The Guthrie Bluejays advanced to their third quarterfinal football playoff game in as many seasons with their firstround win against Lawton MacArthur on Friday. Now, Coach Kelly Beeby hopes to make it back to the state semifinals as his team faces Booker T. Washington in the Class 5A state quarterfinals.
Guthrie (8-3) will make the trip to Tulsa this Friday, Nov. 22, to battle the Hornets (9-2), led by firstyear Coach Dan Bitson. BTW finished first in the 5A-3 district standings with a 7-0 record during the regular season. The Hornets’ two losses came in the first two games of the season against Del City and 6A Muskogee.
Friday will be the first time that the Bluejays and Hornets have faced off since 2010. BTW leads the all-time series, 5-1, with Guthrie’s lone win coming in 2002.
Guthrie showcased its offensive firepower in last week’s 43-21 victory against Lawton Mac, particularly in the running game with over 300 total yards on the ground. Do-it-all athlete Kolten Carlock and running back Elijah Smith accounted for 284 of those yards by themselves, and Blake Doles has proven to be a valuable asset in the Bluejays’ power running game. They’ll need to have a similar performance this weekend if they hope to take down a stout Hornets defensive team.
Booker T. Washington has hung its hat on its defense this season. The Hornets are allowing just 17.1 points per game and have held their opponents to under 14 points in seven games. The Hornets are anchored on the defensive line by fearsome interior linemen Dawayne Jones and Joseph Graves, who both have accumulated multiple Division I offers.
Scoring just over 24 points a game, the BTW offense is chock full of playmakers that can change a game at a moment’s notice. Much like Guthrie’s offense, the Hornets prefer a ground-andpound style of play with a focus mainly on running backs Mykah Washington and Caleb Barnes. They are quarterbacked by junior Levi Brooks.
Friday’s quarterfinal matchup will commence at 7 p.m. from Booker T. Washington High School. Should the Bluejays pull out the win, they’ll move on to face the winner between Newcastle and Pryor in the 5A state semifinals.