HEARTBREAKER!!!! In front of a packed house at Jelsma Stadium on Friday night, the visiting Carl Albert Titans scored with four seconds left on the clock to pull out a 22-19 win and hand the Guthrie Bluejays their first loss of the year.
The emotion, the atmosphere and the crowd were incredible. I think we removed any doubt that we are an elite team this season,” Bluejays Coach Kelly Beeby said.
The visitors won the toss, so Guthrie got the ball to start the game. A fumble on the kickoff forced the Bluejays to start from their own 10-yard line. Jacob Varnell got the first key first down at the 22-yard line, before Hayden Calvert hooked up with Jaylen Chelf out to the 35-yard line and the offense is on the move.
Calvert then takes off on a 23-yard scamper and then hooks up with DeAndre Jones on a 15-yard play and Guthrie is moving in for the score. The Titans second offside penalty of the drive sets the Bluejays up at the 16-yard line. Calvert got it to the 6-yard line and Isaiah Hammons took it in for the score for a 6-0 lead. The PAT was blocked by the Titans. The 90-yard drive took 15 plays and 6:30 off the clock.
After the kickoff, with the Titans pinned deep due to a chop block, a screen pass from Titans quarterback Reed DeQuasie to Tashawn James goes 42-yards and a score and with the kick good, it is 7-6 in favor of the visitors after the first quarter.
The Bluejays second touchdown of the night started at their own 20-yard line after the Titans punter boomed one 58-yards in to the end zone. Calvert hooked up with Jones on an 18-yard pass play for a first down. On a third and six play, Calvert found a hole in the Titans defense and ran 38-yards setting the Bluejays up again in Titan’s territory.
Calvert would then hook up with Tyrin Eaton on a 19-yard throw and it was 12-7. Ezok Villalva would miss the PAT as it hit the upright and fell to the ground. So, with 5:11 before halftime, it was Guthrie-12 Carl Albert-7.
The Titans would get the ball at the 33-yard line after the kickoff, and on a gutsy fourth and one yard to go call, the Bluejays stout defense stopped them and the Guthrie crowd went nuts, while the visitors were a little stunned that they turned the ball over on downs at midfield.
The Bluejays could not take advantage of the good field position and Calvert got intercepted on a third down and 18 to go play and the half would end at 12-7,
The third quarter saw no scoring as each team seemed to trade penalties and ball possessions setting up the fourth quarter finish.
The visitors would score their first go-ahead touchdown, after running 6:30 off the clock for 15 plays but then resorted to a trick play flea flicker, when DeQuasie found Buddy Bizzell open for a 33-yard scoring play. The Titans converted a twopoint conversion, and it was 14-12 with 5:12 to go in the game. The Titans defense intercepted Calvert a second time with 4:57 to go in the game, but a quarterback sack by the Bluejays, an ineligible receiver downfield and a holding call on the Titans made it fourth and 29-yards to go, giving the ball back to Guthrie on their own 35-yard line with 2:48 to go in the game.
The Bluejays offense would get 20-yards on a flea flicker of their own, a 23-yard scramble by Calvert and on a fourth and two yards to go, would pull out the end around with Jones to get it to the one-yard line. Hammons would score and Villalva would kick the extra point and the Bluejays led 19-14 with 1:06 left in the game.
The Titans would move down the field and the Bluejays would get called for pass interference and a face mask that that gave the Titans a free 20 yards. On a first and goal with nine seconds to go, DeQuasie rolled out and found Bizzell wide open in the end zone for the winning score and with the PAT, it was 22-19 with four-seconds to go.
Calvert led the way rushing with 87 yards in eight carries. The Titans defense focused on Hammons all night and held him to 24 yards on 20 carries. Tyrin Eaton had five catches in the passing game for 89 yards and DeAndre Jones had four catches for 45 yards.
On the defensive side of the ball The Bluejays defense had four tackles for loss and two sacks. Spade Pool and Landen Hirzel led the way with 16 and 15 tackles each. Jackson Walters chipped in with 13 tackles in a hard fought, well-played game.
The visiting Titans would run 71 plays for 334 yards and Guthrie would run 53 plays for 285 yards. The yardage advantage for the Titans came in the passing game as DeQuasie was 15-for-21 for 204 yards and Calvert was 11-for-18 with the two interceptions for 162 yards. Calvert’s interceptions were the only two turnovers for the night and the Titans had 13 penalties for 110 yards, while Guthrie had seven for 70 yards.
Guthrie hosts Woodward Friday night for Homecoming and a 7 p.m. kickoff.