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 — 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

GENTRY — Megan Herbert scored 20 points and grabbed 11 rebounds as Shiloh Christian won its second game in as many days with a 72-33 win over Gentry on Saturday.

The Lady Saints (19-1, 7-0 4A-1 Conference) led 35-20 at halftime before using a 30-5 run in the third quarter to extend that lead to 65-25 over the Lady Pioneers (8-9, 3-5).

Eleven players scored for the Lady Saints, who also got 13 points from senior Christine Smith.

In the boys game, Shiloh (6-11, 3-4) got 21 points from sophomore David Matthews in a 60-48 win over the Pioneers (8-9, 2-6).

Gentry led 29-28 at halftime, but Shiloh took a 40-38 lead after three quarters and put the game away by outscoring the Pioneers 20-10 in the fourth quarter.

Derek Dellinger also finished in double figures for the Saints with 14 points, and David Eichler added 12 in the win.

Shiloh returns to action when it travels to Prairie Grove on Tuesday, while Gentry is at Pea Ridge.

SPRINGDALE — Shiloh Christian’s 49-14 win over Gravette last week pulled the Saints within one win of clinching the 4A-1 Conference championship.