Guthrie Shuts Out Piedmont 35-0

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>Get 25% off your subscription by entering Knight25 in the coupon code area. Enjoy!</em></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>In a battle between two top five teams in Class 5A on Friday night, it was #3 Guthrie winning in a first round knockout. Complete domination is the only way to describe their 35-0 win over #5 Piedmont at home Friday evening. Both teams came into the contest with strong rushing attacks and stingy defenses but the Blue Jays took their game to another level. They have now shut out four of their five opponents and have given up just three points all season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The onslaught began in the first minute of the game when Tariq Watson took the opening kickoff to the Piedmont 33 and senior running back [player_tooltip player_id='448519' first='Jaylen' last='Harper'] would do the rest. On their first play, he took a handoff and went 33 yards for the game's opening score. It would be his first of two on the night as he went for well over 100 yards for the fifth consecutive game.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>On PIedmont's first possession, they would fumble it away on third down and that would begin the offensive woes that never really stopped throughout the night. Guthrie cashed in on the turnover with another Harper touchdown to put them up 14-0 halfway through the first quarter. Piedmont would turn the ball over again on their next possession after an interception and the Blue Jays would score in less than 90 seconds to put Piedmont in a 21-0 hole that they weren't able to overcome.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Defensively, we knew that Guthrie has been special this season but seeing it in person really just hammered home how talented they are. Piedmont would turn the ball over on their first two possessions and then went three and out on six of their next seven possessions and the only one that they didn't was the second interception for [player_tooltip player_id='893253' first='Nate' last='Benford']. It wasn't until halfway through the fourth quarter that the Wildcats picked up a first down for the first time on the night. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Blue Jays left no doubt on Friday night that they are a serious contender in Class 5A. With a strong rushing attack and a defense that has just absolutely dominated, the Blue Jays will be a tough team to beat in November. They now shift their focus to another marquee district game on the road against Bishop McGuinness. And last year's meeting with the Irish certainly left a sour taste in Guthrie's mouth. The Blue Jays will look for a win to stay in play for the district title. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>GUTHRIE'S TOP PERFORMERS</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["994657"],"_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 kick off this section of the article with one of the breakout stars of this season. High school football stats are hard to track from a statewide perspective, but I think it's safe to say that Guthrie senior [player_tooltip player_id='994657' first='Eli' last='Moroney'] is either at the top or near the top of the sack list with well over 10 on the season. And on Friday night, Moroney was a tackling machine. He's listed as a defensive lineman but he's a prototypical linebacker at the next level. He flies all over the field and when he gets his hands on a ball carrier, that ball carrier is going down and it's usually in a violent way.","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_1_player":["380981"],"_player_evaluations_1_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_1_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_1_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_1_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_1_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_1_evaluation":"Coming into his fourth year as a starter, we knew that Guthrie senior quarterback [player_tooltip player_id='380981' first='Hayden' last='Calvert'] was going to be as solid as it gets in this Guthrie offense. He's a tough player that has no problem tucking the ball and working for the extra yards. He also showed off the arm a little bit early on. He completed his first five passes in a row and one of those completions went for a touchdown. But he was at his best in the ground game. He finished with around 80 yards on 14 carries. Guthrie's rushing attack is one of the better ones in Class 5A and Calvert is part of it.","_player_evaluations_1_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_2_player":["448519"],"_player_evaluations_2_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_2_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_2_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_2_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_2_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_2_evaluation":"Earlier this month, we added Guthrie senior running back [player_tooltip player_id='448519' first='Jaylen' last='Harper'] to our PRZ-Oklahoma Player Of The Year watchlist and this was our first chance to see him in person this season. He lived up to the hype. He led the Blue Jays in rushing with well over 100 yards for the fifth consecutive game. He also had a pair of rushing touchdowns that put Piedmont in a hole that they wouldn't be able to overcome. Class 5A has an interesting dynamic this season where the running backs in this class are some of the best in the state. Harper is near the top of that group.","_player_evaluations_2_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_3_player":["893253"],"_player_evaluations_3_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_3_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_3_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_3_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_3_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_3_evaluation":"Guthrie's front seven wasn't the only part of the Blue Jay defense that shined on Friday night. Senior [player_tooltip player_id='893253' first='Nate' last='Benford'] came up with two interceptions in the win over the Wildcats as they turned the ball over three times. Benford also had a handful of catches on the offensive side of the ball. But unfortunately, only one of them counted as Guthrie had some penalties negate the other plays down the field. Benford has always been an athlete that we thought was underrated. When he got his opportunities to shine on Friday, he grabbed them.","_player_evaluations_3_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_4_player":["1023422"],"_player_evaluations_4_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_4_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_4_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_4_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_4_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_4_evaluation":"In addition to Moroney, the Blue Jays have some other hard hitters on that front seven and senior [player_tooltip player_id='1023422' first='Treyvon' last='Braxton'] is another example of that. Braxton is the Guthrie standout that forced and recovered the fumble on Piedmont's first offensive possession of the game. That certainly set the tone for the kind of night that it was going to be as Braxton and the Guthrie defense did not let up. At one point, Braxton got banged up on a play but was able to come back in. There's no doubt that Guthrie's defense is legit and they have guys everywhere.","_player_evaluations_4_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":5,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"edit","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-65183cef8ea12"} /--> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->