Bishop McGuinness goes on the road and stuns Coweta, 35-28, in Class 5A quarterfinals
By Christian Potts
COWETA - Bishop McGuinness always seemed to have the answer each time the Irish needed one.
And those answers added up to a Class 5A quarterfinal victory for McGuinness, 35-28, ending Coweta's perfect season and continuing their own run in the 5A playoffs.
McGuinness, now 10-1, advances to face McAlester in a 5A semifinal next week at a neutral site to be determined. The Tigers had to endure a bitter ending to their season at 11-1.
A year ago, the Irish had found themselves in this very spot - a quarterfinal trip to the Tulsa area to face a district champion. In that game, Collinsville scored a victory on its way to winning the 5A state championship, and it was the Irish hurting after a season-ending loss.
"Last year, it ended up we weren't playing at this time, and I was just very, very sad we weren't playing," quarterback River Warren said. "It's just great to be here now."
Warren was a huge part of the Irish not repeating those feelings. The junior threw four touchdown passes and ran for a fifth, a tenacious 1-yard keeper where he fought through several defenders for a score that turned out to be the deciding points.
"We've got confidence in our team," Warren said. "Everybody has confidence in each other, the offense depends on the defense and the defense depends on the offense."
And the offense and defense took turns controlling the game for McGuinness. In the first half, the defense particularly showed out, as Coweta's first three possessions netted only 11 total yards.
Meanwhile, the Irish got out to a 14-0 lead on touchdown passes by Warren of 9 yards to Brett Jacobs and 40 yards to Mike Taffe.
The touchdown to Jacobs came on a fourth-and-goal on the game's first series, with Warren holding the ball until the last second and taking a hit as he released the throw but finding Jacobs alone in the end zone.
McGuinness tried to tack on a third score just before halftime, but the Coweta defense stopped Taffe on a fourth-and-2 from inside its own 10.
Needing a spark in the second half, the Tigers got it from a strong 62-yard drive to open the half, with quarterback Na'Kylan Starks capping it with a 6-yard touchdown run.
But the Irish answered right back with a scoring drive sparked by a couple of big third-down conversions, one on a 29-yard completion from Warren to Noah Rice; then the second going for the touchdown on Atticus Richard's leaping catch near the goal line for a 12-yard score.
Coweta came back immediately with its lone big rushing play of the night, as Will Mason went 59 yards for a score to make it 21-14, Irish. That seized some momentum, as the Tiger defense forced its first and only three-and-out of the night.
Then the Tigers followed with a nice drive, capped by a 37-yard bomb from Starks to Mason Ford for a score.
After three quarters, the game was tied at 21-all, and the battle was on.
But again the Irish had an answer.
The running of Taffe and throwing of Warren quickly got McGuinness down the field, and Tyrell Bruner caught a 32-yard scoring pass from Warren to make it 28-21 early in the final quarter.
The Irish defense forced a three-and-out, and Warren went right back to work, immediately completing a 37-yard pass to Taffe into Tiger territory.
Four plays later, the Irish punched it in, with Warren calling his own number for the aforementioned 1-yard touchdown about seven minutes from the finish and a 35-21 advantage.
Even then, Coweta still wouldn't quit.
Backed up to their own 5 with less than four minutes to go after a 46-yard punt by Will Kilgallon, Starks led a 95-yard drive. It included several scrambles, a circus catch by Ford along the sidelines, and eventually a 22-yard scoring pass from Starks to Kevon Robinson with 1:33 to go to get within seven.
But the Irish recovered the ensuing onside kick, and were celebrating minutes later.
Warren finished 21-of-32 for 313 yards and the four touchdowns. He completed passes to six different receivers, including Richard, one of the senior leaders for the Irish.
"You're just playing for your lives at this point," Richard said. "Every game might be your last, but you've just got to put your heart out on the field."
Taffe added 117 yards on 29 carries and also caught five passes for 95 yards and a touchdown.
For Coweta, Starks completed 15 of his 32 passes for 208 yards and two scores. He also rushed for 39 yards on 12 carries, numbers hurt by three Irish sacks.
Ford, who has been a versatile and explosive playmaker for Coweta, finished with seven catches for 105 yards and a score in his final high school game.
Overall, the Irish out-gained Coweta, 446-321, on the night.
This was the third year in a row for these squads to face off. Coweta won a game early in the 2021 regular season, 35-28, but McGuinness defeated the Tigers, 39-12, in the 2020 quarterfinals.
History repeated itself on this Friday night from the result of two Novembers ago, leaving a happy group getting ready to board the buses and head back to Oklahoma City.
"It's just great to know that your coaches trust you, and you trust your coaches, and you know your brother next to you is going to go make a play," Richard said.
"We feel very confident after that win, it's a good team win. We have a lot ahead of us."
