USA Football

OKLAHOMA CITY, OKLA - - Football players at Bishop McGuinness High School had seen its baseball team win state championships.

 

And they were proud of their classmates and fellow athletes.

 

Football players at Bishop McGuinness had seen its boys basketball team win state championships.

 

And they were proud of their classmates and fellow athletes.

 

Football players at Bishop McGuinness had seen the school win 57 state championships in a variety of sports. But they hadn’t won any.

 

Until 2006.

 

The Fighting Irish capped a 14-0 season with a 31-0 blanking of Grove in the Class 4A title game. The defense pitched seven shutouts in those 14 victories.

 

They have joined the championship bandwagon. And coach Kenny Young shares their feeling of triumph.

 

“We did this with a bunch of good, tough, hard-nosed high school football players and that makes it that much more enjoyable for me,” Young says.

 

Indeed, the Irish featured no seniors with Division I college talent. Interior defensive lineman Kurt Baldwin, a 210-pounder, registered 133 tackles and was a consensus all-state pick. Seven other McGuinness defensive players, however, racked up between 72 and 87 tackles.

 

The Irish also boasted tremendous balance offensively. They rushed for more than 4,000 yards, averaging about 300 yards a game on the ground, yet no back broke the 1,000-yard mark for the season.

 

“You see so many finesse offenses out there, but we’re more of a ‘bloody your nose’ type of offense,” Young says. “I guess I’m kind of old school.”

 

Young spent 17 years as an assistant coach before taking over at McGuinness in 2001. He coached at highly successful Midwest City Carl Albert, which won the 2006 Class 5A state championship, before moving to Allen High School in Texas. Though he enjoyed his two-year stint there and tasted the fanaticism surrounding high school football in that state, he yearned to return to Oklahoma.

 

He didn’t want to take just any position. He wanted to land a head coaching job with a promising program. When the McGuinness opening was announced, he jumped all over it.

 

Young is glad he did, and the feeling is quite mutual. The Irish have been a staple in the playoffs since 2001. They couldn’t slide past the state semifinals, however, until last season. A smothering defense that surrendered just 79 points all season allowed the Irish to take that next step.

 

And, oh yes, they didn’t allow a point in the first quarter all season.

 

“We scored 508 points last year,” Young says. “We averaged (36.3) points a game, but the old saying is that defense wins championships. I still believe that. I also believe that you have to be able to run the football to win football games. And we certainly did that.

 

“You know, these football players saw the championship rings being worn by their classmates in track and baseball and basketball. The football teams here have been decent, but we could never get over the hump. So this gave these kids a tremendous sense of accomplishment.”

 

That “hump” included a semifinal victory over Wagoner that many in the state considered the championship game. Both teams were undefeated, but the Irish won easily, 28-12. As the team prepared for Grove, Young warned his players of a letdown. Another letdown was possible when the title game was pushed back twice due to inclement weather.

 

The Irish, however, didn’t let the easy triumph over Wagoner or the postponements take the edge off. They dominated Grove from the first tick of the clock to the last, then celebrated the school’s 58th state crown.

 

Indeed, their success pushes the envelope for the entire program, not only while the current players roam the halls of Bishop McGuinness, but for the next generation.

 

“I think one thing we’ve been able to do since I’ve been here is raise the expectation level,” Young says. “I mean, we have a tradition now. These kids understand the level of play that’s going to be expected from them. When I first got to Bishop McGuinness, I think the goal for a lot of kids was to get over .500 and get into the playoffs. Not anymore.”

 

And now the football players can show their rings to their fellow Irish athletes and say, ‘See, we have one too.”

 

Also See:

Parents can nominate youth football coaches at all levels online at ResponsibleSports.com through December 7, 2007.  One coach from each state will receive $500 cash grant from Liberty Mutual.  Winners will be announced in December 2007.

 

To nominate a Responsible Coach click here.

 

Story courtesy of Red Line Editorial, Inc.