Champions crowned
Five schools — Owasso, Tulsa Washington, Carl Albert, Heritage Hall and Tipton — were crowned state football champions on Friday night.
YUKON — From the moment the celebration stopped last season, Carl Albert players focused only on getting better.
That meant an undefeated season, something the Titans had yet to accomplish in their storied history, and a second straight state championship.
Mission accomplished, and in a big way.
The No. 1-ranked Titans used their plethora of talented skill players to overwhelm No. 2 McGuinness for a 35-23 victory Friday night at Yukon Stadium to win the Class 5A state championship and complete the perfect season.
“The tradition is always adding something,” senior Jason Taylor II said. “It’s great that we could be a part of it.”
Carl Albert (14-0) now has 13 state titles.
Taylor, an Oklahoma State commitment, was the catalyst in the first half, scoring three touchdowns.
As good as he was in the first half, junior running back Dadrion Taylor and senior speedster Diego Richards equaled that in the second half, as they combined for two touchdowns and 205 total yards.
It was an impressive display of the weapons Carl Albert possessed this season.
“Players make plays,” first-year Carl Albert coach Mike Corley said. “Our guys have done it all year long. Our players have made those plays, they’ve stepped up and they did it again tonight. Just an awesome evening.”
Taylor put Carl Albert ahead just two plays into the game when he caught a quick screen pass from freshman Ben Harris, turned up field, juked a defender and raced down the sideline for an 80-yard score.
“I thought they were going to double like they did late in the game, but I got it done,” Taylor said.
He made it 14-0 when he scored on a 1-yard keeper on the next possession. After the Irish cut the deficit to seven, Taylor again scored on a 7-yard keeper.
He touched the ball nine times for 130 total yards and three scores in the first half.
“That’s as good as you can get,” Richards said
about Taylor. “Put it in his hands and he’s going to go to work. That’s what we did.”
Richards scored twice in the second half, catching a 37-yard touchdown pass to make it 28-10 and then scoring on a 65-yard run up the middle after breaking two tackles.
“I saw a cutback,” Richards said. “It was over from there. Nobody is tackling me.”
Richards also had a key interception in the fourth, one of two for the Titans off Brennan Mullins. Taylor rushed for a total of 176 yards on 35 carries.
McGuinness (12-2) tried to get back in the game late, making it a 12-point game with 3:43 left, but it was too late.
Carl Albert’s talented was too much on a march to history.
“Nobody (in school history) was undefeated and when we went to summer workouts that’s all we wanted,” Richards said. “Every week we fought harder to get where we are.
“I’m going to forever remember this.”