Sandite of the Week: Delvin Jordan, Jr.
/By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief
This week Sandite Pride would like to recognize Charles Page High School junior Delvin Jordan as Sandite of the Week for his outstanding upset win at the OSSAA 6A East Regional Championship.
Jordan was one of seven Sandite wrestlers to claim the title of Regional Champion this weekend as the team placed first overall at Tiger Field House in Broken Arrow, and qualified ten wrestlers for State.
Jordan pinned his first three opponents en rout to the finals. First to fall was Jackson McNeil (Mustang) in 1:17, followed by Brennon Melvin (Enid) in 1:35, and #10 Sam Wilson (Jenks) in 2:35.
The final round pitted him against Nic Roller of Bixby. Roller was last year's State Runner-Up and hadn't been beaten since. Undefeated 19-0 for the season, Roller had already beaten Jordan 7-3 at the Yukon Tournament in January and was the heavily favored candidate for State Champion this year. This time Jordan came out on top with a 6-3 decision that was nearly a first period pin that ended in nearfall points after time ran out.
Roller and Jordan have also stood in each others' way on the gridiron as well. Roller was the star runningback for the Spartans in their State Championship run this fall. Jordan was one of the leading linebackers for the Sandites. Jordan sacked Roller multiple times in the Sandites' regular season 20-0 shutout of the Spartans, but three weeks later Bixby caught up with Sand Springs in the State Championship game and avenged themselves 38-28 to retain their State Title.
Sand Springs and Bixby have developed quite the rivalry in recent years as Bixby has knocked the Sandites out of the playoffs in back to back years, but Sand Springs dealt the Spartans their first shutout in over a decade. With Roller as the heart of the Spartan offense, it will be particularly sweet to see Jordan potentially get some payback for December's heart-breaker.
Jordan has an 18-5 record this season and this marks his second time qualifying for State. In the brackets released Sunday, Jordan has been pitted against Markeylo Cavers of Midwest City in the quarter finals. Cavers has a 31-11 record this year, but the two have not met before this season. If Jordan wins that round he will go up against either Seth Mischler (Union) or Mason Lancaster (Putnam City). He hasn't met Lancaster yet, but he has defeated Mischler 4-2 at Dual State where the Sandites were Runners-Up. Roller is on the opposite side of the bracket from Jordan, so the two could get a rematch in the finals.
Jordan tied with Jacob Taber at 87 for second-most tackles this season, and has the edge in unassisted tackles. He has 15 for losses of 64 yards and 8 sacks for 36 yards. He also has one pass-breakup, two blocked kicks, four fumble recoveries, one defensive touchdown, and is the only player on the team with a safety.
Jordan is the son of Portia Pouncil and Delvin Jordan, Sr. who was the starting quarterback for the Sandites from 1993-1994 under head coach L.D. Baines.
Sandite of the Week is a weekly recognition given to any one person with significant ties to the Sand Springs community who accomplishes remarkable achievements during the Sunday through Saturday week preceding the award. Prior achievements may be noted in the article, but do not bear direct influence on the selection committee which only considers prior week accomplishments. Candidates may be nominated by anyone by emailing SanditePrideNews@gmail.com. Bylaws prevent the giving of the award to anyone for two consecutive weeks, but any recipient may be nominated and awarded again in the future, so long as the weeks are not consecutive. Final selection is made by a majority vote of a three-person staff committee.
Businesses or organizations seeking to sponsor the Sandite of the Week award may contact the above email for inquiries.
