athletic Director/Head Football Coach A powerful offensive line (Navy jerseys) helped the Saints average 44 points a game and total 4,000 passing yards and 2,000 rushing yards. team in the entire state.” Another key to the Saints’ success was adopting the BFS program two years ago. “We have seen tremendous gains in strength and speed ever since we started using BFS,” says Floyd.

“We trained year-round, and we still lifted three times a week during the season, #4 Crosby Tuck is a defensive back who has committed to Arkansas where he will play wide receiver even during the week of the state championship. This level of commitment is important, because we run a Spread, No-Huddle Offense, so our guys must be in great physical condition.” One team-building activity Floyd uses is a summer team camp, which requires his players to get together four times a week in the summer. As for his advice on how to approach practice, Floyd says it’s important to focus on quality, not quantity, to develop discipline.

“Having disciplined kids is always going to be a huge factor in any program. We don’t have 3-to-4-hour practices; we go about two hours and keep things moving. If you have kids standing around, they lose focus and you’re just wasting your time.” As for the 2007 season, Floyd predicts a great showing for Shiloh Christian High School. “Because we had often had a big lead at halftime, we were able to play a lot of younger players in the second half in 2006. We’re MARCH/APRIL 2007 losing some strong players from the 2006 team, but we have a lot of great kids who are coming back and working hard to excel and keep us on top.”

The program’s success, according to Floyd, is unrelated to Shiloh being a private school. He says his experience has been that the major difference at Shiloh is family support. “Our parents take a very active role in their children’s education, and not just because there’s a greater financial investment. They really want to help make high school a great experience for their kids – they want to see them succeed athletically as well as academically.”

The Saints’ March to a Perfect Season Date Prestonwood Christian . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45-17 Gravette. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49-26 Greenwood . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49-48 Pea Ridge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42-7 Elkin. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52-0 Mountainburg . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42-0 Green Forest . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42-7 Cedarville. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48-3 West Fork . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32-7 Lincoln . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44-0 Hoxie* . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49-7 Bauxite* . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35-21 Harding Academy* . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40-7 Prescott State Championship Game . . . . . . . . . . .

. . . . . . . . . . . . 48-6 David Ingram is a 6’2”, 205-pound running back and linebacker who runs 4.5 in the 40.

Left Tackle Nolan Hankins is 6’6”and weighs 338 pounds!

#31 Adam Herring, a linebacker, has committed to Auburn “The most inspiring night of my life!” ~Kyle Meyers, Rutherford B. Hayes High, OH “Reaffirmed the reason I entered coaching 25 years ago.”

“Be An 11 has changed my life! - Coach Al McFarland school in the nation should schedule a Be An 11 Seminar today! I WILL BE AN 11!” “Every It is without a doubt the best thing that has happened to our school.” - Katie Heinlen “This is exactly what our school and community needed.” - Coach Fox A BFS Presenter will come to your The cost is only school and will spend up to three $1,400 up to 50 athletes. hours inspiring, motivating and Add’l athletes only $15 each. educating your athletes how to Includes the Be an 11 Guidebook! become true elevens! *Christian B11 is also avaliable (Interested schools can request free Be An 11 Book & Seminar literature)

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From BFS Magazine — March/April 2007. Part of the BFS Magazine Archive (1980–2014).