SPRINGDALE -- Shiloh Christian needed just 14 seconds to score all the points it needed to advance to the next round of the Class 4A playoffs.
Cam Wiedemann returned the opening kickoff 78 yards for a touchdown, and the Saints' defense did the rest in a 28-0 victory against Malvern in Champions Stadium on Friday night.
In a game with high-scoring offenses, it was defense that ruled the night as both teams put the clamps on the other's offense. But Shiloh Christian (11-1) advanced by scoring on special teams, defense and a pair of offensive touchdowns.
"Tonight was about playing fundamentally on defense and being aligned," Shiloh Christian Coach Jeff Conaway said. "We lined up well time and time again with some odd formations to try and contain their quarterback, which was a big objective, and we tackled well.
"When they threw the football, I thought our DBs contested the pass. We had several pass break-ups and those turned out to be really, really big because it forced them to run the football a little bit more than they probably wanted to. So all of those things, I felt like our defense played really, really well."
The touchdown on the opening kickoff was huge, Conaway said. Grabbing the early lead set the tone, and Shiloh Christian kept Malvern sophomore quarterback Cedric Simmons under wraps. Simmons, who had passed for 2,168 yards coming into the game, was just 7-of-26 passing for 77 yards and 2 interceptions.
Shiloh Christian junior linebacker Kaden Henley had both interceptions, and both were huge. Henley's first interception came with 2:48 left in the first quarter after Malvern (7-6) had reached the Shiloh Christian 15. On fourth and 10, Simmons threw into tight coverage in the end zone, and Henley wrapped his hands around the ball to prevent the touchdown.
The second was even bigger. Early in the third quarter while nursing a 14-0 lead, Henley stepped in front of a Simmons' pass at the Malvern 32 and intercepted it in the flat. He returned it 32 yards for a pick-six and a 21-0 lead with 3:39 left in the third quarter.
"It always feels good to get a touchdown on defense," Henley said. "It brings the juice and gives us energy. It's awesome. The second one was a touchdown, but the first one was big for me because I had the slot receiver in coverage."
Malvern's defense also played well, holding Shiloh Christian to one offensive touchdown until Ben Baker's late 30-yard scoring run with under a minute left. The Leopards' defense held Shiloh Christian to 23 yards in the third quarter and forced three second-half punts.
Shiloh Christian sophomore quarterback Eli Wisdom, who came into the game with 1,721 yards passing, was held to 5-of-17 passing for 44 yards, with 14 of those yards coming in the fourth quarter on his only completion of the second half.
"Our offense sputtered at times, but that's why we have three phases of the game," Conaway said. "I'm glad we got three phases, and I'm very proud of our football team. I felt like there were a few things here and there that we messed up on. We had a false start which would have been a touchdown, we had a pass interference call that was a touchdown. Just a lot of little mistakes that we were making that were keeping from separating from them. We just couldn't quite punch it in when we needed to, so good thing our defense and special teams came through."
Shiloh Christian will host Dumas on Friday night in a quarterfinal round game. Dumas edged Gosnell 36-30 on Friday night.
Warren 35, Arkadelphia 20
WARREN -- Cedric Calbert scored four rushing touchdowns to lead Warren (7-4) past Arkadelphia (8-2).
Calbert finished with 55 yards on 11 carries for the Lumberjacks.
Payton Byrd had a passing touchdown for Warren.
Braeden Thomas led the Badgers, completing 14 of 32 passes for 207 yards with 3 touchdowns and 2 interceptions.
Jaishon Davis had 161 yards on 21 carries for Arkadelphia.