The Lake Hamilton Wolves will face off against the Shiloh Christian Saints at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Lake Hamilton has a tough task ahead: they'll enter the contest with four straight defeats, while Shiloh Christian will come in with four straight victories.
It's never fun to lose, and it's even less fun to lose 42-7, which was the final score in Lake Hamilton's tilt against Mountain Home on Thursday.
Despite the loss, Lake Hamilton saw an underclassman step up: sophomore Jace Bohannan threw for 168 yards and one touchdown, and also rushed for 70 yards.
Meanwhile, Shiloh Christian never let their opponents score on Thursday. They blew past Siloam Springs 59-0. The result was nothing new for the Saints, who have now won five games by 28 points or more so far this season.
Lake Hamilton better keep an eye on Griffin Mason. He was instrumental in Shiloh Christian's win, rushing for 107 yards and three TDs on only 14 carries, while also picking up 39 receiving yards. That's the most rushing touchdowns Mason has posted since back in September. Another player making a difference was Cole Creighton, who threw for 188 yards and a pair of touchdowns while completing 73.3% of his passes.
Shiloh Christian didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off two passes before the game was over. The picks came courtesy of Cooper Croft and Blake Williams.
Lake Hamilton's defeat dropped their record down to 2-6. As for Shiloh Christian, their win bumped their record up to 6-2.
The upcoming matchup will be a clash of competing strengths. Lake Hamilton has deployed a run-first offense that has averaged 167.4 rushing yards a game. Meanwhile, Shiloh Christian has preferred to attack from the air: they average 322.4 passing yards per game. So which strategy will prevail on Friday? There's only one way to find out.
Lake Hamilton was able to grind out a solid victory over Shiloh Christian in their previous matchup back in November of 2024, winning 35-28. Will the Wolves repeat their success, or do the Saints have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.