ARLINGTON, Texas –
One team has been basking in the national spotlight for almost a decade.
One team is one victory away from diving there helmet first.
One team flexes and powers and muscles up.
One team spreads and diverts and throws abound.
One team is from football-renowned Texas.
One team is from neighboring Arkansas, known for its hogs, apple blossoms and
fiddles.
Despite the differences, there is one impressive and distinct common
denominator: both are No. 1 in the country.
At least that’s according to MaxPreps.com, which ranks high school football
teams nationally by two different methods, a computer, or the Freeman rankings,
and via writers, the human element, called the Xcellent 25.
Trinity
(Euless, Texas), the old dog in this national trick, is No. 1 among the
writers. Shiloh
Christian, the new kid on the turf from Springdale, Ark., is tops according
to the computer.
The two face off Monday at a most appropriate destination – the Shangri Lai of
sports stadiums – the
$1.2-billion Cowboys Stadium with its monstrous 72-foot tall video board
that weighs approximately 1.2 million pounds.
It is the opening act of a four-game set in the Kirk Herbstreit National
Kickoff Classic in Texas. Kickoff is scheduled for 10:30 a.m. (Central Time)
and will be televised live by Fox Sports Net.
The other three games will be televised as well and feature, perennial national
power St.
Thomas Aquinas (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) against Skyline
(Dallas) at 1:30 p.m., Cedar
Hill (Texas) versus Guyer
(Denton, Texas) at 4:30 p.m. and DeSoto
(Texas) against Bowie
(Arlington, Texas) at 7:30 p.m.
There will be more than a two dozen future Division I stars showcased in the
star-studded event, but the double No. 1 showdown is indeed the main
event.
Kiehl Frazier should keep Shiloh close with his arm and legs.
Photo by Richey Miller
“Well, it’s exciting (being ranked No. 1) for the fans and the program, but not
so much for the coaches,” he said good-naturedly on Wednesday. “We’ve addressed
it with the team. We’re not going to bring it up. Our philosophy is let’s just
take care of the season and if we get ranked somewhere high at the end, then
let’s get excited.”
But frankly, there’s already so much about the program and current team to get
the heart pumping.
Pride and tradition
The Saints have played in four straight state championship games, winning three
including last season when they went 13-1. The school, located in the
northwestern region of Arkansas – in a town considered the largest meat
producing company in the world and touted the “Chicken Capital of the World” –
opened in 1976 and started playing football in 1989.
Shiloh Christian has won six state crowns, the first in 1998 when Floyd was the
starting senior quarterback. He took over as head coach seven seasons ago and
has a 71-13 record. In 21 years plus, the Saints are 198-67-2.
“We’ve been able to maintain some pride and tradition,” Floyd said. “I think
we’ve improved over time by playing a tough non-conference schedule. We’ve gone
outside the area to see how we’d do against better competition and that’s
helped us, win or lose.”
The biggest win in school history probably wasn’t a state-title game, but last
year’s 37-36 season-opening triumph at perennial national power Evangel
Christian Academy (Shreveport, La.). The season before, the Saints flopped
in their first huge national test, losing at home to Evangel 47-9.
Trinity's Brandon Carter (10) is heading to Oklahoma.
Photo by Keith Owens
They’ll need to throw their collective chests way out to slug it out with
Trinity, a Texas large-school champion three of the last five years – 2005,
2007 and 2009.
Though talent is surely abundant – and with the likes of receiver Brandon
Carter and tailback Tevin
Williams this year is no different – what drives the Trojans is a cattle
line of beefy linemen, a blue collar approach and a tradition of excellence set
forth by 43-year coaching veteran Steve Lineweaver.
“They don’t have ridiculous talent year-to-year,” Dallas Morning News columnist
and MaxPreps correspondent Max Wixon said. “But they’re a machine. They have a
solid team concept and they just plug in the pieces year after year.”
Lineweaver told us two years ago: “Obviously we have some good players roll
through here. And we’ve got good support from our administration. But I think
most important is we’re a blue collar area. The kids don’t stay inside a lot.”
Rock stars
That’s made Lineweaver’s job a whole lot easier. Then again, he’s been
successful wherever he’s coached including winning a state 3A championship at
Commerce.
“A coach’s worst nightmare is having to go around the halls convincing kids
into playing (football),” he said. “You don’t have to do that at Trinity. They
all want to come out and play. It’s kind of a popular thing to be a member of
the Trojans football team.”
Same goes for Floyd at Shiloh.
Shiloh lineman Samuel Harvill is going to Kansas State.
Photo by Richey Miller
“It’s time to leave our legacy,” is the credo of the current group and no doubt
a victory against Trinity would cement it.
Floyd said the opportunity to make the five-hour road trip to Dallas to play in
the colossal Cowboys’ Stadium is, well, colossal.
“It’s an opportunity we just couldn’t pass up,” he said “As exciting as it is,
I’ve made it quite clear that this is a football game and we need to do all the
things necessary to win.
“They have a big and strong football team with great athletes. We have to make
some stops. These guys obviously don’t mess around. We know we have to play a
great football game.”
But, just as obviously, he has some great players to get the job done, starting
at quarterback.
Auburn-commit Kiehl
Frazier is considered the second best dual-threat quarterback in the
country, according to MaxPreps/CBS College Sports recruiting expert Tom
Lemming.
He passed for more than 3,800 yards and 48 touchdowns in 2009 and is supported
by a pair of Division I linemen, Kansas-commit Travis
Bodenstein (6-5, 295) and Kansas State-bound Samuel
Harvill (6-0, 255).
As big and physical as Trinity is up front, Floyd thinks he has the linemen to
compete.
“We do feel like our defensive lines is one of our strengths,” he said. “Up and
down in the trenches the game will likely be decided.”
Battle of attrition
If that’s the case, Trinity certainly seems to have an edge in size and depth.
Shiloh Christian, with 40 on its roster, has 12 lineman larger than 200 pounds,
including 6-5, 292-pound sophomore Jacob Ralph. Trinity boasts 88 players,
including 39 linemen, with 36 of them at least 200 pounds, 18 larger than 250
and five more than 300 pounds.
Trinity first-year QB Kautai was impressive last week.
Photo by Keith Owens
They also have the skill set, starting with Oklahoma-bound Carter (5-11, 160),
who had 111 yard receiving yards and two touchdowns last week in a 35-0 win
over a very good Lee squad. Carter, who scored the game-winning overtime
touchdown in last year’s state-title game, 41-38 over Westlake, is also
supposed to play quarterback in Wildcat formations.
Lineweaver didn't show it off much against Lee.
Instead, first-year starting quarterback Kailahi
Kautai was, like most Trinity signal-callers - very efficient - completing
9 of 13 passes for 155 yards and rushing for 91 more. He had to replace Willie
Hubbard, who last year was the MVP of the district without eye-opening numbers.
The bulk of the running will be from Williams, who last year in this event was
the star with 22 carries for 210 yards and three touchdowns in a 41-21 win over
nationally-ranked Bingham (Utah), and Terrrence
Tusan.
Last year Williams, a 6-1, 185-pound specimen, got hurt at midseason but the
Trojans simply went to Tusan a 5-5, 155-pound scatback who went for 1,237 yards
and 21 touchdowns. With five starters back on the offensive line the running
game should be formidably and the defense, as proved in last week’s shutout, is
stout.
Other college players are Baylor-bound Suleiman
Masumbuko (6-3, 270), a defensive lineman and tight end Nila
Kasitati (6-4, 270), along with uncommitted linebacker Jonathan
Yenga, who had 167 tackles last season.
Trinity seems to have the advantage of being near home and having played in
Cowboys Stadium last year. Shiloh Christian has played just once in Texas in
2006. The Saints defeated Prestonwood Christian, the then defending TAPPs
champion from Plano, to open the season.
Shiloh went on to go 14-0 and win the state crown.
“That was a very good experience for us,” Floyd said. “We’re hoping for
another.”
Look for previews of the other three Herbstreit Texas games on Monday.
