Irish give Jays season opener loss, 12-7

Guthrie looks to rebound and get into win column against El Reno for Homecoming

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By: Chuck Chaney

Posted September 4, 2009

Oklahoma City -- The Bryan Dutton era got underway Friday night, at Pribil Stadium, against Bishop McGuiness High School. It wasn’t exactly the outcome the Guthrie faithful had hoped for as the Fighting Irish held off a stingy Bluejay defense to win 12-7. 

It was overshadowed by McGuiness senior Sam Crabtree, who looked more like Michael Crabtree, finishing with five receptions for 108 yards and one touchdown.

Dutton entered the game as the second freshman to start a varsity football game in recent Guthrie history. Last freshman to start a varsity game at the quarterback spot, was in 2004 with Kye Staley.

If you remember, Staley helped produced one of the best offenses in National High School football history and a state championship for the Jays in 2007.

Coach Rafe Watkins on how his freshman quarterback performed. “He had some good points, he was nervous early. The touchdown was great,”

“He has to trust his linemen, step up in the pocket and not take and break and run.”

The Guthrie defense came into the game with very high expectations, and the talent was seen on the game’s opening possession. After a clipping penalty, the Fighting Irish started deep in their own territory. Junior running back LaRone Richardson was hit early on with a big loss that almost resulted with a safety. 

It was second and 16, from the Irish 1-yard line. That allowed the Guthrie defense to put pressure on sophomore quarterback, Quinn Shanbour. Felix Scott and Landry Chappell put the pressure on and were able to get McGuiness to go four and out, they punted to their 30-yard line.

Guthrie’s offense struggled from the start, going three and out on three straight possessions to start the game. Dutton was put in a whole early after a penalty; it was already first and 20. After another penalty, the Bluejays were forced to punt.

“The first 17 minutes of the game was horrendous about as nightmarish as could be.” Watkins said in his post game radio interview.

After struggling with their first possession, McGuiness adjusted and that allowed them to run the ball well.  After a big stop by Cody Doyle and Jaden Chappell, McGuiness struck first blood.

Shanbour hit Sam Crabtree for a 64 yard touchdown strike. The extra point bounced off the upright to give the Fighting Irish a 6-0 lead with 5:49 remaining in the first quarter.

After taking Guthrie, three and out, McGuiness took their next drive and punched it in from 9-yards out on a Richardson run to cap off a 5-play drive. Again, the extra point was missed, making it a quick 12-0 lead for McGuiness, but their last score on the night, with 11:53 to play in the second quarter.

Guthrie was finally able to get some offense going on their next possession. Dutton was able to have some succes moving the ball on the ground, getting two consecutive first downs, but after missing a third down opportunity, Guthrie was forced to punt. However, junior, Nick Callaway jumped into the neutral zone, and in high school football, that’s automatic encroachment, 5-yards and new life for the Bluejays. 

JP Bruner, who was named the Farmers and Merchants Bank Player of the Game, was finally able to get some space as he ran around the end for 11-yards and combined with a nice catch by junior Kentrell Brothers moved Guthrie to the 20-yard line.

After fumbling the snap, Dutton struck pay dirt with his first touchdown pass of his career by hitting Brothers for a 23-yard fade route and with the extra point by Hank Hudson, the Bluejays were right back in the thick of things, but still trailed 12-7 with 3:46 to play before the half.

Guthrie’s defense caught fire after the touchdown, on the first play out. Sophomore linebacker Landry Chappell laid into Shanbour, causing a big loss. McGuiness punted the ball to the Bluejay 44, as the momentum seemed to shift toward the royal blue.

On the following possession for Guthrie, Dutton aired it out for Brothers as the pass was just a little long and Guthrie let a touchdown slip through Brothers hands. On a third and eight play, Dutton hit Brother’s for a nice  pass, to push the ball into Irish territory. The next pass, however, was tipped and intercepted by Crabtree and gave McGuiness the ball at their own 15-yard line. Right before the half, Shanbour hit Kyle Ahmad for 24-yards right before time expired.

Guthrie took the first drive of the second half and move the ball with Dutton running for a first down with a nice spin move, but a deep pass was dropped and forced the Jays to punt the ball. 

McGuiness tried a quarterback read and got stuffed in the backfield, being brought down by Luke Davis. Shanbour later hit Crabtree for a gain of 25-yards. Crabtree finished the night with five receptions or 108-yards and one touchdown.

Shanbour  fumbled the next snap, and then completed a pass to Ahmad for a short gain. Shanbour then found Crabtree in the flat, but Davis was there to shut it down quickly.

The next Bluejay possession was a short one, as Bruner fumbled and McGuinness was able to recover it. However, Brothers stepped in front of a Shanbout pass and return the interception 15-yards and the Bluejays were back on offense.

After a couple of missed passes, Guthrie was forced to punt, pinning McGuiness down deep in their own territory as the fourth quarter got started.

With time winding down, the Bluejays went on the assault trying to find their first lead of the night, but after a few nice runs by Bruner and a nice pass from Dutton to McCulley, that was called back by an illegal procedure penalty, negating the big gain. However, next play, McGuiness was called for pass interference, putting the Bluejays first and ten at the McGuiness 14-yard line. 

Guthrie missed three chances at a first down, and went for it on fourth down. Brothers went on a slant route and the ball hit his hands as he dropped it, turning the ball over with 5:00 to play.

Guthrie got the ball back at their own 16-yard line with 1:35 to play in the game. Guthrie was able to move the ball up the field finally after a fourth down pass to Brothers, and then Dutton hit sophomore John Clark for a 23-yard pass to move the McGuiness 44-yard line. Dutton, however, was sacked, over shot Brothers on a pass before being sacked again.

“We were not very disciplined tonight, you can call it youth or inexperience, but we were just not very disciplined tonight.” Coach Rafe Watkins said on the discipline and play of his young players.

Guthrie missed another opportunity as another passes was dropped. Dutton, who is only a freshman, had his moments. He was sacked numerous times, including the game’s final possession for Guthrie, as he was sacked at least 4 times. Dutton finished 8-20 for 95-yards and one touchdown to go along with one interception.

The loss drops Guthrie to 0-1, and will drop them in the upcoming state rankings. The last time the Jays drop their season opener was back in 2005 whey they fell to Douglass, 18-17, at Langston University. Guthrie is also on a two game losing skid, something that is not accustomed to under the tenure of Watkins. In fact, the last time Guthrie had lost two consecutive games in a row was back in 2004 when Noble and McGuinness gave the Jays back-to-back losses.

Watkins talked about the loss: “It’s not ever fun to lose. McGuiness is a good football team, but we should have won this game by a couple of touchdowns. We need to get a lot better or next week will get ugly for us against El Reno. We’re not used to losing. Hopefully we can build some character out of this.”

Guthrie hosts El Reno at the Rock, Friday for Homecoming 2009, at 7:30pm.

Charles Chaney is a contributing writer and alum of Guthrie High School.

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