PLAYOFF BOUND
Carl Albert claims district title
Carl Albert star senior running back Dadrion Taylor knew the high stakes and the opposing running back raised the pressure.
And he didn’t care. “Everyone thinks size matters, but it’s all about heart,” Taylor said.
Taylor won the battle of star running backs Friday night while leading No. 1 Carl Albert to a 20-14 win over No. 5 McGuinness and a second straight District 5A-2 championship.
Taylor, at 5 feet 10 and 170 pounds, rushed for 201 yards and two touchdowns — and he even threw another — in a performance that just outshined McGuinness star junior Dominic Richardson’s second-half heroics that nearly led a huge comeback.
“Your players gotta make plays,” second-year Carl Albert coach Mike Corley said. “Rabbit stepped up in a big way and did a good
job.
“Tonight’s the best he’s looked. He’s totally healthy. He stepped up and rose to the occasion with the other guys.”
Carl Albert (10-0, 7-0) will play El Reno, who defeated Lawton MacArthur on Friday, at 7 p.m. Friday in the first round of the playoffs. McGuinness (8-2, 6-1) hosts Altus, which lost to Duncan on Friday.
Carl Albert has beaten McGuinness four straight times, including the last two title games. Friday night had a similar atmosphere in the second half.
The Titans built a 14-0 halftime lead behind Taylor’s 137 yards and two touchdowns on the ground. They also held the 6-foot-1, 197-pound Richardson to just 8 yards on seven carries.
But Richardson moved to quarterback in a wildcat formation in the second half.
He led a long opening drive for a 29-yard TD run in which he looked bottled up in a pile of players, only to sneak out and burst to the end zone.
Carl Albert receiver Anthony Davis then fumbled the ball away, which set up a 17-yard TD pass from Richardson to Brandon Jacobs. The game was quickly tied at 14 with 4:19 remaining in the quarter.
Taylor was ready for his response.
After his 97-yard kickoff return was negated by a penalty, he led an eightplay drive that he capped with a touchdown pass to quarterback Ben Harris.
“I feel like Tom Brady,” Taylor said.
Not to be outdone, Richardson responded with an incredible play of his own. He broke free for an 82-yard score, tiptoeing the sideline. But holding negated the play.
It was the closest the Irish got to the end zone again, even as Richardson finished with 124 yards on the ground and 43 yards through the air.
“He’s a monster,” Taylor said. “Our defense came out in the second half kind of slow, but when it came down to crunch time they got back to themselves.
“That was huge.”