LITTLE ROCK — Shiloh Christian is no stranger to the spotlight, but the beam could be blinding this fall.
It has nothing to do with being in the middle of the recent flap between public and private school athletics, either.
Since 1997, the Saints have won five state championships and played for three others.
They are widely picked to win their second consecutive Class 4A state championship this fall.
But Shiloh Christian also opens No. 1 in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette Top 10, a first for the small private school in Springdale.
Shiloh Christian only has 42 players, but quality abounds in the junior and senior classes.
Coach Josh Floyd said he believes as many as seven playerswill eventually sign major college scholarships, with several others possessing the ability to play at the Division I level.
Monday night at home, Shiloh Christian, the school with an enrollment of less than 200, scrimmaged Class 7A Fayetteville, the school with about 2,000.
Shiloh Christian led 35-3 at halftime.
"Our guys definitely have some goals," said Floyd, a record-setting quarterback on the Saints' first state championship team in 1998. "The best way to reach our goals is take care of business every week."
Shiloh Christian returns 14 starters from a team that won its final 13 games last fall, most in lopsided fashion.
Senior center Josh Salsbury has started in three consecutive state championship games.
Junior tackle Travis Bodenstein, 6-4, 295 pounds, and junior nose guard Sam Harvill, 6-0, 250, have started in two consecutive state championship games.
Harvill, who bench presses more than 500 pounds, was the Democrat-Gazette Sophomore Defensive Player of the Year after making 24 1 /2 tackles for loss and 16 sacks.
Junior quarterback Kiehl Frazier, 6-3, 210, was the MVP of last year's 42-18 state title victory over Pine Bluff Dollarway.
Frazier, who transferred last summer from West Fork, should be even better this fall with another year in the system, Floyd said.
"Kiehl Frazier is a totally different quarterback right now," Floyd said. "His reads are a whole lot better than last year. He's doing a better job gettingthe ball to his receivers and protecting the ball, those kind of things. Obviously, he's a threat to run every time he has the ball in his hands."
Frazier, who rushed for 990 yards and 15 touchdowns and passed for 1,447 yards and 17 touchdowns last season, has scholarship offers from Arkansas, Auburn and Tulsa.
Bodenstein also has an offer from Tulsa. Harvill has offers from SMU and UNLV.
Senior linebacker Mitchell Roberts, 6-3, 230, has offers from Illinois and Tulsa. He also played as a freshman.
Junior linebacker Colt Thomas, 5-10, 180, was a member of the Democrat-Gazette Super Sophomore Team after making 47 tackles and 63 assists to lead the team.
Senior cornerback Wilson Huett, also the backup quarterback, returned two of his teamhigh seven interceptions last season for touchdowns.
Also returning are junior wide receiver/defensive back Zann Jones, a two-year starter; junior running back Garrett Harper,who had more than 1,000 allpurpose yards last season, and senior Trevor Tumlinson, an accurate place-kicker.
Floyd said the Saints have a chance to be better this season. That could translate into being the best in the state, a perch almost always reserved for teams in the higher classifications.
"We're pretty excited about it," Floyd said. "It's kind of those deals where you hope to stay healthy. We're still pretty thin. Everybody is in high school, but we're probably a little bit more, just because of the numbers. Hopefully, we'll stay healthy."
Sports, Pages 23, 36 on 08/30/2009