Guthrie Rallies To Beat Tuttle 24-20

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em><strong>Get 25% off your subscription by entering Knight25 in the coupon code area. Enjoy!</strong></em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Despite Guthrie and Tuttle being perennial powerhouses for over two decades, Friday night was the first time these two teams ever faced off. The short-handed Blue Jays would go into an early hole but would rally in the third and fourth quarter to get out of Tuttle with a win. The Blue Jays were without star running back [player_tooltip player_id='268441' first='Isaiah' last='Hammons'], who was dealing with a lower body injury. Guthrie head coach Kelly Beeby mentioned that he could have played if it was a district game but with how competitive Guthrie's district is, the Blue Jays didn't want to get him more banged up in a non-district match-up.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The plan was to have running back by committee on Friday night but one player would end up taking the majority of carries and was really impressive throughout the evening in the running game as well as the return game. Junior running back [player_tooltip player_id='448519' first='Jaylen' last='Harper'] had an excellent night running the ball. He would finish with 157 yards on 23 carries with over 100 yards on the ground coming after halftime. The Blue Jays had somewhat of a slow start in the first half and Tuttle would take advantage. After Guthrie went three and out on their first possession, Tuttle's Adrian Aveiar would block the Guthrie punt and recovered it in the end zone to give the Tigers a quick 7-0 lead, less than two minutes into the game.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>After that, both teams would exchange punts for several possessions as the defenses would dominate the first two quarters. Guthrie also shot themselves in the foot with penalties on two separate punt returns that could have set them up with great field position. After Tuttle led 7-0 going into the second quarter, the Tiger offense would get on the scoreboard with their first good drive of the game. Senior quarterback [player_tooltip player_id='207856' first='Mason' last='Dennis'] would score from two yards out to put the Tigers up 14-0 with a little over four minutes remaining in the second quarter. Guthrie would respond to Tuttle's best offensive possession with their own but Tuttle's defense would tighten up near the goal line and hold the Blue Jays to a field goal. That seemed like a big win for the Tigers as they would take the 14-3 lead into halftime and would get the ball to start the second half.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A penalty would negate a 40-yard pass from the Tuttle offense and they would have to punt it away. Guthrie would march down the field and [player_tooltip player_id='380979' first='Tyrin' last='Eaton'] would score from four yards out to make the score 14-10 in favor of Tuttle. The Tigers would go three and out for the fourth time in five possessions and Guthrie would take advantage. Guthrie quarterback [player_tooltip player_id='380981' first='Hayden' last='Calvert'] would march the Blue Jays down the field and would score from four yards out and the Blue Jays took their first lead late in the third quarter. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Tuttle's offense struggled all night with dropped passes and it would hurt them throughout the second half. But they would finally find some consistency from junior wide receiver [player_tooltip player_id='448518' first='Mark' last='Douglas'] and Dennis would connect with Douglas on a great fourth down call for an eight yard touchdown with 4:32 to play to put the Tigers up 20-17. Guthrie would once again have a great return and this time, there were no flags as the Blue Jays would start the next drive at the Tuttle 45. The Blue Jay rushing attack ran right down the field and senior [player_tooltip player_id='448520' first='Jaylen' last='Chelf'] would catch a short touchdown from Calvert with a little over a minute left to put Guthrie back up with a 24-20 lead. On the ensuing kick off, Tuttle would fumble after fighting for extra yards and Guthrie would milk the rest of the clock to get out with the win.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Now both teams head into district play as top five teams in their respective classes. Guthrie will have week four off before hitting the road again to take on Piedmont in their first district game. Meanwhile Tuttle will go on the road next week to face off with a top ten team in Bethany. Below, we take a look at the top performers from each team from Friday night's game, starting with the Blue Jays. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:separator {"className":"is-style-wide"} --> <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-wide"/> <!-- /wp:separator --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>GUTHRIE TOP PERFORMERS</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"id":"block_63260f006cc2a","name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["380981"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"Guthrie junior quarterback [player_tooltip player_id='380981' first='Hayden' last='Calvert'] is a player that flew under the radar last year with the emergence of [player_tooltip player_id='268441' first='Isaiah' last='Hammons'] at the running back position. But Calvert has proven early on this season that he could be one of the better dual-threat QB's in Class 5A this season. But on Friday night, it was obvious after the first two quarters that if Guthrie was going to win this game, they were going to do it on the ground. Calvert was 6-9 at halftime and would only attempt five passes in the second half, including the game-winning pass to [player_tooltip player_id='448520' first='Jaylen' last='Chelf'] with just over a minute to play. But as we mentioned, Calvert was also a threat to run the ball. He would carry the ball eleven times for 46 yards. Guthrie would combine for nearly 300 yards on the ground as they found something that would work and they stuck to it.","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"align":"","mode":"preview","anchor":"acf-block-68a584ee94851"} /--> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"id":"block_63260f176cc2b","name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["448520"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"Guthrie stuck with what they do best on Friday night and that's relying on the ground game to get the win. But the Blue Jays showed on several occasions that they can make big plays in the passing game as well. The player that would come up with the most receptions, including what would be the game-winning touchdown was senior wideout [player_tooltip player_id='448520' first='Jaylen' last='Chelf']. The senior is a shifty wide receiver that also helped out the Blue Jays in their running game at times with misdirection and taking end arounds. Chelf is definitely a player that has flown under the radar so far but proved that he can be a big help to the Blue Jays on offense and in the return game. Chelf also set up the game-winning drive with a great return following Tuttle's go-ahead touchdown to get Guthrie into Tuttle territory for their final possession.","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"align":"","mode":"preview","anchor":"acf-block-68a584ee9488c"} /--> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"id":"block_63260f2d6cc2c","name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["448519"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"We'll be honest, we were looking forward to seeing Guthrie star running back [player_tooltip player_id='268441' first='Isaiah' last='Hammons'] in person against this Tuttle defense. But with Hammons out, we might have found Guthrie's next star running back when Hammons graduates with junior running back [player_tooltip player_id='448519' first='Jaylen' last='Harper']. He was outstanding on Friday night in the running game and he helped the Blue Jays with several big punt returns. On the night, Harper went for 157 yards on 23 carries and 103 yards came after halftime as Harper wore the Tuttle defense down but also showed that he had the burst to pull off several big runs. Harper was splitting time early with [player_tooltip player_id='384081' first='Jackson' last='Walters'], but it was pretty apparent as the game went on that Harper had the juice to carry the Guthrie offense. The 1-2 punch of Harper and Calvert in the backfield was excellent in the second half.","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"align":"","mode":"preview","anchor":"acf-block-68a584ee948bb"} /--> <!-- wp:separator {"className":"is-style-wide"} --> <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-wide"/> <!-- /wp:separator --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>TUTTLE TOP PERFORMERS</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"id":"block_63260f416cc2d","name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["215570"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"We talked to Tuttle head coach Brad Ballard before the game about his special sophomore [player_tooltip player_id='215570' first='Brady' last='McAdoo'] and he told us u0022I don't know what I have in him yet.u0022 We know what he means now. We were certain McAdoo was a running back on the rise after his six touchdown performance last week against Noble. That might not be the case. Guthrie did a good job limiting him as a running back on Friday night but he still had a massive impact. McAdoo was excellent as a wide receiver, defensive back and was even an impact player as a punter and punt returner. He would lead Tuttle in receiving with 58 yards on the night and had several big hits on the defensive side of the ball. And in special teams, McAdoo would show an extra gear of acceleration that not a lot of players have at his age. We're looking forward to seeing more from the versatile sophomore.","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"align":"","mode":"preview","anchor":"acf-block-68a584ee948ef"} /--> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"id":"block_63260f5a6cc2e","name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["448518"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"Tuttle junior wide receiver [player_tooltip player_id='448518' first='Mark' last='Douglas'] came into this game as somewhat of an unknown but he would end up being right there with McAdoo in terms of playmakers from the wide receiver position. In fact, in terms of players that are strictly wide receivers in this offense, Douglas ended up being the top guy with six catches for 54 yards and a touchdown late in the fourth quarter on fourth down. Douglas only had one catch for 15 yards at halftime. But with Tuttle's receiver group struggling throughout the game, quarterback [player_tooltip player_id='207856' first='Mason' last='Dennis'] started locking in with Douglas on plenty of plays down the stretch in the second half. Douglas became the most consistent wide receiver target for the Tuttle offense in the second half. And the go-ahead touchdown he caught on fourth down was an outstanding play call.","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"align":"","mode":"preview","anchor":"acf-block-68a584ee9491d"} /--> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"id":"block_63260f7d6cc2f","name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["207856"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"As mentioned a few times already, the biggest thing that just killed Tuttle throughout the night were dropped passes. Tuttle senior quarterback [player_tooltip player_id='207856' first='Mason' last='Dennis'] finished the night 14-28 for 136 yards and a touchdown. That's not a great stat line but if those dropped passes or completions, his percentage would probably climb north of 70 percent and he would have had a few more touchdowns and probably twice the yardage. Dennis was outstanding on Friday night and we were really impressed with his performance. He also added 38 yards and a touchdown on the ground in the first half. The jump that Dennis has made from his junior year to his senior year is massive as he was in complete control of this offense. There were few passes that were not on target and he showed so much confidence throughout the evening.","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"align":"","mode":"preview","anchor":"acf-block-68a584ee94948"} /-->