White Hall doesn’t play until Friday, Sept. 3, but three of its 5A-Southeast Conference mates open the 2010 season on Monday, Aug. 30.
In a contest that is drawing attention across the state and region, Watson Chapel – a favorite to win the 5A state championship a year after finishing as a 6A state semifinalist – meets defending 4A champ Shiloh Christian at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff.
Also, 5A-SE members Mills and Sylvan Hills will be hosting Little Rock Parkview and Vilonia, respectively.
Watson Chapel’s quarterback situation is somewhat questionable, but that’s not the case at Shiloh, where senior Kiehl Frazier is the rated as possibly the state’s best-ever schoolboy signal caller. Frazier is a two-time state title game Most Valuable Player and last year threw for nearly 4,000 yards and 48 touchdowns in a 13-1 campaign.
The Saints are included in several national Top 10 polls.
Mills has 11 starters back from a surprisingly tough 6-5 edition that was in the running for the conference’s second-seed playoff ticket before being stopped by White Hall in the season finale. But the Comets may be hard-pressed in trying to contain a bigger Parkview club.
The Patriots lack a proven quarterback but are loaded with team speed as they seek to improve on last year’s 8-4 effort. Parkview opened the past season with a 20-12 win over Mills.
Rick's Picks
• LR PARKVIEW 19, MILLS 14 – Parkview, as a 7A/6A squad, ought to be favored. But the Patriots will be playing in hostile territory, and Mills certainly has the pizzazz necessary to pull off an upset.
• VILONIA 20, SYLVAN HILLS 16 – Getting off to a winning start would be a major boost for coach Jim Withrow’s Bears, but Vilonia probably has too much defensive grit for the inexperienced Sylvan Hills offensive unit to overcome.
• SHILOH CHRISTIAN 47, WATSON CHAPEL 29 – This one ought to be fun to watch. Shiloh Christian is the defending Class 4A state champion and is figured by most forecasters to repeat. Watson Chapel was a Class 6A semifinalist a year ago and many predict the Wildcats will win the Class 5A crown this season. The Saints draw a nod because of their fabulous senior quarterback, Kiehl Frazier, a two-time state title game Most Valuable Player who seemingly is on every college coach’s wish list. But the Simmons First/Hootens.com Kickoff Week showcase will be staged at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff, which for all practical purposes is a home game for Watson Chapel. Can you say “heartstopper?”
(Rick’s Picks last year correctly tabbed 51 of 60 games, a percentage of .850.)
Sylvan Hills finished with a surge a year ago, winning four of its final five regular-season games to earn a playoff ticket. But the Bears were a dismal 4-7 overall, and count only seven returning starters. Only two of its defensive regulars are back.
But the Bears have a seasoned offensive line, and that’s the foundation of a successful program.
