CPHS Football: Sandites kick off district action Friday in Ponca City

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The Class 6A-II No. 9 ranked Charles Page High School varsity football team (2-1) will kick off district action Friday at 7:00 p.m. when they travel to No. 13 Ponca City (1-1). Attendance for visiting fans will be limited to 250.

Unlike the season-opener at Sapulpa, Sandite Athletics will not be selling the actual tickets for the game. However, they have been given 250 vouchers to distribute, and fans must have a voucher in order to purchase tickets on Friday.

Vouchers will be distributed at the Ed Dubie Field House Tuesday from 7:30 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. and from 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. If any vouchers remain, they will be distributed again Wednesday from 7:30 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m., and on Thursday from 7:30 a.m. to 8:30 a.m.

Only the parents of 10th through 12th grade football players will be eligible for the tickets on Tuesday, and will be limited to two tickets per student. Wednesday and Thursday vouchers will be available to the general public. You must have a voucher in order to purchase a ticket on Friday.

Sand Springs is coming off a huge program win against an Arkansas 4A powerhouse, defeating No. 1 Shiloh Christian, who went 14-1 last season, only losing in their State Championship game. Previously the Sandites won 21-17 against 5A No. 6 Sapulpa (2-1) and barely lost 28-24 to 5A No. 2 Bishop Kelley (3-0) after leading till the final minute of the game.

Ponca City lost their season opener 19-17 to Enid (2-1) then won 23-22 against McLain (1-2). Ardmore canceled the Week 3 match-up due to a COVID-19 team quarantine.

Both teams are in rebuilding efforts. Ponca is in its third season under Scott Harmon, who guided the Wildcats to a 5-5 mark last fall to snap a 13-year streak of losing records. Sand Springs only posted three losing records before hiring Owasso Defensive Coordinator Bobby Klinck. Both teams are out to prove themselves as winning programs this year.

To say that Ponca is a run-heavy team would be an understatement. While they split the offense up 50/50 against Enid, they only made five pass attempts against McLain with 56 run plays. Cameron Jackson was the workhorse in that game with 30 carries for 186 yards and one touchdown.

The quarterback situation is a sore spot at Ponca. Grant Harmon was the starter in both games, and is 7-20-68-0 passing with one touchdown. Three other QBs have also seen action. Lane Scholey hasn’t made a single pass attempt and is 11-59 on the ground with one score. Nate Harbeson only made two pass attempts, completed neither, and one resulted in an 85-yard interception return for touchdown.

The Sand Springs QB situation is golden with 6’3” stud Ty Pennington going 40-79-771-1 passing this season for four touchdowns by air. He is also 55-130 on the ground for five scores. The ground game is a weak spot, however, as the Sandites’ top two running backs are out with injury and Pennington has had to help carry the load. Jamon Sisco is 10-281 receiving with two touchdowns, Jacob Blevins is 8-242, and Keaton Campbell is 16-214 with two touchdowns.

The Sandite defense has been outstanding thus far on the season. Micah Calico, Brooks Dudley, and Bryson Peterman have interceptions. Bryson Chase, Dominic Ornelas, and Daren Hawkins have fumble recoveries, and Landon Hendricks has a team-best four fumble recoveries. Chase, Sisco, and Sango Whitehorn all have blocked kicks. Ponca has also been getting their fair share of turnovers, with three picks and a fumble recovery against McLain.

The two teams first met on Thanksgiving of 1952, with Ponca winning the playoff game 27-9 in Sand Springs. They tied in 1953 and the Sandites got their first win of the series in 1954 after returning from a 20-point deficit. Sand Springs won a triple-overtime game in 1981. Ponca’s biggest win of the series was 48-2 in 2003, and Sand Springs’s biggest win was 57-7 in 2013. The Sandites won seven games in a row from 2012 to 2018 and lead the series 25-20-1 overall, but Ponca won last year’s game 24-14.

Kickoff is at 7:00 p.m. at Sullins Stadium at 600 East Brookfield Avenue, Ponca City, OK 74601. Sandite Pride will be posting all scoring plays on Twitter at @SanditeNews, along with quarterly updates on Instagram and Facebook.