With the game — and district title hopes — on the line, the Guthrie Bluejays had four chances inside the 10-yard line to pull off an upset over top-ranked Carl Albert. But the Bluejays came up just short, falling 47-42 in a dramatic finish Friday night in Midwest City.
The loss marked Guthrie’s first district setback of the season and extended Carl Albert’s winning streak to 48 straight games, tying them for second place all-time with consecutive wins. It also marked the Titans’ 10th consecutive victory over the Bluejays.
Carl Albert (9-0, 6-0) took their final lead of the night with 7:10 remaining, going ahead 47-42. Guthrie (7-2, 5-1) answered with a determined 16-play drive that reached the Titan 5-yard line, but the Bluejays were unable to punch it in during the final moments.
Despite the loss, Guthrie remains in strong playoff position. The Bluejays are tied with Altus for second place in District 5A-2. Carl Albert and Altus meet next week — a Carl Albert win would lock Guthrie into second place and a home playoff game, while an Altus victory would force a three-way tie with district points deciding the top three seeds.
Guthrie opened the game on fire.
On the first play from scrimmage, junior quarterback Daelon Rice broke loose for a 79-yard run to set up sophomore Elijah Payne’s 1-yard touchdown. Moments later, senior Kellen Hirzel recovered a muffed kickoff, and senior running back Zane Thomas made the Titans pay with a 39-yard touchdown run.
In less than three minutes, Guthrie led 14-0.
Carl Albert answered with two scores from standout junior running back Delijah Matthews, who finished with 166 yards and four touchdowns. But Guthrie reclaimed the lead when Thomas, who rushed for 165 yards on 16 carries, raced 47 yards for his second touchdown to make it 21-14 after one quarter.
The Titans tied the game again with a 68-yard touchdown pass, but Guthrie kept responding. Senior receiver Amare Watson hauled in a 55-yard touchdown pass from Rice to put the Jays ahead 28-21. Carl Albert tied it before halftime and grabbed their first lead early in the third quarter, 35-28.
Guthrie quickly answered again when Rice connected on a 30-yard touchdown strike to even the score. After Matthews scored his fourth touchdown to put Carl Albert up 41-35, Rice — who completed 13 of 17 passes for 191 yards and added 111 rushing yards — punched in a 1-yard score with 9:49 left to give Guthrie their final lead of the night.
Carl Albert answered once more and held on through Guthrie’s final drive.
The Bluejays finished with 478 total yards to Carl Albert’s 427. The Titans were flagged 14 times for 115 yards, while Guthrie was penalized six times for 76 yards.
Guthrie will close out the regular season next week on the road against Lawton (4-5) as they look to lock up playoff positioning.
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