Sallisaw’s quest for a state championship will go through Oklahoma City this week as the Black Diamonds try to knock off two-time defending champion Bishop McGuinness in the Class 4A quarterfinals.

Kickoff for the Class 4A second-round playoff game between the fifth-ranked Diamonds (10-1) and fourth-ranked Irish (9-2) is set for 7:30 p.m. Friday at Clement E. Pribil Stadium.

McGuinness is the reigning state champion after defeating Glenpool in the 2007 final and Grove in 2006. While the Irish are a formidable opponent, Sallisaw head coach Craig Benson said his team is looking forward to the challenge.

“It’s a great opportunity for us to go play them on their field. It’s going to be good for us,” said Benson. “We’ve never ever been there before, never seen the stadium, but we’re looking at it as a great chance.

McGuinness opened the season with back-to-back losses to Class 5A schools Guthrie and Bishop Kelley, but has since reeled off nine consecutive victories.

“They keep getting better and better,” acknowledged Benson.

The Irish took the top spot in District 4A-1 with a 7-0 league mark and defeated McLoud 42-7 in the first round of the playoffs.

In that game, senior quarterback Ryan Randolph rushed for 206 yards and scored on runs of 35, 10 and three yards. He also tossed a pair of touchdown passes and Larone Richardson broke a 42-yard touchdown run for the Irish, who ran for 441 yards in the contest.

Randolph is the leader of the Irish offense, which has averaged over 45.5 points in its last four games. He’s rushed for 649 yards and 12 touchdowns and completed 80-of-136 passes for 1,072 yards and 13 TDs with just two interceptions.

“He’s big and strong and runs good for such a big kid,” said Benson. “He’s deceptively fast. I’ve seen him on film and I’ve seen him in person and he’s a good one.”

Sophomore Larone Richardson is the top rusher for the Irish with 933 yards and 12 touchdowns on 118 carries. Benson said senior Alex Valle is another quality running back for McGuinness and compared both of the backs to Sallisaw standout Matt Mitchell.

Two of the main targets in the McGuinness passing attack are Sam Crabtree and Gabe Ikard. Both are big play threats as Crabtree has piled up 294 yards on 20 catches and Ikard has gone for 354 yards and six TDs on 18 receptions.

Ikard, who caught an 11-yard touchdown pass last week, is also a key player on the other side of the ball at his defensive end spot.

“He’s 6-4, 265 pounds and he’s committed to OU. He’s a big, rangy kid and he’s a one-man wrecking crew. He’s a very good player,” said Benson.

Senior linebackers Jay Lester, Nicholas Bray and Brett Patterson are the leading tacklers for McGuinness with 89, 88 and 71, respectively. The Irish have allowed 14 points per game this season.

Sallisaw’s high-powered offense has generated just over 40 points per game this year. Mitchell leads the team in rushing with 1,395 yards and 20 touchdowns on 209 carries. Junior quarterback Matt Oberste has rushed for another 378 yards and six TDs while completing 99-of-170 passes for 1,587 yards and 16 touchdowns.

Senior David Hadley leads the Sallisaw receivers with 41 catches for 811 yards and seven touchdowns, while Trey Wiley has caught 12 balls for 209 yards and three scores and Dalton Lessley has 11 receptions for 164 yards and four TDs.

Benson said Sallisaw can’t afford to turn the ball over on Friday night and the Diamonds also need to put together some time-consuming drives.

“The first thing we have to do is take care of the football. They create a lot of turnovers and strip the ball away,” said Benson. “They’re very good in the back end, they’re well-coached and disciplined. We also need to play keep-away from them when we’re on offense.”

Slowing down the McGuinness ground game and limiting long drives will be a couple of the keys for the Sallisaw defense according to the Sallisaw coach.

“On defense, we can’t let them have those 10, 12, 15-play drives and we can’t let them play keep-away from us,” said Benson. “We have to play sound, assignment football and we can’t give them those big running lanes like they had last week.”

Sallisaw’s defense has been led in tackles by senior lineman Chris Turner, who has 72. Derick Scott and Trevor Fitzsimmons both have 62 tackles, followed by Ty Sanders with 50, Ryon Mefford (49), Jake Fitzsimmons (47), Hayden Spencer (45) and Hadley (44).

After Friday’s 40-6 victory over Oologah, the Sallisaw coaches selected Dalton Lessley, Kyle Underwood and Carlos Nieto as Players of the Week.

Senior cornerback Lessley neutralized Oologah’s Colten Barnes, the leading receiver in Class 4A, to earn the defensive honor. Underwood ran the football four times for 43 yards and won the offensive award, while Nieto was the top special teams player with field goals of 43 and 40 yards and four extra points.