Hayden Calvert’s touchdown pass to senior Jaylen Chelf in the end zone with 1:09 remaining rallied the Guthrie Bluejays to a 2420 football victory against No. 1-ranked Class 4A Tuttle on Friday night.
The Tigers jumped out to a 14-0 lead on a blocked punt in the first quarter and a short run in the second quarter before Noah French’s field goal cut the margin to 14-3 just before halftime. But Guthrie’s defense stiffened, turning in another stellar game against a team that had rushed for over 400 yards two weeks ago against Noble. The Bluejays held Tuttle to 37 yards rushing on 19 attempts, and yielded 137 passing yards.
Guthrie (4-0), which ran 69 plays in the game to Tuttle’s 47, controlled the third quarter on 4-yard touchdown runs by Tyrin Eaton (6:03) and Calvert (2:00) to take a 17-14 lead going into the final quarter.
Tuttle (2-1) scored with 4:32 remaining to take a 20-17 lead as the snap for the conversion was mishandled, setting up Calvert’s heroics.
Calvert was 8-for-17 in the passing game for 73 yards and no interceptions, and accounted for two touchdowns.
Jaylen Harper led the offense with 131 yards rushing on 20 carries, as senior Isaiah Hammons did not play. The Bluejays compiled 335 yards of total offense, running the ball 52 times for 262 yards (5 yards per carry).
The Bluejays are off this week before traveling to Piedmont next Thursday for their district opener. Piedmont (3-1) lost to Noble 12-6 and is coming off a 5-6 season that included a 35-14 loss to the Bluejays.
The teams have one common opponent, with Guthrie beating Duncan 51-7 and Piedmont beating Duncan 51-0 last weekend. Piedmont, which usually relies on its running game, opens district play this Friday against Southeast (3-0).
Bishop McGuiness visits Guthrie on Oct. 7 for the Bluejays’ second district game.