CPHS Football: Bixby shuts out Sand Springs 75-0, worst loss in 95 years

Just four seasons ago, the Spartans and Sandites were playing for a State Title as the top two teams in Class 6A-II. Friday night’s blowout at Spartan Stadium was a stark departure from the three-straight years of postseason playoff meetings between Sand Springs and Bixby.

While No. 1 ranked Bixby has continued to improve year after year, and is currently 8-0 for the first time in decades, No. 14 Sand Springs is 2-6 for the second-straight year.

Last year’s 35-0 loss wasn’t that shocking. Bixby already had two bigger shutouts. But while this is also the Spartan’s third shutout of the season, this time around the Sandites got the worst of the three.  

75-0 isn’t only the most lopsided game in the history of the 30-game series. It’s the second-biggest loss in Sand Springs history. In 101 years of Sandite football, they have only allowed four 70-point games. The 75-0 loss was the worst outing for Sand Springs since 1924 when they fell 77-0 to Tulsa Central. It is also the most lopsided district meeting between any teams in the six-year history of Class 6A-II.

The Spartans

The Spartans took a 45-0 lead by half time. The second string won the third quarter 16-0, and the third string won the fourth quarter 14-0. Bixby only ran the ball six times in the first half, but only threw six passes in the second half.

Junior standout Mason Williams was 17-20-269-0 in the first half with four touchdown passes. Senior backup Corbin Steele was 5-6-83-0 for one score in the third period. Sophomore quarterback Christian Burke guided the Spartans through the fourth quarter and didn’t attempt any passes, but scored one touchdown on the ground.

Oklahoma State University-commit Brennan Presley was Williams’s star receiver with five catches for 118 yards and two touchdowns. Nine Spartans made catches and nine had carries in the offensive melee. Zach Blankenship led the ground game with 74 yards on 11 carries, entirely in the third quarter, closely followed by Dakota Davis, who was 4-71 in the fourth.

Reis Vernon was five-of-five kicking PATs to continue his perfect season. He is 61-of-61 this year. Connor Nolan took over in the second half and was four-for-four.

Sand Springs

Ty Pennington’s 3-10-46-0 passing performance was the least passing yards for the Sandites since his brother was 12-21-45-0 against Greenwood, Arkansas fifteen games ago. He was 0-for-4 in the first quarter before completing three-straight passes, including a 34-yarder. One of his passes was broken up and another was dropped after a perfect throw.

The Sandites were held to 11 yards on 35 carries thanks to twelve tackles for loss totaling 55 yards and five sacks. It was their fourth-straight game under 100 yards on the ground, and fifth of the season. It was their least rushing yards since at least 2014, which is as far back as Sandite Pride’s stats go.

The team was held to only four first-downs and punted eight times.

The Game

Braylin Presley scored a one-yard touchdown run on the first Spartan drive. The Sandites forced only one punt in the game, and were only down 7-0 after the first seven minutes. Not a bad start against the top-scoring offense in the division. Then things quickly began to unravel.

Owen DeWoody sacked Pennington for a safety and two plays later Williams found Brennan Presley on a slant. Presley shook off four would-be tacklers and cut back across the field for a 28-yard touchdown. Carson Chambers scored on a two-point run for the 17-0 advantage.

Another quick three and out for the Sandites led to a 42-yard touchdown pass from Williams to Brennan Presley. Vernon kicked the extra point to make it 24-0 at the end of the first quarter.

Brody Sartin made back-to-back tackles for loss on the Sandites’ next possession to force a punt, which Braylin Presley returned 37 yards for a score. Williams found the endzone twice more, both times on 18-yard passes to Chambers and Luke Creeker.

Blankenship did most of the work on the Spartans’ first drive of the second half, marching the ball 48 yards on seven carries to score on a fourth-and-goal run from the one. Bixby split duties on their second drive of the half, with Blankenship running it four times, and Steele hitting Alex Stadler for three-straight receptions. Blankenship added to his running score with a touchdown reception, taking a short screen 39 yards to the house.

On the Sandites’ final possession of the third quarter, Pennington fell on a fumble in the endzone for the Spartans’ second safety of the night. Connor Stacy was the workhorse on Bixby’s next drive, carrying the ball six times for 24 yards to set up Burke for the three-yard score.

Sand Springs almost put together a successful drive midway through the fourth quarter, picking up a first down behind a pair of runs from Tyyee Atkison. They were pushed back to fourth-and-eleven at the Spartan 29, and elected to go for it. Pennington hit Keaton Campbell perfectly in stride for first-down yardage and room to run, but at that point in the game it was raining fairly heavily and the ball squeaked through the sophomore’s hands.

Davis single-handedly carried the ball for an entire 71-yard drive, scoring on a 52-yarder for the final touchdown of the game.

Looking Forward

The Spartans will travel to No. 13 Shawnee (2-6, 1-4) Friday at 7:00 p.m. as they look to continue their undefeated season. Bixby will be a heavy favorite, but the Wolves already knocked off one undefeated team when they beat No. 4 Muskogee in Week 7.  

 Sand Springs will look to match last year’s 3-7 record when they take on their arch-rivals from No. 8 Sapulpa (5-3, 2-3). Like last year, the Sandites will be a significant underdog. But last year a No. 11 ranked 2-6 Sandite team upset No. 7 Sapulpa, who was 6-2 at the time. That game was a 48-34 redemption shootout, also following a shutout loss to Bixby. If the Chieftains aren’t careful, history could repeat itself.