Bishop McGuinness Team Preview

Get 25% off your subscription by entering Knight25 in the coupon code area. Enjoy! It’s the month of July and that means it’s preview time! Throughout the month of July, we are publishing 100 team previews to get you ready for the 2022 season. This is something that began last year and has become even bigger and better this year. We’re looking forward to diving deep into the top teams across the state. From defending champs, to top contenders and dark horses, we’ll have complete coverage every single day with new teams from Class 6A down to A. In this post, we take a look at the Bishop McGuinness Irish. The Irish are determined to make it back to the state championship game and win an elusive gold ball. Bishop McGuinness Irish (5A Preseason Ranking: #2) After making four trips to the state championship game in five years, Bishop McGuinness went thru a season of rebuilding in 2021. The Irish would go 7-5 and fall to eventual state champion Collinsville in the 5A quarterfinals. But the Irish are ready to get back to contending for the gold ball this fall. With nearly everyone back, the Irish come into the season as the #2 team in the 5A rankings. The biggest hurdle that the Irish will have to overcome this fall is a tough schedule. Three of the top four teams in our 5A preseason rankings are all in the same district. And there’s several teams outside of the top ten that will be in the mix this fall. The Irish will be strengthened going into the 2022 season by the return of 18 starters. They bring back nearly everyone on offense as they have ten starters back. The offense will be the strength of the team as some of their best players will be on that side of the ball. They have the potential to be one of the higher scoring offenses in Class 5A. Then you look at the defensive side of the ball and they return another eight starters and again, we’re looking at a unit that has the potential to be one of the better units in Class 5A this season. <hr /> 2021 Results (7-5 Record - Lost In Class 5A Quarterfinals) Aug. 27 - Lost To Coweta 35-28 Sept. 10 - Beat Bishop Kelley 49-6 Sept. 17 - Lost To Del City 27-21 (OT) Sept. 24 - Beat Lawton Eisenhower 56-41 Oct. 1 - Beat Woodward 45-14 Oct. 8 - Lost To Carl Albert 35-34 (OT) Oct. 14 - Beat Western Heights (Forfeit) Oct. 22 - Beat Piedmont 18-0 Oct. 29 - Lost To Guthrie 35-34 (OT) Nov. 5 - Beat Guymon 55-24 1st Round - Beat Ardmore 56-21 Quarterfinal - Lost To Collinsville 56-35 <hr /> Key Losses To Graduation Brody Houser - Defensive Lineman Keyarus Randle - Offensive Lineman Paul Tarman - Wide Receiver <hr /> Players To Watch [player_tooltip player_id="377954" first="Marcus" last="James"] - 2025 Athlete One McGuinness player that might not be as known as some of the others on this breakdown is 2025 athlete [player_tooltip player_id="377954" first="Marcus" last="James"]. While he might not be as known right now, we’re predicting that he’ll be one of the breakout players in Class 5A this season. He has great size and has shown athleticism to go along with it as he goes into his sophomore season. The coaches at McGuinness are fired up about his potential and whether it’s as a tight end or somewhere on the defense, they’re expecting him to make an impact on the team this fall. The Irish have plenty of experience coming back but they’ll mix that with some young talent like James. [player_tooltip player_id="51871" first="Mike" last="Taffe"] - 2023 Running Back One of the more experienced players on the McGuinness offense is 2023 running back [player_tooltip player_id="51871" first="Mike" last="Taffe"]. The 2023 running back has been starting and making plays for the Irish out of the backfield since he was a sophomore. Taffe’s breakout season came as a freshman at Millwood and then he transferred to McGuinness and became an immediate impact player for the Irish. Last season, he became one of the top running backs in the state and he’s looking to add his name to the list of McGuinness standout running backs over the last few seasons. Taffe isn’t alone in the backfield as they also return the QB1 from last season. [player_tooltip player_id="215198" first="River" last="Warren"] - 2024 Quarterback That returning quarterback is 2024 QB [player_tooltip player_id="215198" first="River" last="Warren"]. The junior signal caller had the tough task or replacing Luke Tarman, who had one of the best seasons in the state in recent memory in 2020. Warren not only stepped into that role but he did it well. He has become one of the top quarterback prospects in the state’s 2024 class and his recruiting stock is starting to go up after receiving his first offer earlier this offseason. Warren benefits from having a running back like Taffe in the backfield, along with nearly every starter returning on the offensive line. We expect Warren to put up some impressive numbers as the Irish attempt to be balanced on offense. [player_tooltip player_id="101264" first="Zane" last="Shadid"] - 2023 Linebacker Bishop McGuinness 2023 linebacker [player_tooltip player_id="101264" first="Zane" last="Shadid"] has been one of the 2023 linebackers we’ve written about and seen the most over the last three years. Shadid has been outstanding while playing 7v7 with Sooner 7. This year, Shadid is looking to take the Irish back to the championship game as one of the most experienced starters returning on the McGuinness defense. With a total of eight starters back on defense, Shadid will have experienced players around him and this has the potential to be a rather strong unit in Class 5A. It also wouldn’t be surprising to see Shadid play a little offense at times this season. More Names To Know [player_tooltip player_id="54350" first="Brandt" last="Haag"] - 2023 Offensive Lineman Kazeyn Bird - 2023 Linebacker Kellen Fraille - 2023 Defensive Back Tyrell Bruner - 2023 Wide Receiver Vincent Shivers - 2023 Defensive Lineman Zach Tawwater - 2025 Tight End <hr /> 2022 Schedule/Games To Circle Aug. 26 - AT Putnam City Sept. 2 - Clinton Sept. 9 - Bishop Kelley - The annual “Bishop Battle” has become one of our favorite rivalry games in the state and it’s pretty easy to see why. First off, these schools really don’t like each other, so you don’t need a lot of hype for these teams to want to win bad. Then you look at how competitive the series has been in the last decade and it’s hard not to be intrigued when these two teams square off. 10 out of the last 17 meetings have been decided by 7 points or less. That was not the case last fall as Bishop McGuinness absolutely dominated their Tulsa rivals with a 49-6 victory. This is also the final tune up for McGuinness before the tough district slate begins. Sept. 23 - AT Shawnee Sept. 30 - Lawton Eisenhower Oct. 7 - AT Guthrie - The 2022 season might come down to a two-week stretch in October as the Irish travel to Guthrie and then host rival Carl Albert. Up first will be the road trip to face the Blue Jays. Guthrie handed Bishop McGuinness one of three overtime losses last season. The Blue Jays have had to watch McGuinness and Carl Albert dominate this district for the last six years and last year was their first step towards returning to contending in 5A. This year, the Blue Jays are hoping to contend for the district title and will give the Irish all they want and then some. A win here sets up a potential district title showdown with Carl Albert the following week. Oct. 14 - Carl Albert - Depending on the previous week against Guthrie, Bishop McGuinness could be one win away from potentially winning the district title or continuing to fight for their playoff life. That’s just how this year will be in this district. The Irish have developed a fierce rivalry with the Titans over the last six seasons and they’ll write the next chapter on a Fall Break week seven. These two met in the state championship game four times in a five-year stretch from 2016-2020. The Titans won all four. Both teams are the top two teams in our preseason rankings. The question we have right now is will they still be by the time week seven rolls around. Oct. 21 - AT Southeast Oct. 28 - Piedmont <hr /> Notable Overtime was not friendly to the Irish in 2021 and they’re hoping for two things in 2022. Either avoid overtime all together or have some better luck this fall if they go into an extra period. The Irish had three games in 2021 that would go to overtime and they lost in all three. They fell to Del City and then Carl Albert and Guthrie in district play. The 7-5 record for the Irish isn’t one that they’re used to having. it was their worst record since going 5-5 in 2014. But you can look at those overtime encounters and if the result is different, the Irish are back to double digit wins. The Irish play in arguably one of the toughest districts in the state, regardless of class. It’s not going to be an easy slate, but they’re hoping for a little more luck this fall in those close games. <hr /> Championship History 2 State Championships 2007 - Beat Glenpool 14-9 2006 - Beat Grove 31-0