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By: Casey Porter
With running clocks becoming as common as Josh King big hits, the Guthrie Bluejays have left its faithful with only one question: Are the Bluejays this good, or has their schedule lent itself to utter domination? Before you entertain the notion of the latter keep one question in mind: What part of this Bluejay team is not superior?
With possibly the best all around player in the State of Oklahoma, Kye Staley, and a supporting cast that includes possibly some of the best skill players Guthrie has ever seen, the Bluejays have star power that could align the Milky Way Galaxy.
Relieve yourself from your armchair quarterback duties for a minute and imagine yourself as the defensive coordinator for the Bluejay opponents. The first question you must answer is: Where do I start?
Here we go, you’ve now begun your quest of stopping the Bluejay offense. After all, it can’t be that good can it?
Well, first of all, I know Staley is one of the best runners in Oklahoma, the Clayton Smith kid is real fast and runs harder than anybody I’ve ever seen, and Josh King might be the best athlete on the team. Oh yeah, Ashton Morgan and Doyle Hammons, I’d sure like to have them, they’d probably be our feature back. Hmm, Greg Hines on one side of the line and Jonathan Washington on the other with three guys in the middle that are tough as nails. I think I’ve figured out what to do first.
Okay, Okay, Okay, I’ve convinced myself: “We have to stop the run”. Sounds great, I’ll put a bunch of guys in the box and, even with all of that talent, if I outnumber them, there’s no way they can run the ball, right? Oh wait, they’re in the spread offense a lot, how do I cover all those receivers? Dang, I wish their coaches hadn’t figured out how to dictate the way the defense has to line up based on formation. Well, maybe it’s still worth it to cover their receiver’s one on one. I know their receivers are real tall and real fast, but maybe they don’t catch the ball real well. Well, I just got done watching film from the last two years, and if memory serves me right, I don’t remember seeing them drop one pass.
I’m going to have to cover four wide outs and maybe even five. Let’s see, 11 minus 4 equals 7 for me, and five linemen, a quarterback and a running back for them. That leaves me without a safety: I hope they don’t break a tackle.
Well, I’m stumped again; rumor has it that these guys have an off-season program called MTXE. They’re pretty good at breaking tackles. I hate to say it, but the idea of playing sound defensive football isn’t looking like a good idea against this team. Wait, now they’re dictating what I can and can’t do. I want to play my game, not theirs. Problem is, I can’t figure out a way to do that.
I got it. My high school coach once told me that the best way to stop a good offense is to have a ball control, time consuming offense of your own. I’ll play keep away. Let me dive into this and see what we can do.
Just looked at the numbers and it appears that Guthrie hasn’t been scored on in four games. Last year, it said, the Bluejay defense went 18 straight quarters without allowing its opponents a single point. Surely this is a misprint isn’t. Nope, it’s true, all of it.
Geez, I guess I’m down to trying to win the field position battle through special teams. They can’t have it all can they? Let’s look at some film and see what kind of special teams they have.
They kept calling their special teams the Men in Black, and it looks as if they actually have a special teams coach. Surely not: Surely so! Even though they have the coaching, maybe they don’t have the talent. Then again, maybe they do. The J Hensley kid is great at kicking the ball in the end zone and even better at his specialty kicks. I’m definitely not going to show my return men the film of Josh King and Jack Dumas covering a kick. They may not want to play anymore.
Maybe they’ll get nervous in a big game atmosphere. No, nice try, but they play in the neatest facility in Oklahoma, and in front of some of the rowdiest high school fans around. Their house is always packed. Not to mention, they beat Bixby on the road last year and played at OU in the semifinals. Oh yeah, they were on TV twice, and every film I’ve ever looked at tells me that the bigger game they play in, the better they get. I don’t think their nerves will get the best of them.
Maybe, just maybe, I can out coach them. After all, I’m a great coach, I know more than Bob Stoops and Mike Gundy every Saturday. Oh, I shouldn’t admit that one, because the Guthrie coaches spend their Saturdays breaking down film trying to figure out how to beat me. They have a defensive coordinator that has been a head coach, and basically the entire staff has been together for a long time, in coaching years. Not to mention, they’ve coached in the biggest games and situations high school football has to offer. Guess I’m back to relying on my players. No, I forgot, I tried that and it didn’t work either. Better give this one a rest.
Well, I guess I’m done, I must admit, I give up. Maybe someone can brew up the magic potion, but it’s not going to be me, and it certainly hasn’t been anybody yet. I wonder if Bluejay fans are still asking the question: Is it their team or the schedule that has produced such lopsided results? I did my best to give them the answer.