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By: Chris Evans
Unlike some of the college football games that features one power house team against another team who requires a map to find them, the high school football season has numerous of big time games to choose from and none bigger then what will take place inside Jelsma Stadium between the Guthrie BlueJays and Bishop McGuinness Fightin' Irish.
The Jays-Irish match-up will feature the 2007 state champions in Classes 5A and 4A. Guthrie will enter with a 14-game winning streak while McGuinness brings a 28-game streak and winners of the last two titles in 4A. The game will be broadcasted on the home of Guthrie Football, Triple Play Sports 105.1 FM , and will be seen state wide on KSBI-TV.
"It's exciting to have two defending champs going against each other so early in the season, and personally, I'm looking forward to seeing the renovated stadium up close and personal," KSBI sideline reporter and Triple Play Sports station manager Chris Johnson said.
The game will feature two of the top quarterbacks in the state with Guthrie's senior Keaton Callins and Irish's senior Ryan Randolph. Both Callins and Randolph were key members, on the hardwood floor, en route to basketball state championships for the Jays and Irish.
However, top recruits Donte' Foster, Josh King, and Gabe Ikard will bring a fair share of attention themselves.
Ikard, who verbally committed to Notre Dame, plays both sides of the ball at defensive end and tight end. Despite just 11 catches last year, Ikard scored on five of those. Ikard, a three-year starter, will have more of a presence on the defensive side where McGuinness returns just four starters.
McGuinness head coach Kenny Young has moved Dakota Leftwich from nose guard to defensive tackle and returns linebacker Jay Lester and cornerback Sam Crabtree to help out Ikard. Nick Bray will get the start at linebacker after being a back-up for two seasons as does Tate Triska.
The Irish are led by talented Randolph and his accurate arm, swift feet, and a winning attitude. A season ago, Randolph threw for 933 yards with 13 passing touchdowns and threw just one interception while completing 60% of his passes. Randolph in the teams final scrimmage, last Thursday with 6A Lawton Ike, had two touchdowns.
McGuinness replaces talented running back Kris Parham with senior Alex Valle. Valle in back-up duty last season collected 10 rushing scores on 600 yards rushing, but has missed the two scrimmages in camp with a shoulder injury. Young believes Valle should be ready to go Friday night. Valle will be one of the six new starters on offense for McGuinness.
The BlueJays return key members on defense with King, Jaden Chappell, DJ Hughes, and Skyler Smith, but will have six possible new starters for a defense that allowed just 6-points in the undefeated '07 season.
Guthrie's offensive linemen Stanton Stevenson will be a staple in the trenches and will see four new starters to join him. Foster, Hughes, Laron Parker, Kentrell Brothers, and Manny Luevano will be nice targets for Callins.
Perhaps one of the best 1-2 running back duo's in the state will debut with seniors Clayton Smith and King. The 'Thunder and Lighting' tandem will try and exploit the Irish defense with the hard thundering runner Smith and the quick striking King.
Smith returns after collecting 1300-yards and 26 scores in his junior campaign and has continued to run hard in the preseason scrimmages. King, who had just six rushes last season, scored on over half of those with four. Smith runs hard up the middle and King is dangerous on the outside. The Irish must know who has the ball, but the Guthrie offense may be to good to stack the box with Callins and the 'Jays receivers.
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