Del City routs Guthrie to reach state football semifinals for first time since 1976
DEL CITY — Braelon Adamah was pessimistic at first.
As the senior running back waited for a punt near Guthrie's end zone, he wasn't sure whether he had enough room to make a play. Yet his adrenaline was through the roof, having scored two rushing touchdowns already.
After catching the punt, Adamah spotted room up the sideline and made the split-second decision to take a gamble.
"I thought I was gonna be able to fair catch the punt at first, but I didn't see how far the gunner was," Adamah said. "When I caught it, I saw a hole open up on the backside, and I took it because I knew they were going to over-pursue to the left. I had some incredible blocking, so I guess that's just how the man upstairs drew it up to happen in my favor."
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Adamah's 90-yard punt return for a touchdown served as the No. 2 Eagles' final score of the first half en route to their 47-14 win over third-ranked Guthrie (10-2, 5-1 District 5A-2) in the second round of the Class 5A playoffs on Friday. The 5-foot-10, 170-pound Del City native had one of the best games of his high school career on Friday night — scoring three total times while rushing seven times for 52 yards and two touchdowns.
It marks the first time in Del City (12-0, 7-0 District 5A-3) program history that the Eagles have had a 12-0 record, and it's their first time making it past the second round since their lone state title run in 1976.
"There are a lot of historical things happening around our football program here that we're excited about," said Robert Jones, the third-year head coach of Del City.
"We expected to be in our current position," Jones continued. "I'm in my 18th year coaching. I've learned that if you have better athletes and more speed — and I say that humbly — you'll usually end up on the right side of it. But again, we know what kind of players we have, so it's no shock to us that we're in this position now."
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Spearheading Del City's skillful playmakers are quarterback Riven Warren, OSU running back commit Rodney Fields Jr., and his cousin, LaDainian. On Friday night, LaDainian stuffed the stat sheet as the three-star TCU commit caught six passes for 108 yards and a touchdown at receiver while also helping contain the Bluejays' passing attack at defensive back.
Fields' dominant performance was capped off with a 101-yard interception return for a touchdown after he picked off Guthrie's Hayden Calvert in the end zone. His cousin also had a strong showing as Fields Jr. finished with 12 carries for 83 yards.
"This win was all about us coming out here and playing together as one," LaDainian Fields said. "They had been saying all year that they were the best defense, so on a play like the pick six, I had to show them what our defense was all about, too. To keep winning feels good. I'm still a little sad that I'll never get to play a game at home again, but I'm glad to move on as we pursue the gold."
The Guthrie loss marks the first time all season that the Bluejays defense allowed more than 24 points. Other than their games against Carl Albert and Lawton MacArthur a week ago, the Bluejays had yet to enable an opponent to a touchdown all year. Jaylen Harper, who had rushed for over 100 yards and a touchdown in each game this season, was held to just 59 yards on 16 carries on Friday.
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The Eagles' defense now allows opposing offenses less than seven points per game, forcing shutouts in half of their regular season games to attain their undefeated status. Del City's offense is also outscoring opponents by nearly 40 points a game during its 12-game win streak.
The Eagles will face sixth-ranked Claremore at 7 p.m. next Friday in the semi-finals at a neutral site that the OSSAA will announce on Saturday. As Del City prepares for its biggest game of the year, coach Jones believes the adversity the Eagles faced last year set the tone for their season this year.
"When we lost to Carl Albert around this time last year, I knew that to get to where we want to be, I'd have to be tougher on the kids," Jones said. "I knew that I needed to improve in some areas and intensify my coaching not only for the kids but also for the coaching staff."
"We're a few games closer to achieving our goal. We've been saying all year that if you give us a chance to get to the state championship, we'll make even more history. It's been a long season with much blood, sweat, and tears. So for the rest of the way, we're just going to keep rolling along, sticking together, and working hard."
Jordan Davis covers high school sports for The Oklahoman. Have a story idea for Jordan? He can be reached at jdavis@oklahoman.com or on X/Twitter at @jdavis34_. Sign up for The Varsity Club newsletter to access more high school coverage. Support Jordan’s work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today at subscribe.oklahoman.com.
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This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Oklahoma high school football: Del City beats Guthrie in 5A playoffs
