East Central knocks off Guthrie; Jenks, Union, Owasso win
BY BARRY LEWIS World Sports Writer
Friday, November 16, 2012
11/17/12 at 4:30 AM
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East Central’s Stanvon Taylor more than made amends for an early turnover in Friday night’s Class 5A quarterfinal game against defending state champion Guthrie.
“When you fumble on the first play and they score off it, you know you’ve got to do something better,” Taylor said.
Taylor certainly did that as he caught two touchdown passes and made two pivotal defensive plays to help lead the top-ranked Cardinals past the No. 2 Bluejays 20-13 at East Side Sports Complex.
East Central (8-4 with the losses on forfeits) advances to meet McAlester in the semifinals next weekend. The date and site will be announced later by the Oklahoma Secondary School Activities Association.
The victory was especially sweet for the Cardinals after losing to the Bluejays in the quarterfinals twice in the previous three seasons, including 20-14 last year.
“I remember at the basketball state tournament when they walked around and showed their football rings,” Taylor said. “I had that gut feeling inside we had to get back at them.”
Taylor, who missed last year’s football playoffs with an injury, helped the Cardinals get some revenge against Guthrie on the basketball court in the semifinals last March and did it on the gridiron Friday.
Another standout for East Central was quarterback Tre’von Cherry, who completed 13-of-25 passes for 301 yards and three TDs. He also rushed for 55 yards on five carries.
The Cardinals’ defense did not allow a sustained scoring drive and limited the Bluejays to 194 yards while East Central racked up 447. Guthrie quarterback Bryan Dutton, who has passed for nearly 8,000 yards in his career, was held to only 79 through the air.
East Central came up with its biggest stop midway through the fourth quarter when Dutton was stopped inches short of a first down on fourth-and-1 at the Cardinals 7. That came two plays after Cardinals linebacker Kimmee Carson’s fumble recovery was erased by a holding penalty.
“Our defense won the battle,” Carson said.
The battle also was won with some big plays on offense by East Central, which fell into an early 7-0 hole on Dutton’s 1-yard TD run that came four plays after Guthrie’s Kelyn Hinds recovered a Cardinals fumble at the East Central 19.
East Central’s offense was shut down until Cherry’s 89-yard TD bomb to Taylor with 8:10 remaining in the second period.
“I told them (coaches) that if they go to man coverage I wanted to go deep on them,” said Taylor, a University of Oklahoma commit.
Deontre Youngblood then caught Cherry’s conversion pass to give the Cardinals an 8-7 advantage.
J.T. McFadden returned the ensuing kickoff 45 yards to the East Central 38. But the Bluejays could not take advantage as Dutton’s third-down pass was intercepted by Taylor, who returned it 24 yards to the East Central 44.
The Cardinals then drove 56 yards in 11 plays, capped by Cherry’s 14-yard TD pass to Taylor on third-and-10. Carson had two key receptions on the drive, and Cherry contributed a 16-yard run. Cherry’s conversion pass was unsuccessful, leaving East Central’s lead at 14-7 with 2:24 remaining before intermission.
McFadden, however, returned the ensuing kickoff 82 yards for a touchdown. But Guthrie’s extra-point kick failed and that enabled the Cardinals to take a 14-13 lead into halftime.
On the first snap of the second half, William Goree took a swing pass from Cherry and rumbled 79 yards for a touchdown that was wiped out by a holding penalty.
That didn’t prove to be a problem for the Cardinals as on the next snap, Cherry fired a slant pass to Youngblood, who raced 81 yards for a TD that made it 20-13 as the conversion pass failed.
Late in the third quarter, Guthrie faked a 43-yard field goal on fourth-and-6, but Dutton’s pass to McFadden was stuffed for a 3-yard loss by Taylor, who made an outstanding open-field tackle.
After the fourth-quarter defensive stand, the Cardinals ran off most of the final six minutes, primarily on the strength of Goree’s running. Goree finished with 84 yards on 20 carries. Cherry also had a 22-yard run that converted a first-and-20 from the East Central 11.
Guthrie finally got the ball back at its 23 with 1:01 left, but East Central’s Latarious McGoy sealed the Cardinals’ trip to the semifinals with an interception that also meant there will be a new state champion in 2012.
“I love revenge,” Carson said.
Associated Images:
East Central's William Goree is tackled by Guthrie's Brent Berryhill and Vincent Norris during their Class 5A quarterfinal Friday in Tulsa. JAMES GIBBARD/Tulsa World
East Central players take the field before the start of their game against Pryor two weeks ago. MICHAEL WYKE/Tulsa World
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