“Really, I was just trying to think about anything that could help,” Clinard said. “I just want to see this defense become the defense it used to be.”

Under new defensive coordinator Jeff Jones, who coached at Lonoke last fall and has been an assistant at Springdale before, the Bulldogs adopted a 4-3 scheme in the spring that Clinard says will be extremely effective.

“We’re doing some things that are really exciting, and I think we’re going to be a tougher defense than anybody realizes,” Clinard said. “Everybody knows Springdale can score points, but we want to show teams they can’t score points on us.”

Springdale interim coach Dennis Debusk said Clinard, who is also Springdale’s backup quarterback, is a unique player because of his versatility. Besides playing defense, he’s also an impressive offensive player at throwing, catching and running the football.

“We’ve got some offensive packages where he’s included,” Debusk said. “We call it the ‘Wilddog.’ He can line up at quarterback and run wild, so we’re going to give him that chance.”

Clinard, who competed in the Top Gun QB1 Challenge in July, said he likes being so versatile on the field because he likes helping his team in any possible way.

“He’s just a great leader, he’s almost like another coach out there,” said David McGinnis, Springdale’s secondary coach. “He works hard, he does everything the right way, he makes good decisions. He’s just the kind of player this team needs to be successful.”

SPRINGDALE — Kiehl Frazier has made a pretty good habit of protecting his home field.

As a starting quarterback for Shiloh Christian last fall, the sophomore went 8-0 at Champions Stadium and later helped guide the Saints to the Class 4A state championship in December.

On Thursday night, Frazier again showed that when he’s at home, he can’t be beaten.

Frazier won the Top Gun QB1 Quarterback Challenge by finishing with 340 points, only 2 1/2 more points than Harrisburg’s Zach Davis, who finished with 337.5.

Going into Thursday’s final event, the On-The-Move Accuracy Competition, Davis led all competitors with 272 points. But Frazier had an impressive performance, scoring 75 points by hitting several targets to leap past Davis for the overall victory.

Frazier said winning the competition on his home field made the victory even better.

“I had to save my home turf,” said Frazier, who received a scholarship offer from Auburn on June 9. “Me and (teammate David Matthews) kind of kept it quiet, but I mean, in the back of our minds, we wanted to win it.

“In the back of my mind, I was thinking, ‘This is Shiloh, we’ve got to win this.’”

Frazier won Wednesday’s Physical Endurance Test, which included several different drills like the 40-yard-dash, broad jump and vertical jump. He won the weight ball drill and the vertical jump with a leap of 35 inches.

“There were a lot of good quarterbacks here. This may have been the best field overall that I’ve seen,” Shiloh coach Josh Floyd said. “I wasn’t shocked that Kiehl won, because I think he’s a big-time quarterback.”

Davis said he was nervous going into Thursday’s final event and pleased overall that he competed better than he ever expected.

“I didn’t win any events, but I was near the top in everything,” Davis said. “It was cool to come up here and see that I could compete with some of the talented quarterbacks in this area. But I was completely surprised — I mean, finishing in the top 10 and I was 100 percent satisfied.”

Fayetteville’s Brandon Allen, who finished eighth with 252.5 points, won the Deep Throw competition with a toss of 66 yards. Matthews, Shiloh’s other junior quarterback, also won the On-The-Move Accuracy Competition and finished seventh overall with 255 points.

Former Arkansas quarterback Jason Allen, who created the quarterback challenge six years ago, said Frazier’s consistency in every competition was the key to him being the overall champion.

“Kiehl is special, he’s got the running skills, the physical presence,” Allen said. “He’s like a (Southeastern Conference) quarterback, he gets the ball from A to B and he’s a great kid. The scary thing is that he’s only going to be a junior.”

At A Glance

TOP GUN QB1 CHALLENGE

OVERALL RESULTS

1. Kiehl Frazier, Shiloh Christian 340

2. Zach Davis, Harrisburg 337.5

3. Hayden Smith, Warren 320

4. Trey Schucker, Clarksville 272.5

5. Tyler Shook, Greenwood 260

6. Claude Johnson, Pine Bluff 257.5

7. David Matthews, Shiloh Christian 255

8. Brandon Allen, Fayetteville 252.5

9. Logan Quinn, Arkansas Baptist 242.5

10. Benson Jordan, Lake Hamilton 235

COMPETITION RESULTS

Physical Endurance Test

1. Frazier 100

2. Johnson 95

3. Davis 90

Mental Test

1. Shook 82

2. Taylor Bartlett, LR Catholic 80

3. Davis 79

Speed And Mobility

1. Matt Jones, Lamar 14.84

2. Shook 19.19

3. Trey Schucker, Clarksville 19.22

Stationary Accuracy

1. Bartlett 65

2. Joseph Calcagni, Springdale High 55

2. Chris Clinard, Springdale High 55

2. Jordan 55

Long Throw

1. Allen 66

2. Smith 65

3. Johnson 62

On-The-Move Accuracy

1. Matthews 85

2. Smith 75

2. Frazier 75

2. Shook 75

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.”