GENTRY – Shiloh Christian (6-1, 4-0) handed 4A-1 conference opponents Gentry (6-1, 3-1) his first defeat of the season and pulled away 48:20 on a muddy Friday evening at Pioneer Stadium.
The win expanded the Saints’ winning streak to 26 games, dating back to 2017, rolling up 459 yards of offensive and forcing three Pioneer turnovers.
Junior quarterback Eli Wisdom made five of the Saints’ seven touchdowns and completed three touchdown passes in the second half. Wisdom ran for 128 yards and two scores while completing 11 of 16 for 242 yards with 3 touchdown passes.
“I’m being classified as a double threat because I’m not one-dimensional,” Wisdom said of his performance. “I love to run football, but I also love to throw it. I think I showed tonight that I can get the ball through the air in the right place, but all the credit goes to the guys, who run the routes. “
His association with senior receiver Cooper Hutchinson was shown in the third quarter. In the third game of the Saints, Wisdom found Hutchinson with 43 yards for a score.
“It’s so nice to have Eli toss me the ball,” said Hutchinson. “In the middle of my route, I was like, ‘Oh my god, this is a laser coming right at me’ so I just had to let go of it right in my chest. The rest was history.”
The next time Shiloh Christian had possession, the duo hit again for a 21-yard step into the end zone.
“I trust my coaches to put us in the best possible situation,” said Hutchinson. “If I don’t get the ball, I know there is a good reason and if so, I’ll try to make a difference.”
The game was a sloppy back and forth to begin with, with both teams exchanging blows after the Saints and Pioneers flipped the ball within six minutes.
Wisdom gave Shiloh Christian a 14-7 lead after snapping in the middle and pulling 93 yards past defenders for a touchdown. The Pioneers responded with a 9-play, 68-yard drive topped off by a 5-yard run by Zach Gunneman for a score. The point-after-kick was missed, leaving the Saints’ lead by one point.
That was the next thing Gentry would accomplish. Shiloh Christian scored 34 unanswered points behind an even run / pass attack.
Saints coach Jeff Conaway praised his team’s ability to control the last four minutes of the first half and come out with a fire after the break.
“We’re a great team in the middle of eight minutes,” said Conaway. “If you look at the last four minutes of the second quarter and the first four of the third quarter, there are a lot of games that are won and lost, if you will. There may only be 15 on the scoreboard, but it was also 14 that we prevented. “
After 53 yards in the first half, the Saints trained Wisdom’s arm in the last two quarters.
“We rushed over 500 yards last week so we knew we wanted to throw something this week,” said Conaway. “The conditions for throwing and catching weren’t great, but I felt like our guys really got their way. They ran good routes and created a certain separation, and we have a quarterback who puts the ball in the right place Position. ” to catch it.
“We really wanted to do that tonight to get better at the passing game.”
For Gentry, quarterback Chris Bell went 11 out of 18 for 143 yards and a score. He also threw two interceptions. William Pyburn carried much of the Pioneers’ running duties, going 93 yards on 24 touches with a touchdown.
