Our First Look At The 5A Title Game

Get 25% off your subscription by entering Knight25 in the coupon code area. Enjoy!   The Class 5A state championship game is set! #1 Carl Albert will square off with #6 Bishop McGuinness in Edmond on Saturday at noon. Although these teams are no longer district foes, they are very familiar with meeting with the state championship on the line. These two teams met four times in a five year stretch from 2016-2020 with the state title on the line. For defending champion Carl Albert, it's a chance at immortality. The Titans are currently in a tie with Ada for the most state championships in state history with 19. Not to mention they've also won 52 consecutive games. On the other side is Bishop McGuinness and the Irish will have no problems playing the spoiler role. They have been road warriors all year and they are going to be gunning for the gold ball Saturday afternoon. In this post, we take our first look at both teams prior to their title clash on Saturday afternoon. Keep it locked in to Prep Redzone Oklahoma later in the week, when we take a deep dive into the match-up by putting a spotlight on all of the players to watch for both teams. And be sure to check out our <a href="https://www.youtube.com/@PrepRedzoneOklahoma">PRZ-Oklahoma YouTube Channel</a> for exclusive (and free) video content, including interviews with both head coaches!   #1 CARL ALBERT TITANS (13-0)   Sept. 5th - Beat Midwest City 41-8 Sept. 12th - Beat Lawton Eisenhower 57-0 Sept. 19th - Beat Stillwater 28-19 Sept. 26th - Beat Western Heights 59-0 Oct. 2nd - Beat El Reno 49-7 Oct. 10th - Beat Noble 56-7 Oct. 16th - Beat John Marshall 69-0 Oct. 23rd - Beat Lawton 49-0 Oct. 31st - Beat Guthrie 47-42 Nov. 7th - Beat Altus 49-21 1st Round - Beat Duncan 45-17 Quarterfinals - Beat McAlester 55-0 Semifinals - Beat Newcastle 42-7   HOW THEY GOT HERE   Carl Albert came into this season with a 39-game winning streak after capturing the last three state championships. They've been #1 in Class 5A all season and that winning streak has grown to 52 straight victories heading into the championship game this week. The season began with two blowout victories over Midwest City and Lawton Eisenhower. The Titans would then host Stillwater in week three and that was a game that could see the streak come to an end but the Titans would prevail 28-19 to wrap up non-district play. From there, the Titans rattled off five straight wins where they were not challenged, setting up a week nine showdown with rival Guthrie on Halloween night. The Titans found themselves in a high-scoring fight with the Blue Jays and they would need a goal line stand in the final minute to prevail 47-42. They wrapped up the regular season with a road win over Altus and headed into the playoffs at 10-0 once again. And when you look at Carl Albert's playoff run so far, it seems like we're just repeating history here. The Titans have not been challenged in the second half of any of their three playoff games. They beat Duncan 45-17 in the first round and that would actually be their closest game during the postseason. They punched their ticket back to Edmond by taking down Newcastle 42-7 in the semifinals on Friday night.   CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY 19-1 All Time - 21st Title Appearance   The Carl Albert Titans are back in the state championship game for the 21st time in program history and the goal is very simple. Win the last one. And for the Titans, winning the last one would mean they have captured their 20th state championship in program history. Last year, they won their 19th title, putting them in a tie with Ada for the most gold balls in state history. Not only can Carl Albert break that tie and sit on top of the mountain by themselves, they can be the first program in state history to capture 20 state championships. And when it comes to Carl Albert and all of their history, there are so many different impressive stats. There's the fact that there hasn't been a senior class in nearly four decades that went through their four years of high school without a state championship. There's also the fact that when Ada won their 19th championship in 1996, the Titans only had two state titles. They've won three straight gold balls and they've also won eight in the last nine years. The Titans have been arguably the best program in Oklahoma during this century.   OFFENSIVE PRODUCTION - 49.7 Points Per Game   Carl Albert is averaging just shy of 50 points per game this season as they've been one of the better offensive units in the state, regardless of class. Despite having some new faces, the Titans have been lighting up the scoreboard. They're led by a running back that has already broken the school's single season rushing touchdown record. The Titans have an offense that just feels inevitable at times. They have scored at least 40 points in all but one of their games this season. They are playing at a high level and have plenty of confidence going into the state title game.   DEFENSIVE PRODUCTION - 9.8 Points Per Game   Last year, Carl Albert's defense was the absolute best in program history. This season, it's still incredibly good. The Titans go into Saturday's game giving up just shy of ten points per game. They held teams to single digits in nine games this season. Carl Albert's defense is led by one of the best and most productive defensive lines in the state. Coming into this season, they had to replace some names at linebacker and in the secondary. But with the defensive line all back, it set the tone for having a dominant unit once again. They play the game with a swagger that's hard to match.   <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity" />   #6 BISHOP McGUINNESS IRISH (12-1)   Aug. 29th - Beat Deer Creek 17-14 Sept. 5th - Beat Bishop Kelley 22-17 Sept. 13th - Beat Bishop Lynch, TX. 35-28 Sept. 19th - Beat Bishop Carroll, KS. 38-14 Sept. 26th - Beat Classen SAS 57-0 Oct. 10th - Beat Midwest City 56-8 Oct. 17th - Beat Duncan 28-10 Oct. 24th - Beat Southeast 45-7 Oct. 31st - Beat Newcastle 24-14 Nov. 7th - Lost To Lawton MacArthur 35-21 1st Round - Beat Guthrie 42-35 Quarterfinals - Beat Claremore 42-14 Semifinals - Beat Lawton MacArthur 61-28   HOW THEY GOT HERE   We mentioned earlier how Bishop McGuinness have been road warriors this season and that wasn't just a thrown out term. The Irish played 13 games this season and 9 of them were away from home when you count all road and neutral site games. It started in week zero with a road win over Deer Creek. They followed it up with a home win over rival Bishop Kelley before winning two out of state games to finish off non-district play with a 4-0 record. It was pretty clear at the start of the season that this 2025 campaign would come down to the final two weeks of the season. The trio of Bishop McGuinness, Lawton MacArthur and Newcastle were all ranked relatively high all season. On Halloween night, they took care of the Racers to go into week ten with a 9-0 record. But after a loss to the Highlanders in week ten, the Irish actually dropped to the three seed for the playoff run. That meant going on the road to face former district foe Guthrie in the first round. They took care of business with a 42-35 win, their fourth win this year by seven points or less. They traveled to Claremore next and took down the Zebras with ease to set up a semifinal showdown with Lawton MacArthur. After losing to the Highlanders by 14 earlier in November, the Irish got the ultimate last laugh with a 61-28 victory on Friday night. Now, they turn their attention to Carl Albert on Saturday.   CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY 2-5 All Time - 8th Title Appearance   Bishop McGuinness is returning to the state championship game for the eighth time in program history and the first time since 2020. The Irish are 2-5 all time in the state championship game but the Irish are 0-4 against Carl Albert in the state championship game. The Irish have been consistently one of the better programs in Class 5A over the last 15 years but it's been nearly two decades since they captured the gold ball. You have to go back to that run from 2006-2008 where they made the 4A championship game all three years and won the 2006 and 2007 titles. A win on Saturday afternoon would also be Bishop McGuinness' first state championship while competing in Class 5A. When you look at the Irish and their championship history, it clearly happens in spurts with multiple trips to the title game in a short amount of time. Perhaps, Saturday afternoon's trip to the title game will be the first of several for the Irish over the next several years. But this team isn't thinking about the future, they're hungry for that 2025 gold ball.   OFFENSIVE PRODUCTION - 37.5 Points Per Game   The Irish come into the state championship game with an offense that will not quit. They are averaging 37.5 points per game despite having multiple moments throughout the regular season where they lost key players to injuries. Despite that, the Irish have been resilient and they should be playing with a lot of confidence right now. After scoring just 21 points against Lawton MacArthur in week ten, the Irish exploded for 61 points in their semifinal win over the Highlanders. And it's not just the semifinals. In their three playoff games, the Irish are averaging 48.3 points per game.   DEFENSIVE PRODUCTION - 17.2 Points Per Game   On the other side of the ball, the Irish have been steady and consistent throughout the season on defense. They come into Saturday's championship game having given up 17.2 points per game. The defense will need to play lights out when it comes to slowing down the running game if they are going to pull off the upset on Saturday afternoon. In some of the biggest games of the year, the Irish have looked like a "bend but don't break" defense and if they can limit the big plays from Carl Albert and keep up that mentality, they'll be in the game in the fourth quarter.

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