CLASS 4A STATE CHAMPIONSHIP

PULASKI ROBINSON 42, SHILOH CHRISTIAN 14

DECEMBER 11, LITTLE ROCK — An early fumble turned all the momentum in the Class 4A championship game.

Pulaski Robinson recovered a fumble on Shiloh Christian’s opening possession just inches from the end zone and scored four first-half touchdowns to overwhelm the Saints, 42-14, at War Memorial Stadium.

The championship was Robinson’s second in three years and third overall.

Robinson also defeated Shiloh Christian in 2019 for the title. The left side of Robinson’s offensive line of tackle E’Marion Harris and guard Eli Jackson were sophomores and started in that game. Harris also started as a freshman, and the championship was his 58th start as a Senator.

Robinson was undeniable in the playoffs. The Senators recorded four of their five wins via the Arkansas Activities Association’s Sportsmanship Rule with a 35-point lead in the second half.

“We challenged them all year to not worry about who we were playing, to worry about us executing well in all three phases,” Robinson head coach Todd Eskola said. “We treated it like tests each week, and we told them this was their final exam. I’m really proud of our coaching staff and our kids for taking a workmanlike attitude and being unselfish all year long.”

Shiloh Christian took the opening kickoff and quickly moved to Robinson’s 4 but Chase Nichols forced a fumble just as Ben Baker was going into the end zone that Julian Campos recovered on the fourth play of the game with 10:35 left in the first quarter.

After review, the ball was deemed to be recovered into the end zone, and Robinson took nine plays to go 80 yards for the go-ahead touchdown with 7:21 left on a 2-yard touchdown run by Daryl Searcy.

“Those turnovers are huge,” Shiloh Christian head coach Jeff Conaway said. “When you fumble the ball on the goal line, it’s hard to recover some times. The momentum did shift there. We just couldn’t regain that momentum early in the game.”

Robinson forced Shiloh Christian to punt on its next two possessions and recovered another fumble on the Saint’s fourth drive of the half.

Robinson also turned all of those stops into touchdowns for a 28-0 halftime advantage.

“Turnovers are always the difference in a championship game,” Eskola said. “Shiloh is an awesome team. They had some bad breaks that we were able to capitalize on. You’ve got to win the turnover battle in championship games.”

After the first punt, Noah Freeman reeled off a 46-yard touchdown run with 4:06 left in the first quarter.

After the next punt, Jack Cleveland threw a 65-yard touchdown pass to Brandon Griel with 59 seconds left in the opening quarter.

Keyland Blalack forced a fumble on Shiloh Christian’s fourth possession that was recovered by G’Kyson Wright.

Cleveland threw an 11-yard touchdown pass to Kirby Owens seven plays later for the 28-0 cushion.

Robinson had 16 plays for 220 yards and three touchdowns in the first quarter and added 19 plays for 83 yards and the fourth score in the second quarter.

Shiloh Christian tried to gain some momentum in the second half, scoring on its opening possession on a 1-yard run by Bo William, but Robinson answered with two scores to finish the third quarter on a 14-yard run by Wright and a 42-yard touchdown pass to Cleveland to Ashtyn Williams that invoked the mercy rule with 1:13 left in the quarter.

“I expected our kids to play well,” Eskola said. “They were loose. To them it was another test. We prepared for this all year long. We didn’t want it to be a big stage, a game any different from the others.”

Searcy was named the game’s Most Valuable Player with 21 carries for 120 yards and a touchdown.

Cleveland completed 12-of-21 passes for 233 yards and three scores.