GUTHRIE — Offense: Check
Defense: Check
Special teams: Check.
Happy head coach: Check — although Guthrie coach Kelly Beeby said the on-field product is not yet finished.
To the naked eye, though, the Bluejays looked pretty polished Friday night as Class 5A’s No. 7-ranked high school football team routed Class 4A’s No. 4 Blanchard 48-7.
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“Anytime we have success, it always has to be three-headed,” Beeby said after the Bluejays wrapped up the non-district portion of their schedule with a 2-1 record.
“Our offense did a good job of creating field position, which helped keep their offense off the field. Defensively, we were very aware of some of their big kids. Special teams-wise, I thought we flew around well. I’m not going to shorten the effort my kids put out tonight, but we’re still a work in progress.”
A crowd of about 4,500 at historic Jelsma Stadium watched Guthrie roll to a 41-7 lead by halftime, thanks to excellent execution by all three phases. The Jays added one more touchdown to their count in the second half, a 61-yard interception return by linebacker Rowan McHone in the third quarter.
Everyone was ready to get out of Dodge in the fourth quarter as a running clock was used and Beeby substituted liberally, sometimes using freshmen and sophomores who had yet to earn a spot in the game program’s roster.
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Starting quarterback Daelon Rice completed 9 of 11 passes for 171 yards and no interceptions. The 6-foot-4 175-pound junior threw three TD passes, including a pair of 11-yard strikes to tight end Kyler Wilder. Amare Watson had two touchdowns, a 2-yard run and a 40-yard catch that gave Guthrie an early 7-0 lead.
More: Oklahoma high school football scores, live updates, highlights: OSSAA Week 3 scoreboard
The defense held Blanchard (1-2) to just 144 total yards. It collected eight tackles for loss, and lineman Mason Russell recovered two fumbles. He returned one 13 yards for a touchdown. The special teams had a 67-yard punt return by Codie Carlock that set up the first Rice-to-Wilder TD connection.
What’s more the Jays held Blanchard quarterback Noah Smith to 136 yards passing, a week after he torched the Newcastle secondary for 496 yards and six touchdowns. His favorite target, Cole Watkins, was held to two catches for 25 yards and no TDs. In a wild 63-40 loss to Newcastle, Watkins had more than 300 yards and three touchdowns receiving.
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“I thought we threw the ball well tonight,” Beeby said. “We had some big throws and catches.
Defensively, we were aware of No. 11, the Watkins kid. As a game plan, we just said, if they’re going to beat us, we were not going to let No. 11 do it. We schemed it up where we had an extra defender on him.”
Guthrie will be among the district title contenders. The Bluejays should be favored to win all of their league games until a Halloween Night clash at defending state champion and arch-rival Carl Albert.
Guthrie opens district play next Friday, hosting struggling John Marshall.
“Our kids were physical and took their coaching tonight,” Beeby said. “But we still have a lot of work to do, and the kids know it. They’re trying to play to the standard that every rep matters. And when you work hard every rep, you usually get pretty lucky. That’s kind of where our focus is going into district play.”
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Oklahoma high school football: Guthrie overpowers Blanchard in Week 3
