OKLAHOMA CITY — Superstitious Tecumseh supporters might have noted it was Friday the 13th. They could have pointed to the “luck” of the Bishop McGuinness Irish.
But Savage head coach Greg George had a more concrete explanation for the 49-0 pounding his team took Friday night in the Class 4A playoffs.
“They’re good. They’re really good,” George said. “They’re one of the top teams in the state. And they’re good at all the right spots.”
The No. 3 Irish showed how good they were with 400 yards of total offense, including 303 rushing. The McGuinness defense proved its worth by holding the visitors to 183 total yards, nine first downs and no points on the scoreboard.
“We couldn’t stop ‘em, couldn’t run the ball and had trouble passing it,” George said.
Tecumseh’s passing futility was reflected in the stats. Three Savage passers combined for six completions in 23 attempts for 70 yards and two interceptions. Dealing with a strong south wind, primary signal caller Kyle Fowler went 5-of-19 for 41 yards and had one pass picked off.
“When you have a tough wind like that, you gotta get first downs and we didn’t get ‘em,” George said.
The Savages’ running game didn’t move the chains much, either. Tecumseh rushed 39 times for 113 yards. Ryan Craighead was the Savages’ most productive runner with 64 yards on 14 carries.
Craighead also led Tecumseh in receiving with four catches for 53 yards.
On the game’s opening possession, Tecumseh managed one first down and gained 12 yards before a Fowler throw was intercepted by McGuinness’ Kyle Ahmad and returned 25 yards. The Irish capitalized four plays later as LaRone Richardson ran for a 10-yard touchdown.
Late in the first quarter, a Tecumseh punt that was no match against the howling wind went nearly straight up and straight down. The result was a one-yard loss and McGuinness took over at the Savage 31-yard line.
On the next play, Ahmad scampered for a 31-yard TD and McGuinness led 14-0.
The Irish posted three more touchdowns in second quarter — a 45-yard TD run by Richardson, a 26-yard dash by quarterback Camden Tharp, and a 4-yard TD pass to Jameel Whitney.
McGuinness polished off the runaway victory by reaching the end zone two more times in the fourth quarter.
Along with the two interceptions, Tecumseh turned the ball over on downs four times and punted six times.
McGuinness (9-2) punted just twice and did not suffer a turnover.
While the Irish advance to a quarterfinal matchup, the Savages will be looking ahead to next season after a 8-3 campaign in 2009.
“I’m proud of our young men,” George said. “Our boys don’t have anything to hang their heads about. We just have to take this momentum and keep building on it for next year.”
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OKLAHOMA CITY — Superstitious Tecumseh supporters might have noted it was Friday the 13th. They could have pointed to the “luck” of the Bishop McGuinness Irish.
But Savage head coach Greg George had a more concrete explanation for the 49-0 pounding his team took Friday night in the Class 4A playoffs.
“They’re good. They’re really good,” George said. “They’re one of the top teams in the state. And they’re good at all the right spots.”
The No. 3 Irish showed how good they were with 400 yards of total offense, including 303 rushing. The McGuinness defense proved its worth by holding the visitors to 183 total yards, nine first downs and no points on the scoreboard.
“We couldn’t stop ‘em, couldn’t run the ball and had trouble passing it,” George said.
Tecumseh’s passing futility was reflected in the stats. Three Savage passers combined for six completions in 23 attempts for 70 yards and two interceptions. Dealing with a strong south wind, primary signal caller Kyle Fowler went 5-of-19 for 41 yards and had one pass picked off.
“When you have a tough wind like that, you gotta get first downs and we didn’t get ‘em,” George said.
The Savages’ running game didn’t move the chains much, either. Tecumseh rushed 39 times for 113 yards. Ryan Craighead was the Savages’ most productive runner with 64 yards on 14 carries.
Craighead also led Tecumseh in receiving with four catches for 53 yards.
On the game’s opening possession, Tecumseh managed one first down and gained 12 yards before a Fowler throw was intercepted by McGuinness’ Kyle Ahmad and returned 25 yards. The Irish capitalized four plays later as LaRone Richardson ran for a 10-yard touchdown.
Late in the first quarter, a Tecumseh punt that was no match against the howling wind went nearly straight up and straight down. The result was a one-yard loss and McGuinness took over at the Savage 31-yard line.
On the next play, Ahmad scampered for a 31-yard TD and McGuinness led 14-0.
The Irish posted three more touchdowns in second quarter — a 45-yard TD run by Richardson, a 26-yard dash by quarterback Camden Tharp, and a 4-yard TD pass to Jameel Whitney.
McGuinness polished off the runaway victory by reaching the end zone two more times in the fourth quarter.
Along with the two interceptions, Tecumseh turned the ball over on downs four times and punted six times.
McGuinness (9-2) punted just twice and did not suffer a turnover.
While the Irish advance to a quarterfinal matchup, the Savages will be looking ahead to next season after a 8-3 campaign in 2009.
“I’m proud of our young men,” George said. “Our boys don’t have anything to hang their heads about. We just have to take this momentum and keep building on it for next year.”
