Guthrie claims Class 5A football state championship

CLASS 5A FOOTBALL — In what has been an up-and-down couple of months, the Guthrie football team claimed the Class 5A state championship on Friday in Stillwater.

BY JASON KERSEY, Staff Writer, jkersey@opubco.com | Published: December 2, 2011 Comment on this article

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Sophomore Kai Callins became the star of the day in the second half.

First, his 42-yard burst on Guthrie’s second-half opening drive set up a 26-yard Esau Paez field goal that increased the Bluejays’ lead to 10.

On Lawton MacArthur’s next drive, he took a calculated risk from his cornerback position and cashed in.

MacArthur quarterback Taylor Chasteen had targeted receiver Quinton Paras on several plays, and when Paras ran a short out route, Callins noticed Chasteen looking his way.

Callins let his man go deep and went for the ball, which he intercepted and returned 56 yards for a touchdown and a 17-point lead. “If he had gone deep, he would’ve gotten me,” Callins said.

Callins came up big again in the fourth quarter with a 49-yard touchdown run that sealed the Bluejays’ win and state championship. “It’s the state championship game and we’re playing at OSU’s stadium,” Callins said. “You’ve gotta make something happen.”

Simek moved to Guthrie from Prague in March, and the proper steps to make his family’s move “bona fide” by the OSSAA’s standards were never taken.

The Bluejays have faced intense criticism from around the state since being allowed back into the playoffs, making this win particularly vindicating.

“Someone should make a movie out of it,” Dutton said. “We’re proving not only to Lawton Mac, but to Prague and the rest of the state that we deserve to be here and we are the best.”

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