CPHS Football: Sapulpa wins first Highway 97 Rivalry game since 2013, 31-19

Sapulpa Head Coach Robert Borgstadt picked up his first Highway 97 win since switching sidelines four years ago. He was previously the defensive coordinator at Charles Page.

For the first time since 2011 the Chieftains defended their home turf in a Highway 97 rivalry game, and it was the first rivalry win since Head Coach Robert Borgstadt switched sidelines in 2016. Class 6A-II No. 8 ranked Sapulpa (6-3, 3-3) knocked off No. 14 Sand Springs 31-19 on Senior Night thanks to a big second quarter.

A heavily depleted roster made things far closer than the Chieftains would have liked, but they made the most of Sandite errors to end a five-year losing streak in the 93rd installment of the historic series. Charles Page High School (2-7, 1-5) missed their shot to tie the series, and Sapulpa still leads the rivalry 45-43-5.

Sapulpa only led 7-6 late in the first half, and lost the second half 13-10, but they scored two touchdowns in the final three minutes of the second quarter and never trailed.

Kandon Williams recovered a fumble on the Sandites’ 31-yard line to set up a one-yard quarterback keeper from Zac Mason. Three punts later and Kaivon Mortazavi missed a 43-yard field goal attempt to end the first quarter.

Sand Springs got on the board with a methodical fourteen-play 76-yard march, scoring on a one-yard run from Trey Wilkerson. A bobbled snap resulted in a short kick that failed to even reach the endzone, and the visitors still trailed 7-6.

On the second play of the Chieftains’ corresponding possession, Mason threw a lateral to Marcus Esparza, who found Kenyon Kahmeyer for 49 yards and a touchdown.

Sand Springs got fancy in retaliation with Ty Pennington handing the ball off to backup QB Braden Foster, who hit Keaton Campbell for 40 yards on the first play of the drive. Kahmeyer came up big on defense with a red zone strip of Tyyee Atkison. Five plays later and Mason threw a 27-yard touchdown pass to Williams.

Sapulpa took its biggest lead of the night after a nine-play 54-yard march and four-yard run from Esparza. Mortazavi’s kick made it 28-6, and it looked like the Chieftains could be on their way to a rout.

Jamon Sisco set the tone of the game to come with a 59-yard kick return, leading to a 16-yard touchdown pass from Pennington to Jacob Snodgrass. Zach Heinen connected on his PAT this time and made it 28-13.

The Chieftains marched as far as the Sand Springs 14-yard line before three consecutive penalties pushed them back to fourth-and-39. The teams traded punts and Sapulpa once again penetrated, but was held to a field goal after a fumbled hike slowed their progress. This time Mortazavi’s kick sailed true from 34 yards for the 31-13 advantage.

Sand Springs responded with an eight-play 80-yard scoring drive. Back-to-back incompletions nearly stalled it out, but Pennington picked up eleven yards on a fourth-down run-play option and eventually threw a 34-yard pass to Sisco. A two-point pass attempt fell short, leaving the final score at 31-19.

With 4:02 left to play, Caden Harris came up with a clutch fumble to keep the Sandites’ hopes alive. The boys made it as far as the Sapulpa 40 before Arthur Hudgens picked off a pass to seal the win.

Pennington led the passing game with an 18-33-219-1 performance, while Mason was 11-17-111-0. Campbell led the Sandite receiving corps 5-93, while Williams was the top Chieftain at 6-89. Esparza was the star of the show with 24 carries for 161 yards while the Sandites were held to double digits on the ground for the fifth-straight week.

The Sandites will host No. 5 Booker T. Washington (5-4, 4-2) for Senior Night as they try to match last year’s 3-7 record. Sapulpa will travel to No. 12 Ponca City (4-5, 2-4) with a playoff berth on the line.

SHS 31 CPHS 19
First Downs: SHS 18, CPHS 17.
Fumbles/Lost: SHS 3/1, CPHS 4/2.
Penalties: SHS 11-95, CPHS 5-55.
C-A-Y-I: SHS 12-18-160-0, CPHS 19-34-259-1.
Rushing: SHS 44-207, CPHS 28-91.
Offense: SHS 62-367, CPHS 62-350.

District 6A-II-2 Standings
6-0 Bixby (+90)
5-1 Muskogee (+58)
4-2 Booker T. Washington (+44)
3-3 Sapulpa (-8)
2-4 Bartlesville (-40)
2-4 Ponca City (-26)
1-5 Sand Springs (-65)
1-5 Shawnee (-53)

Class 6A-II Results
Del City 48-12 Lawton
Choctaw 42-41 Midwest City
Muskogee 44-27 Bartlesville
Bixby 64-6 Shawnee
Booker T. Washington 34-14 Ponca City
Deer Creek 63-0 Putnam City West
Sapulpa 31-19 Sand Springs
Stillwater 69-6 Putnam City

(Sand Springs stats)
Passing: Pennington 18-33-219-1, 2TD. Foster 1-1-40-0.
Receiving: Campbell 5-93. Snodgrass 8-85, 1TD. Sisco 4-68, 1TD. Foster 2-13.
Rushing: Atkison 7-37. Wilkerson 10-21, 1TD. Jones 5-19. Pennington 5-18. Johnson 1-(-4).
PAT: Heinen 1/2.
Punt-AVG: Heinen 4-34.
Kick-AVG: Heinen 4-30.
Punt-Return: Campbell 1-4.
Kick-Return: Sisco 1-59. Campbell 2-32.
Tackes: Dudley 7, Haley 7, Wilkerson 6, Harris 6, Foster 6, Hendricks 4, Webster 3, Whitehorn 2, Sisco 2, Magee 2, Chase 2, Jones 1, Fain 1, Light 1, Brown 1, Calico 1, Favela 1.
Tackles for Loss: Webster 1-2.
Pass Breakups: Hendricks 1, Haley 1.
Fumble Recovery: Harris 1.

(Sapulpa partial stats)
Passing: Mason 11-17-111-0, 1TD. M. Esparza 1-1-49-0, 1TD.
Receiving: Williams 6-89, 1TD. Kahmeyer 2-50, 1TD. M. Esparza 2-14. Hudgens 1-6. E. Esparza 1-1.
Rushing: M. Esparza 24-161, 1TD. Mitchell 8-39. J. Jones 4-10. C. Jones 3-5. Mason 5-(-8), 1TD.
PAT: Mortazavi 4/4.
Punt-AVG: M. Esparza 3-34.
Kick-AVG: Mortazavi 6-57.
Punt-Return: Kahmeyer 1-4.
Kick-Return: E. Esparza 2-31. Hudgens 1-19.
Interceptions: Hodges 1.
Fumble Recoveries: Williams 1. Kahmeyer 1.
Forced Fumble: Kahmeyer 1.