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An Old Newcomer
Roberts Shines In First Year At Quarterback
Last updated Saturday, December 22, 2007 9:27 PM CST in Prep Sports
By Brandon Harris
SPECIAL TO THE MORNING NEWS
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SPRINGDALE -- As Shiloh Christian marched toward the state championship game in 2006, Blake Roberts watched from the stands.
This year when the Saints did the same thing, he put on the pads, lined up behind center and guided them along the way.
Roberts (6-foot-6, 205 pounds) is no stranger to wearing the navy and gold. He had led his teams to victory and advanced to the postseason before. But he did it on the baseball diamond and on the basketball court, never on the gridiron.
But this season, Roberts -- with a lot of convincing from the Shiloh coaching staff -- took his game to the football field where he played quarterback for the first time in his life and organized football for the first time since he was in junior high.
"There were some pretty big shoes to fill," Roberts said. "A lot of great quarterbacks have come through here, and I didn't know how I was going to react. I knew I was going to try to compete because that's what I do, but I didn't know how it was going to go.
"I knew we had talent and a lot of good guys at different positions, but I just wanted to come in and do everything I could to help them win."
Roberts helped the Saints win, indeed. He led Shiloh to a 12-2 season and a return trip to the Class 3A state championship game, finishing with 64 total touchdowns.
He completed 62 percent of his passes, finishing with 3,497 yards passing, 43 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. But Roberts' most significant contribution to the team may have been his ability to run the ball.
Shiloh was without the core of Division-I players it had at the skill positions in 2006, and arguably the biggest strength of the team was its powerful offensive line. It forced the Saints to adapt to a different, more balanced type of offense that utilized the ground game more than usual, and Roberts fit right in.
He finished with 930 yards rushing and 21 touchdowns and put together an eight-touchdown performance when he ran for four scores and threw for four more in Shiloh's 66-34 semifinal win over Bauxite.
"I feel like he had the most versatile season a Shiloh quarterback has ever had," Shiloh coach Josh Floyd said. "Not all quarterbacks are willing to run the football. Some just want to sit back there and throw, but he was smart enough to realize you can really hurt a defense when the quarterback is not afraid to run."
Set to graduate in May, Roberts now has a new avenue to for his college future. He's been a pitcher for the Saints and attracted plenty of college attention. But now, he's got attention from many of the same schools for football.
"It was a little bit different (this season) because you usually have a quarterback that's been a quarterback his whole life," Floyd said. "But obviously, Blake turned out to be a great quarterback and has a lot of potential at the next level."
BLAKE ROBERTS
School: Shiloh Christian
Height: 6-6
Weight: 205
Position: Quarterback
Class: Senior
Notable: Prior to the season, Roberts had never taken a snap at quarterback, and he hadn't played a down of organized football since junior high.
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