The fight showed Rafe Watkins’ character.
When Watkins came to coach the Blue Jays, players knew little about their new coach. They just knew the demographics.
“He came in from Alva or something like that,” receiver Keenan Webb said. “Where there’s almost no black people. So, admittedly, we were thinking, ‘Here we go.’” Halfway through Watkins’ first year at Guthrie, Webb’s junior year, the Blue Jay coaching staff eradicated any notions of misunderstanding. A parking lot outside of Noble’s football stadium was the stage where the staff displayed its collective character.
Guthrie had just edged out Noble, coming from behind to beat the Bears 14-13. Some considered it an upset. A small contingent of Noble fans were livid.
“We beat them real bad like we weren’t supposed to, after the game (the fans) are calling us names,” Webb said. “The Nword, monkeys, everything.”
The mob crowded around Guthrie’s bus. Guthrie outside linebacker Russell Rush said he remembered the fans yelling and hurling racial slurs. He said he thought things would get ugly. It would have if not for Watkins and the coaching staff. The coaches grouped together outside the bus, shoving Guthrie players on it and holding the angry people at bay.
“I remember looking out my window and seeing coach (Dave) Reedus being held
FOOTBALL» PAGE 4 back,” Webb said. “So I know there was pushing and shoving. I’m not sure about a fist fight, but they fought for us. That’s all we knew. It was a big crowd.”
Some players recall punches being thrown, others remember the vitriol remaining mostly verbal. In any case, every player remembers the actions the coaches took to be at the front of it and shield their players.
“After that, we saw what the coaches would do for us,” Webb said. “It was a wrap.”
The Blue Jays finished 8-3 that year, losing to Altus in the first round of the playoffs. It was a solid first year for Watkins. Many starters were coming back for their senior year in 2002, which would be the year the Blue Jays put everything together.
In 2002, Guthrie’s seniors had been together for more than four years. They grew up together.
Kyle Smith lived directly across from the Scottish Rite Masonic Temple in Guthrie. Webb lived a block behind Smith. DeMarko Jones stayed three blocks down the street. Many others on the team were close, too. They could easily muster enough boys to form backyard baseball and football teams — a convenience often utilized.
Jones estimates 75% of his future Guthrie teammates lived a bike ride away.
“There was no having to call each other to meet up…we could walk to everyone’s house in five minutes,” Smith said.
Though the boys grew up playing sports at Webb’s house (he had a big backyard and plenty of space for bicycles) the 2002 Guthrie class was forged as youngsters primarily in the shadow of the temple. It is a two-story building with imposing stone pillars and wooden doors that make it resemble a state capitol building. It was the epicenter of the boys’ lives growing up. Not for its impressive architecture, but for its grass yard that was hospitable to sports.
Rush said they played everything as kids. Football, basketball, kickball. Many of the boys dreamed of winning a state championship for Guthrie. Others dreamed of just suiting up.
“I give Keenan all the props in the world because he couldn’t play organized sports as long as we could,” Smith said. “But anytime we went out there to the temple, he was always there.”
Webb became a star kick returner in the 2002 season. He said playing without blockers at the temple yard developed that skill.
“We’d line up like we are doing a kickoff,” Webb said. “Twelve against one returner. It was one on 12, and it was dark. All we had was a couple of street lights.”
It was always tackle — never two-hand-touch — and maybe a little dangerous when it got dark. Webb was sometimes the only one who could score, and everyone took some hits. Even the tree stumps strewn in the yard occasionally registered a tackle. But everyone always came back the next day to play again.
“That’s what made us better,” Webb said. “That and getting chased by dogs. That made us real fast.”
It was at a time like that, well before 2002, when Webb made a declaration with his future teammates after they wrapped up one of the countless pickup football games.
“We were playing and sweaty and I went to get a drink out of the water hose,” Webb said. “And I remember saying, ‘I can’t wait till we’re in high school and we all play together. Because we’re going to win state’. I didn’t know what I was talking about. I had no idea. But we all stayed together.”