Shiloh Christian Saints
Springdale, AR
13-1
If a person is curious what the ingredients are for a national championship, they should study the Shiloh Christian Saints. Today the NPSAA announced that the Shiloh Saints are the 2009 NPSAA Division I National Champions, and it was not close. The Saints received all 25 first place votes on the way to the first ever national championship.
The choice was clear when you consider their body of work. They had the strongest strength of schedule in the nation. They played and defeated four teams who would have been undefeated if they had not played the Saints. Two of those teams, #2 Evangel Christian and # 6 Lincoln Christian, were ranked in the top 10 of the national polls. Both teams also won their state championship (LA, OK).
During the season, they won games in a variety of ways. They won close games, with 1 and 2 point victories over Evangel and Nashville, but they also won games by a large margin, including a 36 point victory in the state championship game.
They showed they could close games out, as well as play from behind. For example, they put together possibly the greatest comeback in high school sports history. Playing at home against an undefeated Nashville team, the Saints went down 35-0 in the second quarter. However, behind arm of Saints star QB Khiel Frazier and a defense that knuckled up in the second half, the Saints came back to win the game 51-49.
What made this comeback more impressive were the streaks that were on the line. Shiloh had won 33 straight home games, but Nashville had also won 35 straight road games. Not to mention the game was in the quarterfinals of the playoffs. Many were considering this the first ever state championship game played in the quarterfinals.
There is no doubting that Shiloh Christian had a storied tradition prior to the hiring of Josh Floyd.. However, Coach Floyd has taken this program to new heights. He has coached the team to 3 of their six state championships. Those three state championships have been won over the last four seasons.