Arkansas high school football Class 5A state final: Little Rock Parkview dominates Shiloh Christian

The undefeated Patriots rolled to their second straight state title

LITTLE ROCK — The Little Rock Parkview Patriots, who have been SB Live’s No 1-ranked in Arkansas team since a 28-27 victory over Bryant on Sept. 8, left no doubt as to how good they were Saturday night. 

The Patriots (14-0) defended their Class 5A state championship with a 55-12 victory over Shiloh Christian (11-3) before 6,420 fans at War Memorial Stadium.

“It’s still surreal for me,” said Parkview head coach Brad Bolding. “For the community of John Barrow, I couldn’t be prouder. I’m super proud for the district. There have been times when things haven’t gone our way, but to bring a good light to the district, I couldn’t be more proud to do it second time in a row and go 14-0.”

Shiloh Christian, which was shooting for its ninth state title, fell in the championship game for the third year in a row. First-year head coach Tucker Barnard acknowledged that it was not the Saints’ night. “Little Rock Parkview is a great team with great coaches,” said Barnard. “They executed a very high level and left no doubt they were the better team tonight.”

Parkview finished with 444 total yards (174 rushing and 270 passing) on 43 plays while holding Shiloh Christian to 217 total yards and collected five turnovers.

The Patriots started their march to the championship on their second possession of the game when Eric McGehee threw a 67-yard pass to Monterrio Elston down the right sideline at the 4:43 mark of the first quarter. Salomon Aguilar’s kick made it 7-0.

Four plays later, the Patriot defense got into the fun when Kevin Ellis intercepted Cole Creighton and went 50 yard down the right sideline for the touchdown to make it 14-0 after Aguilar’s extra point.

Parkview made one of its few mistakes on its next possession when a false start turned a third and one to a third and six at the Shiloh Christian 37 and McGehee threw incomplete to Elston giving the ball back to the Saints.

The Patriot defense set up the next score when Cameron Settles intercepted Creighton at the 10:21 mark of the second quarter. Eight plays later, Jaden Ashford went 16 yards up the middle at the 8:06 mark. Aguilar’s kick made it 21-0.

Facing fourth and two on its 27, Creighton came running down toward the left sideline where he was hit by Jeremy Edwards and Omarion Robinson recovered and ran it back to the 15. One play later, Robinson, on a direct snap, went 14 yards up the middle. Aguilar’s kick was good and it was 28-0 at the 6:39 mark.

Shiloh Christian had its only highlight of the first half when Creighton found Carter Holman down the middle of the field for a 37-yard touchdown at the 4:37 mark. The extra point was blocked, leaving it 28-6.

McGehee capped off a 7-play, 63-yard drive with a 1-yard sneak at the 1:47 mark. Aguilar’s kick was good and it was 35-6.

One play later, Settles had his second interception of the game and ran it back 33 yards to the Shiloh 32. On the next play, McGehee found Elston down the left sideline where he made several moves on his way to the end zone at the 1:14 mark. Aguilar’s kick was good and it was 42-6.

After Robinson returned the second-half kickoff 27 yards to the Shiloh 48, McGehee found Robinson 48 yards down the right sideline at the 11:24 mark of the third quarter for a touchdown. Aguilar’s kick was blocked leaving it at 48-6.

After Shiloh was turned the ball over on down on its 31, McGehee played faked and found an open Kyrick Fulks in the end zone for a 23-yard touchdown pass. Aguilar’s kick was good, and it was 55-6 at the 6:48 mark of the third quarter. Williams scored on a 2-yard run with 2:43 left in the game.

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 Parkview’s defense was the story of the game. The Patriots, who allowed 140 points on the season, held Shiloh Christian to 82 yards rushing on 32 attempts, held quarterbacks Creighton and Eli Baker to 14-of-29 passing for 135 yards and 4 interceptions. Williams, who rushed for 1,875 yards and 37 touchdowns, was held to 59 yards on 20 carries.

“If there’s a defense better than us, I’ll be shocked,” said Bolding. “People average 1.9 yards per carry. We turned turnovers into points.”

He was also proud of the way his defense made sure Williams never got going with gang tackling. “That’s something we focused on and that was getting to the ball,” said Bolding. “Bo Williams is a great young man, and I know his family. We played good enough defensively to control the line of scrimmage and get to the ball.”

Ramsey Cummings and Montaiveon Goins led the Patriots with 8 tackles. Jeremy Edwards had one sack and two tackles for losses. Settles had two of the Patriots four interceptions.

Barnard said Parkview’s athleticism on defense shut down anything Shiloh Christian tried to do. “As good as they are, their scheme and execution is great,” he said. “Athletically, the margin of error is really small. A block you normally get on a guy all of a sudden is not enough. You have a throw that is a little off and they make up the difference and run under it. They bottle up the run game and force you to bounce it outside.

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McGehee was named MVP of the state championship game for the second year in a row. McGehee completed 10-of-14 passes for 270 yards and 4 touchdowns and rushed for a team-high 49 yards on 6 carries.

While McGehee gladly accepted the award, he was quick to give praise to his teammates, especially the offensive line that didn’t allow him to get sacked.

“My teammates made my job much easier,” said McGehee. “I can’t do it without my O-line. They’ve been here since day one. The defense did it for us. It’s not possible with out the defense. They did a really good job tonight.”

Elston led the Patriots in receiving with 6 catches for 142 yards and 2 touchdowns.

. “They have great weapons offensively and they can do a lot of things,” said Barnard. “They’re really big and really physical. They also schemed it up very well and execute at a high level. Those guys are well coached. They were too much for us today.”

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Bolding said his team maintained a hunger to repeat as state champions and kept it throughout the year, starting with a 18-member senior class on the 57-player roster.

“They are the nuts and bolts and the glue that hold it together,” said Bolding. “11 out of 13 games, we mercy ruled people and as coaches we kept thinking we were going to have a bad game, but the senior class kept them together. This is one of the best groups I’ve had on and off the field. I think they’re the biggest contributor.”

Photos by Jimmy Jones 

--Jeff Halpern