CPHS Football: Sand Springs to host Bishop Kelley Friday

The Class 6A-II No. 13 ranked Charles Page High School football team (1-0) will host 5A No. 3 Bishop Kelley (1-0) in their first home game of the season Friday night at Memorial Stadium. It will be the first meeting between the two teams since 1979, and they are tied 5-5 in the series.

The Comets won the first four games of the series, but the Sandites won the last four. Bishop Kelley has shut out the Sandites three times, including their biggest win at 56-0 in 1970. Sand Springs has shut out the Comets twice, including their biggest win of 19-0 in 1978. Both programs own a single gold ball. The Sandites won State in 1966 and Bishop Kelley won in 1981.

Sand Springs went 2-8 last season but hired a new Head Coach, Offensive Coordinator, Defensive Coordinator, Special Teams Coordinator, and several other assistant coaches to turn the program around. It paid off in last week’s season opener as they edged out 5A No. 10 rival Sapulpa 21-17.

Bishop Kelley went 8-5 last season, winning a pair of playoff games before falling to Bishop McGuinness in the semifinals. In their season-opener last week they won 28-7 against 4A No. 3 Poteau. The Comets scored 28 unanswered points against the defending State Champs. Quarterback Gabe Harju was 9-13-74-1 passing and Owen Heinecke was 13-115 on the ground with two TDs.

In the Sandites’ season opener they showed improvements in many aspects, most notably special teams. They didn’t block a single kick last season, but blocked a punt, a field goal, and a PAT last Friday. The defense also made a statement with three fumble recoveries, four pass breakups, two sacks, and five tackles for loss.

Junior quarterback Ty Pennington, in his tenth career start, was 10-17-185-0 passing with one touchdown and was 17-57 rushing for another. Blake Jones was 10-62 on the ground with a touchdown, but went down 10 minutes into the third quarter and never rejoined the game. Jamon Sisco was 6-137 receiving with a touchdown.

Sand Springs has several areas to clean up going forward in the season. They had several fumbles against Sapulpa, but only lost one. Several bad snaps resulted in lost yardage and even a safety. They also had a dozen penalties. The offense had three false starts, a holding call, a delay of game, and an ineligible receiver. The defense had three pass interference calls, an offsides call, and two personal fouls.

The game will kick off at 7:00 p.m. at 600 North Adams Road. The district will not be limiting attendance, but facemasks will be required. Fans are invited to attend the first ever Sandite Spirit Walk at 5:00 p.m. in front of the CPHS Fine Arts Building, which will be led by the marching band, dance team, and cheer squad. Church That Matters will be hosting a tailgate party and grilling out at 6:00 p.m. as a fundraiser for the dance team.

Series History
1968: Bishop Kelley 20-0 (A).
1969: Bishop Kelley 42-6 (H).
1970: Bishop Kelley 56-0 (A).
1971: Bishop Kelley 35-0 (H).
1974: Sand Springs 19-6 (A).
1975: Bishop Kelley 34-6 (H).
1976: Sand Springs 17-6 (A).
1977: Sand Springs 14-0 (H).
1978: Sand Springs 19-0 (H).
1979: Sand Springs 10-7 (A).