McAlester misses Alvery Braxton in loss to Guthrie
SAPULPA — McAlester was without one of its top playmakers in Saturday’s semifinal loss to No. 1 Guthrie.
Senior receiver Alvery Braxton, who had 1,049 yards receiving and 13 TD catches on the season, tore his meniscus earlier this week in what coach Bryan Pratt called a “freak,” non-football injury.
“That hurt us a little bit,” Pratt said. “We’re not here to make excuses, though.”
McAlester’s other star receiver, Tulsa commit Adam Boyd, was very impressive in Saturday’s loss. He had 38 yards rushing and 79 receiving, and was tough for Guthrie’s defenders to bring down on several occasions.
Another factor that hurt McAlester was the weather. It was very windy in Sapulpa on Saturday, which limited the Buffaloes’ ability to throw the ball around the field.
Quarterback Tony Kiefer entered Saturday’s game with 3,380 yards and 36 TD passes, as well as 1,439 yards rushing and 25 TDs, on the season. He scored three times on the ground, but only once through the air, and that was on a screen that was taken 43 yards for a score by Cody Lefors.
“The weather hurt us probably more than it did them,” Pratt said. “If we were playing in normal conditions without the wind, things might have gone differently.”
Kiefer was limited to 142 passing and 19 rushing yards by Guthrie’s defense.
McAlester fails to convert three costly PATs in loss to Guthrie
SAPULPA — No. 1 Guthrie beat No. 3 McAlester 28-25 on Saturday to advance to Friday’s Class 5A state title game against No. 2 Lawton MacArthur.
Three first-half mistakes by McAlester potentially cost the Buffaloes three points, the final margin of defeat.
After Guthrie took an early 7-0 lead, McAlester marched down the field on an eight-play, 76-yard drive that ended with a four-yard TD run by quarterback Tony Kiefer.
The Buffaloes attempted a two-point conversion off a swinging gate play, but Kiefer’s pass fell imcomplete.
Two more times in the first half, McAlester either bobbled a snap on an extra point attempt or went for two and failed.
“Our kicking game hasn’t been the best as far as extra points and field goals,” said McAlester coach Bryan Pratt. “We knew it would come back and bite us at some point, and it did.”
McAlester only attempted one field goal all season, with Cody Lefors making a 32-yarder earlier this season.
Lefors did make an extra point in the fourth quarter after his own 43-yard catch-and-run touchdown on a screen from Kiefer. But it was the only PAT the Buffaloes got all day.
“We just had some bad breaks,” Pratt said. “We just didn’t have a lot go our way.”
Video: Highlights from Guthrie’s 28-25 win over McAlester
SAPULPA — Class 5A No. 1 Guthrie topped No. 3 McAlester 28-25 on Saturday at Collins Field.
The game featured some great highlights, and Van Shea Iven from Oklahoma High School Sports Express captured all the best ones in this YouTube video he uploaded today. The video is embedded below.
Guthrie’s toss pass play near the end of the game, which went for 50 yards in a completion to quarterback Bryan Dutton, is at 4:20. The play pretty much sealed the Bluejays’ win to advance to next week’s state title game against Lawton MacArthur.
You can catch Oklahoma High School Sports Express at 10:30 p.m. on Sundays on KOKH-25 in Oklahoma City.
Class 5A Top 10
Like my rankings in 6A, this didn’t run in the paper as we stop running rankings after the first round of the playoffs until the postseason is complete. But here’s how the top 10 stands after round 2:
Class 5A
1. Guthrie (1)#12-0
2. Lawton MacArthur (2)#12-0
3. McAlester (3)#12-0
4. Tulsa Kelley (4)#8-3
5. Ardmore (7)#8-4
6. Tulsa East Central (5)#10-2
7. Carl Albert (7)#9-2
8. Pryor (6)#9-3
9. Duncan (9)#8-4
10. Coweta (10)#6-5
The biggest challenge came after the top 3. I decided to keep Tulsa Kelley fourth. They lost to McAlester by one during the regular season and played Lawton MacArthur as close as any 5A team had this season. Ardmore leaped to No. 5. I considered keeping Tulsa East Central ahead of Ardmore as well but East Central fell to Pryor during the regular season while Ardmore was able to pull off the win at Pryor.
Picks: Second round of the playoffs
Ryan kept the three-game lead over Jason as both went 8-2 last week. Scott dropped two games, due to picking Yukon over Edmond Memorial and Ada over Duncan.
Last week:
Ryan: 8-2, 1-0
Jason: 8-2, 1-0
Scott: 6-4, 1-0
Overall:
Ryan: 80-31, 10-1
Jason: 77, 32, 8-3
Scott: 73-36, 9-2
Ryan
Jenks 28, Edmond Santa Fe 21
Midwest City 21, Owasso 17
Guthrie 34, Tulsa East Central 30
Lawton MacArthur 35, Tulsa Kelley 28
Sallisaw 28, McGuinness 26
Anadarko 35, Kingfisher 20
Seminole 28, Verdigris 7
Davis 26, Millwood 20
Woodland 21, Wynnewood 19
Timberlake 35, Temple 32
Lock of the week: Lawton MacArthur over Tulsa Kelley. Kelley’s defense is good but they haven’t faced an offense near as potent as Lawton MacArthur yet this season. Darius Graham and company pass the test to advance to the semifinals yet again.
Jason
Edmond Santa Fe 31, Jenks 23
Midwest City 31, Owasso 28
Guthrie 27, Tulsa East Central 17
Lawton MacArthur 38, Tulsa Kelley 24
McGuinness 28, Sallisaw 27
Anadarko 28, Kingfisher 21
Seminole 37, Verdigris 24
Davis 24, Millwood 14
Woodland 38, Wynnewood 34
Temple 35, Timberlake 31
Lock of the week: Anadarko over Kingfisher. This will be Anadarko’s first real test of the season, and I think they pass it. Sheldon Wilson won’t be able to run wild like he has all year, but he’ll still be too much for the Yellowjackets.
Scott
Edmond Santa Fe 28, Jenks 24
Midwest City 37, Owasso 31
Guthrie 28, Tulsa East Central 21
Lawton MacArthur 35, Tulsa Kelley 21
McGuinness 17, Sallisaw 14
Kingfisher 24, Anadarko 21
Seminole 30, Verdigris 20
Davis 31, Millwood 28
Woodland 28, Wynnewood 22
Timberlake 38, Temple 34
Lock of the week: Midwest City over Owasso. The Bombers are on a crash course with the title game, and their secondary is better than any Owasso has seen this year.
Charles Spence talks about Guthrie’s forfeits, reinstatement
Charles Spence got in trouble during his English class at UCO for reacting to the news about Guthrie's appeal before the OSSAA. PHOTO BY JIM BECKEL, THE OKLAHOMAN
GUTHRIE — Charles Spence, the huge Guthrie football fan who I wrote about in Friday’s Oklahoman, was devastated when the team was forced to forfeit eight of its wins two weeks ago.
“It broke my heart,” he said. “I know Guthrie is a clean program.”
Spence, like many Guthrie supporters, neglected other responsibilities to follow along with the school’s appeal hearing on Nov. 9.
He was sitting in his English composition, following the proceedings on social media.
“I got in trouble twice in class for screaming out loud,” he said with a laugh.
When Clint Simek’s appeal of his ineligibility was denied, Spence blurted out, “No freaking way!”
A little while later, when he saw Guthrie was back in the Class 5A playoffs, his reaction was a less angry, but equally loud “Yes!”
“My teacher told me I needed to step outside,” he said.
The Bluejays host Tulsa East Central at Jelsma Stadium on Friday in a Class 5A quarterfinal.
Audio: Rafe Watkins talks extensively about Guthrie’s case
GUTHRIE — Guthrie coach Rafe Watkins spoke to GuthrieSportsPage.com for about 23 minutes about everything that has gone on the past two weeks.
Watkins had lots of interesting things to say, so this is definitely worth a listen.
Watkins GSP by GuthrieSportsPage
Guthrie stays No. 1 in Class 5A
BY RYAN ABER
raber@opubco.com
In the six days now since the news broke that Guthrie would have to forfeit eight games, I’ve had discussions with plenty of people–coworkers, other high school writers, coaches–about how I would handle the Bluejays in the Class 5A rankings.
Before the ruling came down, Guthrie was No. 1. I left them No. 1 this week and imagine, barring something wild happening in the first round (assuming Guthrie isn’t reinstated), they’ll stay there next week. That will be my last rankings until after the playoffs are concluded.
It’s not a protest vote. Far from it. I considered what I’d seen from Guthrie this year and even with the exclusion of the player ruled ineligible, the Bluejays would not only be undefeated but would still be my pick to win 5A. Their defense is outstanding, especially in the front seven. Their offense is balanced and they get excellent play from the quarterback spot.
Not everyone agreed with that stance, though many did. In The Associated Press poll of writers and broadcasters, just two of eight voters left Guthrie off their ballots. The other six voted the Bluejays No. 1. Barry Lewis from the Tulsa World also left Guthrie atop Class 5A.
Here’s the complete top 10 in 5A:
1. Guthrie (1)#2-8*
2. Lawton MacArthur (2)#10-0
3. McAlester (3)#10-0
4. Carl Albert (4)#10-0*
5. Tulsa Kelley (5)#7-2
6. Tulsa East Central (7)#9-1
7. Pryor (6)#8-2
8. Coweta (9)#6-4
9. Duncan (NR)#7-3
10. Tulsa Central (NR)#8-2
*Guthrie forfeited eight games, including win over Carl Albert, pending Wednesday appeal.
Had I dropped Guthrie out and needed another team to fill my top 10, I would’ve gone with Ardmore (6-4) over Ada (7-3). That decision would’ve been easy. Not only did Ardmore beat Ada head to head, 28-0, on the road to start the season but they played Carl Albert and McAlester much closer than Ada did.
Guthrie coach Rafe Watkins encouraging fans to not attend OSSAA appeal
Guthrie players will not attend Wednesday’s appeal before the OSSAA board of directors, and coach Rafe Watkins is encouraging fans and students to not attend, either.
“We just feel like it’s not in our best interest,” Watkins said. “That place is going to be a media circus anyway, you’re not going to get inside and there’s really not room in the parking lot.”
The Bluejays were forced to forfeit eight games after the OSSAA ruled that senior receiver/safety Clint Simek never make a bona fide move from Prague.
Guthrie’s appeal is on the agenda for the OSSAA’s board of directors meeting Wednesday. The meeting starts at 9 a.m., but Guthrie’s appeal likely won’t be heard until the afternoon.
Guthrie, Clint Simek appeal on OSSAA’s board meeting agenda
Guthrie senior Clint Simek (2) was ruled ineligible by the OSSAA. PHOTO BY BRYAN TERRY, THE OKLAHOMAN
Guthrie’s appeal of the Oklahoma Secondary Schools Activities Association’s ruling on Clint Simek is on the agenda for Wednesday’s board of directors meeting.
Simek was ruled ineligible Thursday after the OSSAA found that his move from Prague was not “bona fide.”
Simek’s family moved to Guthrie in February, but still owned their previous home in Prague and another family member had been living there.
The Bluejays went undefeated and won District 5A-1 before Simek was ruled ineligible. The ruling forced Guthrie to forfeit eight wins, which made its record 2-8. Carl Albert, Ada and Deer Creek all moved up in the district standings and El Reno entered the playoffs as the fourth seed.
Wednesday’s board of directors meeting begins at 9 a.m., but Simek’s hearing may not come until the afternoon. Guthrie’s appeals make up the last two items on the agenda’s “School Problems” section, the fourth section on the agenda. Items on the “School Problems” section of the agenda don’t have times attached to them, but the last item on the preceding section is scheduled for 1 p.m.
Guthrie’s football team is proceeding as if they have a game on Friday. Had Simek not been ruled ineligible, the Bluejays would have opened the playoffs at home Friday against Durant. The Bluejays broke down Durant film on Saturday and will practice Monday and Tuesday.
