For the second time in playoff history, Guthrie and Shawnee will play for the right to practice during the Thanksgiving holiday and advance to the Class 5A state semifinals when the two teams meet for a 7 p.m. kick in Guthrie.
Guthrie, winner of district 5A-2, enters with a perfect 11-0 record and Shawnee comes in confident as winners of their last six games, including last week’s first round blow-out of Claremore, 42-14. The Wolves finished runner-up in district 5A-3 and are 9-2 on the season.
The game can be heard on Triple Play Sports Radio 105.1 FM and world wide on Guthrie Sports Page and Guthrie News Page. The pregame show begins at 6:30 with Chris Evans and Casey Porter.
Head Coach Billy Brown has his squad playing well after the program took a hit when they were forced to play in Class 6A in 2010 and 2011 where they combined to go 4-16. In fact, Guthrie and Shawnee had played every year from 1986 until the Wolves made the move to the larger class. The Wolves returned to 5A last season and qualified for the playoffs before being ousted by Tulsa East Central.
Last week, marked the first playoff win for Shawnee since 2009 and a big part of that came from senior running back Dillon Dutton who rushed 20 times for 134 yards and three touchdowns.
Dutton, along with quarterback John Jacobs, runs behind an experienced offensive line.
Jacobs, a multi-threat, was just 5-of-12 passing for 106 yards but was able to give way to the running game. The southpaw has had success through the air all season and helped the Wolves to score an average 39 points per game.
Shawnee has proven they can win on the road by going 4-1 this year with their most impressive road win coming in week one with a 14-7 win at McGuinness. Their one loss came to McAlester, 28-14, in week five.
The Wolves defense, who returned 9 starters, is led by their linebacking crew of Jacob Floyd and Gage Humphries. The defense is holding their opponents to 20 points a game.
Meanwhile, Guthrie will have a little history on their side when the Wolves coming running into Jelsma Stadium. The Jays under head coach Rafe Watkins are 3-0 in second round games at The Rock, including a thriller 61-34 win over Shawnee in 2007.
In addition, the Jays have won 27 straight home games and 11 consecutive home playoff games.
Watkins is 5-5 all-time against Shawnee, including a 33-23 setback in their last meeting back in 2009. Overall, Shawnee leads the series 16-10.
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