Davis scores five times to help Jays prevail in playoff game

It was an unusual day at Jelsma Stadium to begin the Class 5A playoffs.

Rafe Watkins was not on the Guthrie sideline for the first since 2000, the game was on a Saturday afternoon, Bryan Dutton threw an interception and the Jays trailed for just the second time this season. However, it all came back to reality when the Jays pushed their way to a 53-7 win over Durant.

Guthrie improves to 11-0 and have won the last five meetings with the Lions. Durant ends their season with a 5-6 record. It was the second straight meeting between the schools in the first round of the playoffs.

The win advances the BlueJays to the second round of the playoffs next week when they host Tulsa East Central, who defeated Booker T. Washington (28-10). The game is set for Friday evening inside Jelsma for a 7:30 kick.

Watkins began his 8-game suspension handed down by the OSSAA after it was determined a clerical error was found in Clint Simek’s move-in paper work. The ball coach was sandwiched between his dad and Guthrie Superintendent Terry Simpson at the 50-yard line.

Watkins entered the home side gates with his blanket in hand just like many of the fans dressed in blue and white. The coach was spotted numerous times standing and clapping his hands to the school fight song.

Guthrie, who played their first home day game since 1938, found themselves trailing 7-0 just a three minutes into the game when Jase Hammock stepped in front of a Dutton pass and took it to the house for a 60-yard score.

Dutton entered the game with just one interception all season (week 4), but finished with two picks. Although the second interception was near the end of the first half.

The deficit marked just the second time the Jays trailed in a game this year. However, like they did against Carl Albert, the BlueJays responded on their next possession with a touchdown. The score would begin 53-unanswered points for the home team, who came out in silver helmets, black shirts and silver pants for the first time this season.

On the six play of the drive, senior running back Luke Davis took off on a 45-yard touchdown score and was followed by Landry Chappell’s 2-point conversion to erase the 2:34 that the Jays did have the lead.

Davis finished with a game high 177 rushing yards on 22 carries and five touchdown scores. The 5A leading scorer took advantage of the huge gaps up front by the Jays veteran offensive line.

Much like Durant, Guthrie took advantage of turnovers. Luckily for the Jays, Durant had four miscues on the day. The first turnover allowed the Jays to score 14 seconds later.

After a fumble recovery at the Lions 17 yard line, Davis was untouched on the first play when he dashed into the north end zone to push the score 15-7.

On the following Lions possession, Donovan Jordan stepped in front of an intended pass and picked it off and after a 25-yard return was brought down on at the 1-yard line and, again, Davis needed just one play to reach the end zone.

With a 22-7 advantage and the wind behind their back, Guthrie held the Lions offense and used timely time outs to make sure Durant punted into a 33 mph wind to give the Jays perhaps one more possession in the first quarter with good field possession.

It worked.

The Durant punt was fair caught at the 34 yard line and on the third play of the drive offensive coordinator Scott Mick dipped into his bag of tricks.

Davis lined up at the quarterback spot and upon the snap took off as if to run, but suddenly pitched it to Dutton, who was lined up as a receiver, who then found Jordan wide open at the goal line for the touchdown pass. Just like that, Guthrie had a 29-7 first quarter lead.

The Lions were unable to take advantage of the wind behind their backs in the second quarter. The Guthrie defense proved to be stellar for all four quarter by holding Durant to just 7 yards of offense in the first half.

The defense has not allowed a score in 16 straight quarters.

Leading the charge Saturday afternoon was defensive lineman Trevor Blassingame. The sophomore was in on multiple tackles and applied pressure throughout the game and was named the F&M Bank Player of the Game.

Guthrie picked up two more scores in the second quarter to go into the half with a 39-7 advantage. Davis scored his fourth touchdown on a 2-yard run and Luis Morales kicked his first successful field goal of the season from 35-yards out into a stiff wind. The field goal is just the second this season for the Jays.

Davis scored his fifth touchdown in the third quarter and the scoring was capped of by Dutton’s 9-yard run early in the fourth quarter.

First Round 5A Playoffs

Guthrie 53, Durant 7
East Central 28, Booker T. 10

2nd Round: East Central at Guthrie – Friday 7:30

McAlester 34, T. Central 13
Duncan 45, Ada 7

2nd Round: Duncan at McAlester – Friday 7:30

Lawton Mac 58, Deer Creek 28
Bishop Kelley 17, Coweta 14

2nd Round: Bishop Kelley at Lawton Mac – Friday 7:30

Pryor 31, Collinsville 26
Ardmore 21, Carl Albert 14

2nd Round: Ardmore at Pryor – Friday 7:30

Guthrie vs Tulsa East Central
2002 – Guthrie at East Central (2nd round) Guthrie 27-13
2007 – Guthrie vs East Central (semi finals) Guthrie 45-14
2009 – Guthrie at East Central (2nd round) Guthrie 25-24