CPHS Football: Sandites suffer 40-0 shutout at No. 1 Booker T. Washington
/
When the No. 7 ranked Sand Springs Sandites (4-4 overall, 2-2 district) traveled to No. 1 Booker T. Washington (7-1, 4-0), they knew they were in for a tough night. Tough was an understatement as the Hornets dealt the visitors their biggest loss since 2013 and their first shutout since 2011. The Hornets took a 14-7 series lead in the 21st meeting between the two teams.
BTW 40 CPHS 0
1Q BTW 9-0
2Q BTW 17-0
3Q BTW 7-0
4Q BTW 7-0
Passing: BTW 20-34-196-0, CPHS 6-11-53-0.
Rushing: BTW 38-254, CPHS 34-102.
Plays-Offense: BTW 72-450, CPHS 45-155.
First Downs: BTW 18, CPHS 8.
Penalties: CPHS 2-16, BTW 6-65.
Fumbles/Lost: BTW 0/0, CPHS 3/2.
It was a harsh night right out the gate as Dewanye Cooks Jr. returned Kaiden Cox’s opening kickoff 98 yards for a touchdown. The two point-play fell apart, but the Hornets wouldn’t be sweating that any time soon. An onside kick recovered at the 46-yard line set up Washington for an eleven-play drive capped by a 35-yard field goal from Joshua McSoud less than halfway through the first quarter.
The Sandites’ first drive was turned over on downs at their own 44, and they forced a turnover from the Hornets six plays later at their 26 thanks to a quick tackle from Miron Krotzer. They failed to convert once again, however, and kicked their first of four punts in a half that didn’t yield a single first down.
The Hornets went on to rack up a 26-0 lead thanks to a 51-yard carry from Thomas Grayson, a fourth-down eight-yard pass from Philip Wheatley to Mahcel Johnson, and a 21-yard field goal from McSoud.
After some halftime adjustments the Sandites converted on their opening possession thanks to a nine-yard pass from Caden Pennington to Garrett McCallie and a three yard run from Payton Scott. Two plays later and the Sandites fumbled the ball away at their own 43. Washington took only four plays to find the endzone on a 28-yard run from Grayson who stumbled into the endzone after breaking three tackles.
The next Sandite drive was practically identical. Pennington hit Garrett Goins this time for 17 yards and a first down, then Scott picked up his longest run of the night on the next play for 27 yards. Two plays later Pennington fumbled the ball away at the Hornet 21.
The teams exchanged punts and the Sandites forced a turnover on downs before working up their most successful drive of the night. Pennington and Scott took turns converting and marched as far as the Hornet 33. On a crucial fourth and three the play fell apart and Pennington was sacked for the turnover.
The home team put together one more scoring drive, connecting on a fourteen-yard pass to Javian Hester for the final points of the game. Trailing 40-0 with six minutes to play, the Sandites sent in the backups for some valuable varsity experience. Sophomore quarterback Braden Foster took five snaps and made one pass attempt, while sophomore running back Seth Jones carried four times for fifteen yards.
The Sandites were held to their lowest offensive output of the season with only 155 total yards. Scott carried twenty times for 96 yards, marking his first time since the season opener that he failed to break triple digits. Pennington finished the evening 6-10-53-0. He was perfect on short screen passes, but the Hornet defense was always ready with a quick tackle for little gain. On the deep ball he usually three to five yards past his receivers.
Wheatley finished the night 20-34-196-0 with two touchdowns while Grayson led the ground game with 24 carries for 164 yards and two more touchdowns. Defensively, Hayden Cramer was public enemy number one for the Hornets. The junior Sandite racked up ten tackles against the home team and recorded one pass breakup.
The last time Sand Springs failed to put points on the board was in a 3-0 loss to Coweta in week two of what would become a 3-7 season. That was also the last year they would fail to compile a winning record, and the last time they would fail to make a playoff appearance. The Sandites have had their fair share of good teams in years past, but the last five seasons have been their longest continuous success streak in program history.
The current team has never known anything but success, and the upperclassmen have even been as far as the State Finals in 2015. Thursday's devastating loss isn't likely indicative of any change in the Sandites' success. The Hornets had already scored a pair of 63-0 shutouts in prior weeks, and the Sandites still have a two more games left to try and snap back before the playoffs. They'll only need to win one game to make the playoffs for the sixth-straight year.
The Sandites will finish out the year with a pair of home games. Next up will be No. 13 Bartlesville (1-6, 1-3) who made a surprising effort in a 37-21 loss to No. 3 Bixby (5-3, 4-0) on Thursday.
Sand Springs Individual Statistics
Passing: Pennington 6-10-53-0. Foster 0-1-0-0.
Receiving: McCallie 3-26. Goins 1-17. Millican 1-10. Scott 1-0.
Rushing: Scott 20-96. Jones 4-16. Nortey 1-1. Pennington 9-(-10).
Punt-Avg: Pennington 1-48. Smith 5-25.
Kick-Avg: Cox 1-58.
Kick Return: Bratcher 1-17. McCallie 2-5. Millican 1-2.
Tackles: Cramer 10. Haley 5. Bratcher 4. Fleischman 4. Finch 3. Lyons 3. Fain 3. Krotzer 3. Denton 3. Cartwright 2. Mock 2. Smith 2. Adcock 1. Askew 1. Moyer 1. Rutledge 1. Courville 1. Wright 1. Brown 1.
Break-Ups: Cramer 1. Bratcher 1. Mackey 1. Edwards 1.
Booker T. Washington Individual Statistics
Passing: Wheatley 20-34-196-0, 2TD.
Receiving: Hester 7-62, 1TD. McQuarters 4-29. Cooks 2-27. Potter 3-25. Johnson 2-25, 1TD. Brown 1-17. Grayson 1-11.
Rushing: Grayson 24-167, 2TD. McQuarters 4-39. Welch 6-31. Wheatley 4-20.
PAT: McSoud 4/4.
Field Goals: McSoud 2/2.
Punt Return: McQuarters 1-19.
Kick Return: Cooks 1-98, 1TD.
Fumble Recovery: Jackson 1. Brown 1.
