5A Championship First Look

Get 25% off your subscription by entering Knight25 in the coupon code area. Enjoy! The Class 5A state championship is set for 7PM on Saturday night at UCO’s Wantland Stadium. We’ll see a familiar match-up as four-time defending champion Carl Albert squares off with district rival Bishop McGuinness. This will be the second straight year these two play for it all and the fourth time in the last five years. Prep Redzone Oklahoma will have preview content throughout the week to get you ready for Saturday night’s title game. Let’s get started with our 5A championship first look, taking a look at both teams in the match-up! BISHOP McGUINNESS IRISH (10-2) Aug 28 - Beat Muskogee 20-13 Sept 11 - Lost To Bishop Kelley 35-21 Sept 18 - Beat Booker T Washington 28-17 Sept 25 - Beat Lawton Eisenhower 56-34 Oct 2 - Beat Woodward 55-14 Oct 9 - Lost To Carl Albert 56-35 Oct 15 - Game AT Western Heights Canceled Oct 23 - Beat Piedmont 33-14 Oct 30 - Beat Guthrie 41-14 Nov 6 - Beat Guymon 62-0 1st Round - Bye Week 2nd Round - Beat Duncan 41-21 Quarterfinals - Beat Coweta 39-12 Semifinals - Beat McAlester 28-21 Championship History: 2-4 (7th Appearance) Bishop McGuinness is once again back in the title game for the second straight year and for the fourth time in the last five seasons. This will be their seventh championship appearance all time and the Irish have to be tired of the color silver at this point. They won back to back championships in 2006 and 2007. Those were the first appearances in the title game and also the last time they won the gold ball. The following year, in 2008, they would make it to the title game again but fall short. Fast forward to the last five years and McGuinness will once again see a Carl Albert team that has had their number. They’re hoping to change up history and end Carl Albert’s stranglehold, not just over 5A, but over the Irish as well. Offensive Production: 38.3 PPG (36 PPG In Playoffs) The Bishop McGuinness offense has been averaging nearly 40 points per game during this season. The offense went through somewhat of a transition early on in the season with new faces on that side of the ball. However, once district play began in week four, the Irish offense started to find their groove. Starting with their district opener, the Irish scored 50+ points on three separate occasions. The Irish would keep the scoring up once the playoffs began. In their semifinal clash with McAlester, the Irish would have to rally to win that game with less than a minute left, winning 28-21. That was the only time since September 18th that the Irish fell short of the 30 point mark. Defensive Production: 20.9 PPG (18 PPG In Playoffs) Similar to the offense, Bishop McGuinness had to find some new faces on the defensive side of the ball to replace some pretty big names from last year's 5A runner up. However, the Irish found those new names and they would put up some pretty good numbers as a unit. They gave up on average nearly 21 points per game and contained some pretty good offenses. They held Booker T Washington to 17 points, Piedmont and Guthrie to just 14 points and Coweta's high-powered and balanced attack to just 12 points in the quarterfinals. However, the one downside is their season-high number. They gave up 56 points to Carl Albert, the team that stands in between them and a state championship. Notable Bishop McGuinness is headed to the title game yet again and there is no doubt who has led them to this point. Senior quarterback came into this season as the best player for McGuinness and he’s taken his game to another level. Not only has he led the Irish to the title game. Not only did he throw the game-winning touchdown with less than a minute to go in the semifinals. The numbers he’s put up are straight out of a video game. Tarman has eclipsed 2,000 yards passing as well as 2,000 yards rushing. To say that’s rare in high school football is an understatement. Tarman is hoping for another big performance that ends in a gold ball.

CARL ALBERT TITANS (10-1) Sept 4 - Beat Midwest City 41-26 Sept 11 - Beat Del City 21-14 Sept 18 - Game AT Shawnee Canceled Sept 25 - Beat Guymon 63-0 Oct 2 - Lost To Bixby 56-14 Oct 9 - Beat Bishop McGuinness 56-35 Oct 17 - Beat Piedmont 42-7 Oct 23 - Game VS Western Heights Canceled Oct 30 - Beat Woodward 56-7 Nov 6 - Beat Lawton Eisenhower 31-0 1st Round - Bye Week 2nd Round - Beat Ardmore 49-14 Quarterfinals - Beat Bishop Kelley 36-20 Semifinals - Beat Collinsville 45-28 Championship History: 15-1 (17th Appearance) Carl Albert is up there among the state’s best programs when it comes to championship success. The Titans are in their 17th state championship game and hold a 15-1 record. They’ve won the last four 5A state championships. With another gold ball on Saturday, they will tie Clinton, who currently sits in third place all time with 16 gold balls. However, Clinton does play for the 4A state title on Saturday afternoon, so that number could change by the time the Titans take the field. Out of the programs that have ten or more championships, none of them have a record like the Titans where they are all but a lock to walk away with gold as opposed to silver. The only title game Carl Albert lost was in 2008 when they fell to Booker T Washington. Offensive Production: 41.3 PPG (43.3 PPG In Playoffs) Carl Albert came into 2020 as four-time champs and loaded on the offensive side of the ball. The Titans returned nearly everyone on that side and it would certainly be their strength during the 2020 season. They would average over 40 points per game and were one of the top offenses in 5A football this year. They had seven games where they scored north of 40 points, including two of their three playoff wins. In fact, they punched their ticket to the championship game with 45 points on a Collinsville defense that had given up more than 40 points on only one other occasion this season. The Titan offense is one of the more balanced and explosives units in the state. Defensive Production: 18.8 PPG (20.7 PPG In Playoffs) As the Titans came into the 2020 season, like we mentioned above, the offense was their strength and certainly didn't have as many questions. However, looking at the defense, and more importantly all the big names that they lost to graduation, the big question around the Titans would be how this new defense would look. Well, they weren't as dominant as some Titan defenses have been but they certainly didn't take a step back. They're similar to McGuinness in their scoring average. And if you take the impromptu Bixby game off their schedule, they only gave up 30+ points once this year. But that came to this week's opponent in Bishop McGuinness. Maybe we're in for a shootout on Saturday. Notable While McGuinness brings a quarterback to state, who is one of the best athletes in Oklahoma, Carl Albert counters with a quarterback of their own. Senior QB is a fourth year starter for the Titans and has a chance to go down as the most successful quarterback in Oklahoma high school football history. At least, he’s on the shortlist and has a good debate behind him. Harris is 51-2 as Carl Albert’s starting quarterback and already has three rings and is looking for a fourth. It would be hard to find another quarterback in state history that would have that kind of record and career. We’ll see a great quarterback battle Saturday.