Guthrie 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 Guthrie Blue Jays. A perennial power in Class 5A, Guthrie is ready to return to championship contender status this fall. Guthrie Blue Jays (5A Preseason Ranking: #4) It’s been nearly a decade since the Guthrie Blue Jays lifted a gold ball at the end of the season and after dominating Class 5A from 2000-2013, it’s been a while since the Blue Jays have truly contended in Class 5A. That shouldn’t be the case this season as the Blue Jays bring a ton of momentum into this season. Guthrie would go 10-2 last season and would make it to the Class 5A quarterfinals. Those two losses came to Carl Albert and McAlester and the losses were by a combined nine points. It was clear that Guthrie was going to be one of the top teams coming into this season between the way last season ended and the Blue Jays bringing back seven starters on both sides of the ball. Guthrie brings back seven starters on offense, including one of the top running backs in Class 5A and plenty of skill players around him. The linebacker position got hit hard by graduation but the Blue Jays still return severn starters on defense as well. There is no doubt that the biggest hurdle for the Blue Jays will be the schedule. They are in arguably the toughest district in the state, regardless of class. Three of the top four teams in the preseason rankings for Class 5A are all in the same district with #1 Carl Albert, #2 Bishop McGuinness and #4 Guthrie. The Blue Jays will also be challenged by other teams within the district that have a chance to be ranked at times throughout the season. <hr /> 2021 Results (10-2 Record - Lost In Class 5A Quarterfinals) Aug. 27 - Beat Shawnee 33-0 Sept. 3 - Beat Putnam City West 67-0 Sept. 10 - Beat Duncan 41-7 Sept. 24 - Beat Piedmont 35-14 Oct. 1 - Lost To Carl Albert 22-19 Oct. 8 - Beat Woodward 34-13 Oct. 14 - Beat Guymon 62-12 Oct. 22 - Beat Lawton Eisenhower 28-10 Oct. 29 - Beat Bishop McGuinness 35-34 (OT) Nov. 5 - Beat Western Heights 55-0 1st Round - Beat Noble 40-0 Quarterfinal - Lost To McAlester 27-21 <hr /> Key Losses To Graduation Blake Finley - Offensive Lineman Chase Doles - Offensive Lineman Chris Shaputis - Defensive Lineman DeAndre Jones - Defensive Back Jacob Varnell - Linebacker Spade Pool - Linebacker <hr /> Players To Watch [player_tooltip player_id="380981" first="Hayden" last="Calvert"] - 2024 Quarterback The first of a few playmakers that return on the offensive side of the ball is Guthrie’s 2024 quarterback [player_tooltip player_id="380981" first="Hayden" last="Calvert"]. The Guthrie QB completed over 50% of his passes and finished with nearly 1,600 yards and 19 touchdowns. He had some outstanding skill players around him but Calvert will come into this season looking to expand his production on the offensive side of the ball this fall within the passing game. But there’s no doubt that Guthrie will be a run-first team when you consider who is lining up for Guthrie at running back. [player_tooltip player_id="268441" first="Isaiah" last="Hammons"] - 2023 Running Back One of the top breakout stars from last season was Guthrie’s 2023 running back [player_tooltip player_id="268441" first="Isaiah" last="Hammons"]. The Blue Jay standout finished with over 1,500 yards and 25 touchdowns. Hammons and the Blue Jays nearly upset McAlester and Hammons was a big part of their run to the quarterfinals. We like the Guthrie running back to expand his production from last year and flirt with 2,000 yards on the ground and then 30 touchdowns. Hammons was a breakout star a year ago but this year, he’ll definitely have a bigger target on his back going into games. [player_tooltip player_id="380978" first="Landon" last="Hirzel"] - 2023 Linebacker Guthrie brings back the majority of their starters on the defensive side of the ball but one position group that really got impacted by graduation was the linebacker position. One of the returning linebackers from last season’s team is 2023 linebacker [player_tooltip player_id="380978" first="Landon" last="Hirzel"]. He’ll bring some experience back to the position and help some of the new faces who will be lining up at the linebacker position this fall. Last season, Hirzel finished with well over 100 tackles and multiple sacks and even more quarterback hurries. He looks to do even better this season. [player_tooltip player_id="380979" first="Tyrin" last="Eaton"] - 2023 Wide Receiver There’s no doubt that Guthrie is going to be a run-first team as we head into the season when you consider who’s lining up at running back with Hammons. But they have a solid passing game as well and the leading receiver returning on this year’s team is 2023 wideout [player_tooltip player_id="380979" first="Tyrin" last="Eaton"]. The dynamic playmaker was Guthrie’s top target last year within the passing game with over 40 catches for nearly 600 yards and 6 touchdowns on the season. With Hammons having a bigger target on his back, Guthrie might have to throw the ball more and if they do, expect Eaton to be on the other end. More Names To Know Braden Chaney - 2023 Defensive Back De’Lontea Glover - 2024 Defensive Lineman Jackson Walters - 2023 Linebacker Jaylen Chelf - 2023 Wide Receiver <hr /> 2022 Schedule/Games To Circle Aug. 26 - AT Ponca City Sept. 2 - Woodward Sept. 9 - Duncan Sept. 16 - AT Tuttle - As if their district schedule wasn’t tough enough, Guthrie will travel to Tuttle to face the 4A powerhouse in the final week of non-district play. The positive side of this match-up is the Blue Jays will have a bye week following this 5A/4A showdown which is sure to be a hard physical game between these two teams. Both teams have state championship aspirations this season and have to be considered two of the better programs over the last few decades. Both teams are going to want to run the football and play strong defense so we don’t expect this game to last very long but it should be close throughout. Sept. 30 - AT Piedmont Oct. 7 - Bishop McGuinness - After facing Piedmont on the road, the Blue Jays will return to "The Rock" to face off with Bishop McGuinness in the first of two massive district games in a three week stretch. As mentioned above, Bishop McGuinness, Carl Albert and Guthrie are all in the top four and if the rankings hold between now and October, these games will really solidify who the favorite is within the district. Both teams have outstanding senior running backs and will look to them to take over the game. The Blue Jays got the best of Bishop McGuinness last season but it was a game that went to overtime. The Irish will be ready for their rematch. Oct. 13 - Southeast Oct. 21 - AT Carl Albert - In week eight, Guthrie will hit the road and take on Carl Albert in a huge district clash. The Titans have been the powerhouse in Class 5A over the last six seasons and despite not winning a state title last year, they still dominated the district, winning another district championship. The Blue Jays are looking to compete with the Titans once again this fall and they nearly upset Carl Albert a year ago. With wins over Bishop McGuinness and Carl Albert, Guthrie will put themselves in a position to capture the district championship. This district has been dominated by the Irish and the Titans but the Blue Jays are ready to contend. Oct. 28 - Lawton Eisenhower Nov. 4 - AT Shawnee <hr /> Notable The 2019 season was one to forget for the Blue Jays after they missed the playoffs for the first time in 14 seasons. However, Guthrie would bounce back immediately the following seasons. Despite a Covid season that had several games end up getting cancelled, including four district games, the Blue Jays still had a winning season and would make it to the quarterfinals. Last season, the Blue Jays would continue that success with a complete team on offense and defense as they would win ten games and make it back to the quarterfinals, before falling to McAlester. It was apparent by the end of the season that Guthrie would not only be back this fall but they would be one of the top teams in Class 5A. <hr /> Championship History 4 State Championships 2013 – Beat McAlester 51-21 2011 – Beat Lawton MacArthur 24-7 2007 – Beat Bixby 16-3 2002 – Beat Booker T Washington 16-13