FAYETTEVILLE — Daryl Patton learned more about the Purple’Dogs’ weaknesses than he would have liked in a scrimmage against Class 4A defending state champion Shiloh Christian on Monday. (see the related photo gallery)

Fayetteville spent the rest of the week working on those weaknesses in preparation for its regular season opener against Little Rock Central tomorrow night.

“It’s good to play a good team, and Shiloh is, of course,” Patton said. “You can find out real quick what your weaknesses are and what you need to work on.”

Fayetteville trailed 35-3 at the end of the first half against Shiloh while the first-teamers were still in. Patton said the two key areas the Purple’Dogs worked on were tackling and improving and emphasizing the running game on offense.

“Nobody played real well,” Patton said. “We worked on our enthusiasm, fun and intensity all week. We can’t have a lack of effort. Those are the things we’ve been preaching.”

Fayetteville went through a light practice Saturday morning and will take today off before leaving Monday morning for Little Rock. Kickoff is set for 5 p.m.

Shiloh Game Moved To Thursday

SPRINGDALE — Shiloh’s season opener against Shreveport (La.) Evangel Christian has been moved to Thursday.

The game will be televised by FoxSports Southwest (local Cox channel 27), Saints coach Josh Floyd said.

“We’ve got everything finalized and the game will be at 7 p.m. and on Fox Southwest,” Floyd said Monday following the Saints’ scrimmage with Fayetteville.

Evangel is the last team to defeat Shiloh. The former national power defeated the Saints 47-9 in last season’s opener before the Saints ripped off 13 straight wins, capped by winning the 4A state title last December.

The Saints play their first two games at home in Champions Stadium before going on the road to Greenwood in Week 3.

— CHIP SOUZA

Wildcats Get Defensive

TULSA — It’s no surprise that Springdale Har-Ber put up 47 points against Sapulpa, Okla., on Friday in the Vype Gridiron Classic.

Under coach Chris Wood, the Wildcats have traditionally always put up big offensive numbers every season, something Har-Ber’s players and coaches have always been proud of.

But this season, it’s Har-Ber’s defense that has a chance to turn a few heads.

With four returning starters, the Wildcats’ defense held Sapulpa to only seven points, and that was well after Har-Ber replaced its starters with second- and third-team guys.

Throughout the scrimmage, Har-Ber’s defensive line put constant pressure on Sapulpa quarterback Michael Glisson, even sacking him three times.

“I thought we did a lot of good things, I was happy with our speed and our physicality,” said Travis Moreland, Har-Ber’s defensive coordinator. “I still saw a couple of things we can get better at, but for the most part, I thought we played very well.”

In the Chieftain’s first three possessions, Har-Ber never allowed them to cross their own 44. Furthermore, it was on Sapulpa’s fourth possession when it finally completed a long 30-yard pass, one of it biggest plays of the scrimmage.

“I think our guys on defense have a chance to really step up and be talented this season,” Wood said. “We’ve got guys like Houston Pruitt (safety), Jacob Lloyd (defensive end) and Jacob Bundrick (linebacker) who all have experience and can do some good things for us.”

Tigers’ Intensity Impresses Lunney

TULSA — It was pretty evident to Bentonville coach Barry Lunney on Friday night that his players wanted to beat Tulsa Union in the Vype Gridiron Classic.

After Union won the game on a last-second touchdown pass, Bentonville’s players — as Lunney expected — were extremely disappointed in failing to pull off the preseason upset.

“You know, you see our guys, they’re mad, they’re frustrated, they’re angry and they hurt a little bit, and that’s all good,” Lunney said. “That tells me they’re ready, they’ve got the will to win inside of them. I like seeing that kind of intensity this early. I mean, it’s a scrimmage, and yet we played like it meant much more.”

Another thing Lunney was relieved about was getting out of the scrimmage without having any concerning injuries. In the last four years of competing in the scrimmage, the Tigers have always had at least one or two skill players go down with long-term injuries.

“You know, a lot of people were bringing that up to me this week and I didn’t think much about it,” Lunney said. “But as we got closer to the scrimmage, I couldn’t stop thinking about it and staying worried about it. Thankfully, nobody got hurt.”

— NATHAN ALLEN

War Eagles Turning Up The Heat

ROGERS — One of the biggest points of emphasis this preseason for Rogers Heritage coach Perry Escalante has been the defensive line.

Last year while going winless in the 7A-West Conference, Heritage struggled to put pressure on opposing quarterbacks. As a result, the War Eagles defense surrendered over 50 points a game.

If Thursday’s scrimmage against Russellville is any indication, then the Heritage front four is much improved. Senior Casey Wilber (6-2, 185) has been moved from tight end to defensive end and the War Eagles will play three defensive ends in passing situations. Reid Schatzman (6-3, 265) and Conor Bolton (5-11, 170) are the two other ends.

“That’s a big deal for me, bringing Casey in and him getting his hands up and making a guy double-pump,” Escalante said. “That’s huge step for us when you can get pressure with four people.”

Heritage takes on Springfield (Mo.) Parkview at 7:30 p.m. on Friday in Gates Stadium.

Film Watching

ROGERS — Rogers High coach Ronnie Peacock and the Mounties staff watched a lot film Friday night and Saturday.

Rogers defeated North Little Rock 7-3 in a two-quarter scrimmage Friday in Mountie Stadium and despite pulling out a win, Peacock said there is a lot of work to do before Friday’s season opener against Webb City, Mo.

One area of emphasis will be on the offensive line. Mounties quarterback Andy Couture was under intense pressure all night and Peacock said that is one area that must be addressed.

“It’s (scrimmage) going to be a great film to evaluate individuals,” Peacock said. “Who is getting their butt beat and why? Who is doing really good and who is doing an exceptional job? Obviously, we’ve got to protect a whole lot better.”

Rogers linebacker Tyler Hawkins injured his neck during the scrimmage and was taken to a local hospital as a precaution. The injury, however, is not considered serious and Hawkins could be available Friday.

The Mounties play Webb City on Friday at 7 p.m. in Mountie Stadium.

— PAUL NIELSEN

SPRINGDALE — 47-9. Those numbers stick in the craw of the Shiloh Christian Saints like a kick in the gut.

That is how the 2008 season started for the Saints — a 47-9 loss to Shreveport (La.) Evangel Christian. Of course the rest of the season was a completely different story as the Saints reeled off 13 straight wins and won the 4A state title 42-18 over Pine Bluff Dollarway.

Still, that opening lopsided loss was tough to swallow despite the storied history that Evangel brings.

But the Saints have a chance to exact a measure of payback as the two teams again meet in the season opener, this time in Champions Stadium. And the Saints are looking forward to the rematch.

“Last year Evangel beat us pretty bad,” Saints coach Josh Floyd said. “It was a tough ballgame for us, but you know they are usually one of the best teams in the country, so we’re trying to see how we compare to those guys.”

Asked if the Saints have the game circled on their calendars, 6-foot-3, 240-pound senior linebacker Mitchell Roberts said, “oh yeah.”

“It’s a big game for sure, it’s a big step for our program getting to play a nationally ranked team,” Roberts said. “So hopefully this year we’ll have a better outcome than we had last year because we are a better, more experienced team.”

The Saints recently lost a little experience and depth at quarterback when junior David Matthews, who split time with junior Kiehl Frazier, left the team. Last season Matthews passed for more than 1,500 yards and 21 touchdowns and only one interception.

“We don’t have (Matthews) any more,” Floyd said at the team’s media day Thursday. “He’s not going to play this year.”

Floyd said the Evangel game is likely to be televised and officials are expecting to make that announcement soon. Floyd said the game would likely be moved to Thursday if it is televised.

To Frazier (6-2, 210), who passed for 1,400 yards and ran for almost 1,000, it doesn’t matter when the game is played, he’s just ready to go.

“Our goal is to beat Evangel because last year they took it to us,” he said.

Floyd said the team had good offseason and summer workouts and their focus has been on the opener.

“We feel like if we can go out there and play with them, we can probably play with anybody,” Floyd said. “So our guys are excited, but it’s a huge challenge. I mean they are really good.”

Team Profile

SHILOH CHRISTIAN SAINTS

SPRINGDALE — Some of the state’s best high school quarterbacks will compete against each other today to try to win the annual Top Gun QB1 Challenge.

Today’s competition, which begins at 7 p.m. at Shiloh Christian’s Champions Stadium, will be a series of on-field events where participants will be tested on strength, speed and throwing accuracy.

Former Arkansas quarterback Jason Allen, who created the quarterback challenge six years ago, said this year’s event should be exciting.

Last year’s winner, Springdale High’s Ashton Glaser, passed for 3,069 yards and 29 touchdowns for the Red’Dogs last fall and is now a freshman quarterback at Missouri.

“We’ve got a lot of talented guys out here, guys that are capable of scoring a lot of points,” Allen said. “It should be a fun competition for anyone who decides to come out. It’ll be a great way to get a football fix in the middle of July.”

Besides the 15 quarterbacks that were invited to compete, there are also five vacant spots that were left available this year for any quarterback that wanted to qualify for the competition.

The five quarterbacks that qualified on Wednesday morning are Clarksville’s Trey Schucker, Camden Fairview’s Brandon Keaton, Wynne’s Grant Smith, Springdale High’s Chris Clinard and Timberland’s (Mo.) Chase Cresong.

“We’ve had a lot of talented quarterbacks in this competition before, and I can tell we’ve got several again this year,” Allen said. “My guess is that it’ll be a really close result.”