Hornets too much too early; Jays end season at 11-2

It happen early and it happen quickly. The Guthrie BlueJays were down 14-0 to the top ranked Booker T. Washington Hornets in the Class 5A state semi-final game. In the end, it was the Hornets advancing to next weeks state championship game with a 38-11 win at Stillwater High School’s Pioneer Stadium.

The Hornets (12-1) will play Tulsa East Central for the 5A gold ball. In the meantime, Guthrie ends their season at 12-1. The win extends an 11-game win streak for Booker T and snaps a nine game win streak for the Jays.

The Jays have now played in the state semi’s in four of the last five seasons.

Uncharacteristically, Guthrie committed five turnovers, in which, the Hornets turned into 24 points.

“You can ‘what if’ things to death, but you have to give them a lot of credit,” head coach Rafe Watkins said in his post game radio interview. For the complete interview click here.

Booker T. got on the scoreboard on the third play of the game with a 32-yard pass from senior quarterback Jordy Albert to Dante Barnett. Albert was able to scramble and throw on the run. It took just 59 seconds to score.

Albert later in the quarter spotted Tyler Lockett down the sideline for a 19-yard score capping off a 10 play 80-yard drive to take a 14-0 lead with 3:52 remaining in the first quarter.

Guthrie found the end zone when sophomore J.T. McFadden came crashing in on a Hornet field goal attempt with a block. Freshmen Kai Callins scooped the ball up and dashed 83-yards for the score. Senior Kentrell Brothers then ran in the 2-point conversion on the swinging gate to make it a 14-8 game with 11:11 to play in the half.

The Hornets, however, would then score 24 unanswered points and begin the Isaac Bennett show.

Bennett rushed for a game high 201 yards and scored twice, but none bigger with a 90-yard run to put Booker T. up 35-8 with 8:37 to play in the third quarter. As a team, the Hornets rushed for 238 yards. Entering the game, the Guthrie defense was allowing just 36 rushing yards.

The final points for the Jays and the game came on a season long 29-yard field goal by Derrik Kelly. His previous long was 27.

The 27-point loss was the most lopsided game for the Jays since a 35-7 lost to Shawnee in 2005.