Prepare for one of the most brutal Septembers in the history of Irish football. Of course you’ve got the two marquee match-ups. McGuinness will face off with Class 4A rival Douglass High School. And the annual Battle of the Bishops will take place the very next week.
However, there is no break after those two huge games. The Fighting Irish will have a tough test against the Millwood Falcons on the road. The Irish then return home for a game against a solid Clinton Red Tornado team that will look to finish off McGuinness at the end of what should be a long month.
It’s not an appealing schedule for a team who lost many talented seniors. Although, the Irish have an early opportunity to prove themselves as the Class 4A favorite if they make it out of September unblemished.
If the Irish take advantage of this tough schedule and beat all four schools, McGuinness should breeze by the rest of the season. Setting up the Irish for a good playoff run, and hopefully a state championship bid.
But let’s not get ahead of ourselves, as great as that sounds, McGuinness still has to go out there and perform week-to-week.
To start things off, let’s talk about the season-opener against Douglass High School. The Irish kick-off off the year with a Thursday night battle with the Trojans, and Cox Channel 3 will be there to cover the game.
The Trojans failed to beat the Irish last year, but turned things around in the postseason. Douglass made their way to the state title game only to lose to the Star Spencer Bobcats.
Douglass lost plenty of talented seniors that were essential to the Trojan’s title run. Although, head coach Willis Alexander has made it clear that this team is just as good as last year.
The defense is stacked with aggressive and fast players, and the offense is lead by senior QB Shon Bridges with a good line of receivers to help the chains moving.
What should be a fun and exciting game could be a preview of what’s to come in November when the playoffs roll around.
Next up on the schedule is the annual game against the Bishop Kelley Comets. The second ranked Comets will visit the Irish, and are seeking a third straight victory over their arch-rival.
Kelley edged out McGuinness last year in Tulsa, and to the Irish’s credit; McGuinness came they closest to beating (other than Carl Albert, the only team to beat BKHS) a Kelley team that outscored their opponents by three touchdowns on average.
Going in to this year, Kelley is in the same boat with the Irish. Head coach J.J. Tappana is still unsure of who will be taking the snaps for the Comets this season, but the run game should give the offense a lot of upside.
McGuinness’ September may be scary, but three of those four tough games will be at Pribil Stadium. The only game on the road for the Irish will be at Millwood HS.
The Millwood Falcons host the Irish the third week of the season, and they’ll be looking to get revenge after the Irish humiliated the Falcons last year.
The Falcons return one of the biggest recruits in the country at cornerback. Millwood’s Josh Turner hopes to make life a lot harder for either Quinn Shanbour or Camden Tharp.
Although, Millwood does return a lot of the same guys on defense. A defense that LaRone Richardson had a field day with last season. There shouldn’t be any question whether the Irish can compete with the Falcons, but one concern is can the Irish stay healthy after two games against two of the best teams in the state.
To end off the long month, McGuinness returns home and will take on the Clinton Red Tornadoes.
Clinton and McGuinness both competing for the top spot in Class 4A-1 will have a week four match-up that could decide the district champion.
The Red Tornadoes are coming off a similar season, and return a solid running back in Saul Pina. Clinton though might have a tough time getting Pina and the ball moving with McGuinness’ Nick Callaway and Dakota Leftwich wreaking havoc on the defensive line.
As mentioned, McGuinness kicks off the year on Thursday Sep. 2 against Douglass. The game will be broadcasted live on Cox Channel 3, and the post-game wrap up will be live on IOD later on in the night.
