Picks: Week 7
So somehow last week, Jason and I wound up picking 11 games since I apparently can’t count to 10. In the interest of padding the win total, we’ll let that stand and give Scott credit for the extra game (Wynnewood over Rush Springs, which Jason and I picked correctly). Scott needed the help after picking Putnam North and Putnam City to come out with wins. Everybody went with Tulsa Union and Lincoln Christian, leading to losses.
Last week
Ryan: 7-4, 1-0
Scott: 5-6, 1-0
Jason: 7-4, 1-0
Overall
Ryan: 44-17, 5-1
Jason: 44-17, 4-2
Scott: 42-19, 5-1
Ryan
Guthrie 21, Carl Albert 17
Kingfisher 14, Bethany 10
Owasso 41, Stillwater 35
Tulsa Washington 17, Tulsa Kelley 14
Metro Chr. 28, Seq. Tahlequah 21
Hennessey 22, Oklahoma Chr. 14
Lawton MacArthur 40, Duncan 20
Weatherford 13, Blanchard 8
Lawton Eisenhower 28, Edmond Memorial 22
McGuinness 28, Elgin 13
Lock of the week: Hennessey over OCS. Hennessey took some lumps in the non-district schedule but is still among the top teams in 2A. Tonight is their chance to prove that against a solid OCS team.
Jason
Guthrie 24, Carl Albert 16
Bethany 21, Kingfisher 17
Owasso 38, Stillwater 35
Tulsa Washington 24, Tulsa Kelley 17
Metro Christian 24, Seq. Tahlequah 10
Oklahoma Christian 24, Hennessey 23
Lawton Eisenhower 21, Edmond Memorial 13
Lawton MacArthur 31, Duncan 13
Bishop McGuinness 35, Elgin 14
Blanchard 16, Weatherford 9
Lock of the Week: Guthrie over Carl Albert. Both teams are fantastic, and both teams are legitimate Class 5A contenders. But at this point in the season, Guthrie’s defense is just too good for Carl Albert’s still-developing offense.
Scott
Guthrie 21, Carl Albert 20
Bethany 35, Kingfisher 31
Owasso 45, Stillwater 42
Tulsa Washington 21, Tulsa Kelley 14
Sequoyah-Tahlequah 35, Metro Christian 28
Hennessey 30, Oklahoma Christian 21
Lawton MacArthur 48, Duncan 31
Blanchard 14, Weatherford 12
Edmond Memorial 20, Lawton Eisenhower 17
McGuinness 28, Elgin 21
Lock of the Week: Lawton MacArthur over Duncan. Ever since watching the Highlanders in the preseason scrimmage at Mustang, I’ve had a strong feeling that these guys could win it all in 5A. I needed to see some results in the regular season first to support my gut feeling, and they’ve done that — even while battling some nagging injuries. There are a lot of factors left to be determined regarding the gold ball, but I definitely think Mac wins this week.
2001: Guthrie stuns Carl Albert on Russell Rush’s fourth-quarter field goal
Guthrie's Demarko Jones, left, brings down Carl Albert's Herman Burge in the Bluejays' win on Oct. 19, 2001. PHOTO BY BRYAN TERRY, THE OKLAHOMAN ARCHIVE
The Oct. 19, 2001 Carl Albert-Guthrie game did two things: It created an intense rivalry that still exists today, and it put Class 5A on notice that a new power was budding.
Guthrie beat the then-four time defending champion Titans 23-22 on a late field goal. Carl Albert would still go on to win their fifth straight championship, but wouldn’t beat Guthrie again until 2004.
Here is Oklahoman correspondent Murray Evans’ game story from that night.
GUTHRIE — If the Guthrie Bluejays keep this up, these kind of football games won’t be considered upsets much longer.
The unranked Bluejays probably won’t be that way for much longer after they knocked off Class 5A’s No. 2 team, Carl Albert, by a 23-22 count on Friday night before a capacity crowd at Jelsma Stadium.
Russell Rush’s 30-yard field goal with 17 seconds left lifted the Bluejays to their biggest win since they upset then-4A No. 1 Duncan 30-6 on Sept. 20, 1991. That was also the last year Guthrie beat Carl Albert.
“I’ve tried to tell people all year long, when we play to our capabilities, we’re a pretty talented football team,” first-year Guthrie coach Rafe Watkins said. “There have been times that we sure haven’t shown it… but we’re getting better. We’re coming along.”
Guthrie is 6-2 overall and 4-1 in District 5A-2. The Titans fell to 5-2 and 3-2, and the four-time defending 5A champions likely will face a road trip in the first round of the playoffs.
“You’ve got to give (the Bluejays) credit, because they played a great game,” Carl Albert coach Gary Rose said. “But if we don’t make the mistakes we made, they don’t win the game. I’m not sure we deserved to win the game, as it is, but we did what we wanted to do well. But our tackling was atrocious. Our ball security was atrocious. We’ve just got to go back and get better.”
The Titans led 22-13 after a 59-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Andre Daniel to Brandon Smith with 11:34 left. Daniel, who completed 11 of 15 passes for 151 yards, called an audible at the line of scrimmage to take advantage of Guthrie’s 1-on-1 coverage of Smith.
Guthrie needed just six plays to score. A 78-yard pass from quarterback Michael Hayes to Andrew Knight set the Bluejays up at the Carl Albert 2. Two plays later, Hayes hit Jason Shoemaker on a 3-yard touchdown pass, making it 22-20 with 8:48 left. Hayes finished 7 of 14 passing for 211 yards.
The Bluejays re-gained possession at the 4:30 mark, and marched 57 yards in 11 plays before Rush’s field goal. Guthrie did face fourth-and-8 at its own 32, but Carl Albert’s Marcus Allen was flagged for roughing Rush as Rush punted, giving the Bluejays a first down.
Rush’s kick, out of Hayes’ hold, split the uprights.
“I was a little bit worried,” Rush said. “I just went out there and hit it. I tried not to think about it.”
On Carl Albert’s first play after the ensuing kickoff, Guthrie defensive end Robert Harmon hit Daniel as he threw, and fellow lineman Kyle Smith intercepted the pass on a play reminiscent of Roy Williams’ hit on Chris Simms and Teddy Lehman’s interception for Oklahoma in its win over Texas.
Guthrie struck on the game’s first play. The Bluejays lined up with five receivers, and Hayes hit Demarko Jones – who also plays QB at times — on an 80-yard touchdown pass. Thirteen seconds in, the Bluejays led 7-0.
“We drew that up last week,” said Jones, who had three catches for 114 yards. “We were going to come out and get right on top. That’s what it did for us. It opened up the game.”
Guthrie vs. Carl Albert: A quick look at the rivalry’s last 10 years
Carl Albert coach Gary Rose.
Since Rafe Watkins became Guthrie’s coach in 2001, the team’s annual game against coach Gary Rose and Carl Albert has become one of the state’s top rivalries.
The Bluejays (No. 1 in Class 5A) and the Titans (No. 3) meet Friday at Guthrie’s Jelsma Stadium in Week 7′s top Oklahoma high school football game. Here is a quick year-by-year look at the rivalry since 2001.
2001 (at Guthrie): Guthrie 23-22
2002 (at Carl Albert): Guthrie 22-19, OT
2003 (at Guthrie): Guthrie 28-21
2004 (at Carl Albert): Carl Albert 25-7
Guthrie coach Rafe Watkins
2005 (at Guthrie): Guthrie 33-14
2006 (at Guthrie): Carl Albert 26-21
2007 (at Carl Albert): Guthrie 24-21
2008 (at Carl Albert): Carl Albert 16-13
2009 (at Guthrie): Carl Albert 40-7
2010 (at Carl Albert): Guthrie 32-14
