Sapulpa -
The Guthrie Bluejays have advanced to the Class 5A championship game after rallying from down 11 points to beat McAlester 28-25 Saturday in Sapulpa.
Guthrie (13-0) got on the board first when quarterback Bryan Dutton scored on a 12-yard run in the first quarter. But, Ford Award nominee Tony Kiefer scored on runs of 3, 2 and 1 to give the Buffaloes an 18-7 advantage late in the second quarter.
Guthrie would cut the deficit to 18-13 on Luke Davis' 3-yard run just before halftime and would take the lead in the third when Dutton tossed a 15-yard touchdown pass to Davis.
The Guthrie lead grew to 28-18 later in the third when Dutton found Donovan Jordan for a 32-yard strike and it appeared the Bluejays were in control.
But, a fumbled snap on a punt was recovered by McAlester at the Guthrie 43 yard line, where one play later, Kiefer found Cody Lefors with a pass in the left flat and Lefors did the rest, making defenders miss and streaking down the left sideline for the touchdown.
With just less than three minutes to play, McAlester trailed 28-25. The Buffaloes decided against the onside kick and put it in the hands of their defense to get the ball back.
It almost worked.
Guthrie was backed up to their 22 yard line on a third and 15. They were driving into a stiff wind. And that's when the Bluejays went to the bag of tricks. Dutton pitched it back to Kai Callens who sold the run, then lobbed a pass back to a wide open Dutton.
Dutton slid down at the 26 yard line and the Bluejays were able to run out the clock from there.
Dutton's line read like this -- 180 yards and a touchdown rushing, 62 yards and two touchdowns passing and one reception for 50 yards.
The win pushes Guthrie into the 5A title game for the first time since 2007 when they won the gold ball. They will face unbeaten Lawton MacArthur, which dominated Ardmore 56-to-2 earlier Saturday.
The season ends at 12-and-1 for McAlester.
