The last time the Guthrie Bluejays made a state championship game in football, most of the players on today’s roster were four, five, six years old.
Those players grew up and made history Friday, as Guthrie is headed to the high school state championship for the first time in over a decade.
Senior do-it-all athlete Kolten Carlock notched 120 rushing yards and two touchdowns, and the Bluejays’ defense forced three turnovers as Guthrie defeated Newcastle in the Class 5A state semifinals, 35-30. They now advance to the 2024 state title game to face Carl Albert at UCO next week.
Guthrie makes its first championship appearance since 2012, when they won the Class 5A title.
“It feels amazing,” said Carlock on helping bring Guthrie back to the championship. ”It's a team effort. O-line definitely stepped up today. First half wasn't our best half (defensively), but we stepped up in the second and held them to one touchdown.”
Newcastle had a touchdown called back on its first drive of the game, forcing them to kick a 39-yard field goal to go up three. The Racers got the ball back just three plays later after Guthrie quarterback Daelon Rice threw an interception to Rex Heskew on a roll out pass. Jackson Schanuel took a quarterback keeper 26 yards for a touchdown on the ensuing drive.
Trailing 10-0 midway through the opening quarter, Guthrie running back Elijah Smith ripped off a 52-yard run to get the Bluejays inside the redzone, but a backwards pass gone wrong resulted in negative yards for the offense. On fourth and long from the 26, Daelon Rice heaved up a prayer to the endzone that was tipped once then caught by Amare Watson for the Guthrie touchdown. The circus catch plus extra point made it 10-7, Newcastle.
Both teams would take turns turning the ball over the next three drives. Newcastle failed to convert a fourth down, then Guthrie fumbled inside the Racers’ redzone with a chance to take the lead. Newcastle followed that up by running a fake punt on the following possession, which was snuffed out by the Bluejays.
Finally, Guthrie got in the endzone after running back Elijah Smith punched in a two-yard touchdown with just under six minutes to go in the half. The Bluejays led, 14-10.
Just four plays later, Newcastle drove down and scored to retake after Jackson Schanuel ran in his second touchdown of the night.
Each team scored once again before the first half came to a close. Carlock gave Guthrie the lead back after a pair of big passes set him up for a three-yard rushing score, then Newcastle snatched the advantage once again with 36 seconds to go after Schanuel connected with receiver Alec Shumard down the field for a 36-yard touchdown. The Racers led at halftime, 24-21.
After a high-scoring first half between the two semifinalists, the second half started out in the exact opposite fashion. No points were scored in the third quarter as both teams traded punts and turnovers, including a promising Guthrie drive that resulted in Daelon Rice’s second interception of the night off of a flea flicker.
The Bluejays broke the scoring drought midway through the fourth quarter after Carlock took a handoff and proceeded to outrun the entire Newcastle defense for a 44-yard touchdown. Carlock regained the lead for Guthrie at 28-24.
Later in the quarter, Bluejays’ cornerback Dereon Whitehorn came up with two big pass deflections on consecutive plays, forcing Newcastle to punt it away. The Guthrie offense took advantage and scored on a 51-yard quarterback keeper by Rice, who shook off a tackler and strode up the left sideline for the touchdown with 3:21 left to go.
The Bluejays led 35-24 as Newcastle mounted its comeback effort. The Racers eventually found the endzone with 1:44 on the clock, but failed to convert the two-point attempt, making it 35-30 Guthrie. Newcastle attempted the onside kick, but Amare Watson made his second big catch of the night as he snagged it off the bounce for the Jays.
Newcastle burned their remaining timeouts and Carlock sealed the game with a 31-yard run that allowed head coach Kelly Beeby to kneel out the clock. Guthrie won the 5A state semifinal, 35-30, in the program’s first ever matchup versus Newcastle.
“Honestly, I was happy I got the first down, because that was all we needed,” Carlock said about his 31-yard run to ice the game on the final drive. “I tried to score, but I also wasn’t trying to go out of bounds, so I just went down.”
Carlock ended with 120 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 16 carries. Elijah Smith ran for 72 yards and a score, and quarterback Daelon Rice had 81 yards and a touchdown in what was a stellar day on the ground for the Bluejays.
Defensively, Kellen Hirzel recorded 11 tackles from his linebacker spot, and Kade Barton picked up five tackles.
Guthrie moves on to face Carl Albert in the 5A state championship on Saturday, Dec. 14. They’ll kick off at 7 P.M. from UCO’s Chad Richison Stadium for all the marbles.