Bishop McGuinness rolls to win against Shawnee on big night by QB Damon Cochran II
OKLAHOMA CITY - Riding the arm of quarterback Damon Cochran II, Bishop McGuinness rolled to a 48-10 victory over Shawnee Thursday at BMHS.
Cochran, who is committed to the University of Missouri to play baseball, completed 18-of-32 passes for 255 yards and 4 touchdowns in only three quarters of action. He added six carries for another 31 yards and another score.
The night got off to an inauspicious start for Shawnee. After recovering an onside kick on the opening kickoff, they turned the ball over on the first play from scrimmage.
The Irish made them pay for the miscue as Cochran led them down the field before tossing a 19-yard touchdown pass to Peter Bilicki. Bishop McGuinness jumped out to a 7-0 advantage.
Oklahoma high school football computer rankings (9/21/2023)
The Wolves got on the board after forcing a fumble and booting a 41-yard field goal. They cut the lead down to 7-3 to close out the first quarter.
Bishop McGuinness (3-1, 1-0 District 5A-2) added scores from Tom Watts and John Paul Spanier to take a 21-3 advantage. It looked like they were going to roll into the second half with a commanding lead.
However, Shawnee responded right before halftime with a 14-yard touchdown pass from Jamir Owens to Keeno Citizen.
The Irish led by 11, 21-10, at halftime.
Bishop McGuinness came out in the third quarter and put the game away. Cochran ran for a short touchdown before tossing a 21-yarder to put them up 34-10.
Top 25 Oklahoma high school football rankings (9/20/2023)
Shawnee was able to make big plays at times on the offensive end. However, those plays were erased by the turnovers. That includes Irish senior Charles Meadows picking off Owens in the third quarter to add to the Wolves' issues.
Cochran added one more touchdown pass to close out the third quarter and put the Irish up, 41-10, heading into the fourth. That is when Bishop McGuinness began to pull their starters.
It doesn’t get any easier for Shawnee (1-3, 0-1) going forward. They continue district play next week with a home contest against 5A defending champion Carl Albert.
The Irish will hit the road and head to Lawton to face Eisenhower on Sept. 28 for another district game as well.
-- Michael Kinney | @SBLiveOK
