It’s one of the biggest games of the year and we don’t need to hype it up at this point. #3 Guthrie will play host to top-ranked and defending champion Carl Albert in a renewal of one of the best rivalries in 5A football over the last two decades. Carl Albert came into this season as massive favorites to repeat. Guthrie is looking to prove that they can knock off the champs. The Blue Jay defense has been nearly perfect this season. They’ve shut out six of their seven opponents and have only given up a field goal this year. Senior Eli Moroney Eli Moroney 6'2" | 220 lbs | LB Guthrie | 2024 State OK is the leader of this stout defense and he has the numbers to back it up. He has 15 sacks on the year and is a tackling machine. The Blue Jays will need Moroney and the Guthrie defense to be at their best if they are going to slow down Carl Albert’s star-studded offense.

Guthrie’s defense has been arguably the best unit in the state, regardless of class so far this season. The Blue Jays are 5-0 on the season and they’ve had four shutouts and given up just three points total. They’ve had multiple games where the defense gave up negative yards rushing to the opponent. Leading the way has been senior Eli Moroney Eli Moroney 6'2" | 220 lbs | LB Guthrie | 2024 State OK along the defensive line. Prior to last week’s win over Piedmont, Moroney already had double digit sacks and then he had another stellar performance against a good Piedmont rushing attack. The Blue Jays shut them down and gave up just one first down all night. Moroney was a violent tackler on Friday night and with Piedmont running the flexbone option offense, he didn’t get many opportunities to add to his sack total. We got a chance to see his dominant play first hand last week and he looks like a pure linebacker at the next level. He’s excellent in the open field and we’re fired up to see how he and this Guthrie defense play the rest of the year.

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 Eli Moroney Eli Moroney 6'2" | 220 lbs | LB Guthrie | 2024 State OK 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.

Guthrie’s defense has been the story of the season so far for the Blue Jays. They have been lights out so far this season and it’s difficult to spotlight just one player but we’ll go with senior Eli Moroney Eli Moroney 6'2" | 220 lbs | LB Guthrie | 2024 State OK along the defensive line. We caught some of Guthrie’s games on replays and the front seven has been incredibly tough to gain any traction. And when you consider the Blue Jays haven’t given up positive yards rushing in their first three games, those guys up front are hard to ignore. Last season, Moroney was one of Guthrie’s leading tacklers, with 70 tackles and 11 tackles for loss. Moroney will once again be a big key for them on Friday.