The Class of the Class

Their seasons were similar, so it made sense they ended the same way, in the same fashion, even on the same field less than 24 hours apart. Guthrie in Class 5A and Bishop McGuinness in 4A won state titles on Oklahoma's Owen Field, and no one was really surprised. These were not state title games where there was any element of mystery. After all, the two came in unbeaten - and they left the same way - and as heavy favorites, so again, who was really shocked? No one. But then again, rare is the case that you go to see Hamlet and are surprised by the ending. You go to the theatre to see how it all plays out. And these games played out in the same fashion, with the same Gold Ball celebration at the end. Guthrie came into its Friday night 5A championship game with the top-scoring offense in the state getting 54.6 points per game. McGuinness sported a 40.6 ppg average, tops in 4A for its Saturday 4A title game against Glenpool, yet both teams struggled to move the ball, score points and get into any real offensive rhythm. Guthrie scored just 16 points; Bishop McGuinness managed just 14, and further, McGuinness found itself behind at halftime - the first time the Irish had been behind all season. Meanwhile, Guthrie hadn't played a close game in the playoffs, but never got any distance at all between themselves and the Spartans. "I was a little concerned,'' said Irish coach Kenny Young. "We hadn't been behind.'' Offense was a concern in these two games. Defense never was. Bixby got just six first downs for the game and Guthrie won 16-3. McGuinness held Glenpool to just 135 yards in the 14-9 victory. Both wins continued a trend that was evident, but overlooked all season long as the two schools dominated defensively. Nine shutouts on the season for McGuinness which allowed only 4.4 per game to its opponents all season long. Eight shutouts for Guthrie. "We got eight and we wanted another,'' said receiver Michael Harmon. "But it's OK. We're getting those rings. We went 14-0 and we're going to be remembered.'' Likely, the two teams, which went a combined 28-0 this season, will be noted for their offense, which had little to no problems all season. But championship weekend provided a twist. "You just know that you're not going to score 50 or 60 points this time of the year,'' said Guthrie coach Rafe Watkins, who won a second title with the Jays, and first since 2002. "I just really couldn't be more proud.'' Proud because Guthrie limited Bixby to 107 total yards and the Spartans didn't cross the 50-yard line until after halftime. For McGuinness it's now 28 wins in a row, dating back to 2005. The Irish are two-time 4A champs. "We made some mistakes, but in the end we had more points than the other team,'' said Irish junior Gabe Ikard. "What a great feeling.'' A fitting end for clearly the best two teams in their respective class. A surprise? Not really. "We got everyone's best game all year long,'' said Young. "We knew it wouldn't be easy.'' As for Guthrie, it might have looked easy all year long, but it wasn't in the end. "I really didn't know we would be this dominating all year,'' Watkins said. "But we got some breaks and stayed healthy. The kids were tough enough to take it all.''