CPHS Football: Sandites to host Edmond Deer Creek Friday in Playoffs

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The Class 6A-II No. 7 ranked Charles Page High School football team (6-4) has a series of firsts in store for Friday. They will make their first playoff appearance since 2017, they will host a playoff game for the first time since 2013, and they will meet No. 9 Edmond Deer Creek (4-5) for the first time in school history.

Sand Springs is one of only three schools in Class 6A-II to play a full ten games this season. Almost every other school had COVID-related cancellations. Because of this, a new play-in round was added to the postseason, and schools could opt in regardless of their record.

With a 4-3 district record, Sand Springs would have qualified for the playoffs even in a regular season. But they would be traveling to undefeated No. 2 Stillwater (8-0) for a game in which they would be at least a 20-point underdog. Instead, Stillwater will get a first-round bye and Sand Springs will host Deer Creek, who went 3-4 for fifth in their district.

Sand Springs started the season 4-1 before suffering three-straight losses to Booker T. Washington, Bixby, and Choctaw. They finished strong with a 21-14 win over Bartlesville, and steamrolled Putnam City West 51-13 after taking a 44-0 lead in the first half.

Deer Creek is also peaking at the right time. They went 2-1 in non-district play, just like Sand Springs, but lost four games in a row once district action started. However, in-between those four losses, they had a cancelation against Northwest Classen, who they were the odds-on favorite to beat. Two weeks ago they got a big 20-18 win over Lawton, then they stormed past U.S. Grant 51-6 in the regular season finale.

Sand Springs ranks 8th in offense, 10th in defense, and 9th in margin of victory in Class 6A-II. Deer Creek ranks 12th in offense, 14th in defense, and 13th in margin of victory.

The Sandites are in their first season under Head Coach Bobby Klinck, who holds a 19-16 record in his career. The Antlers are led by Wade Standley, who is 17-22 in his four seasons with the program, and is 64-61 in his career. Both coaches have led their past teams to District titles and State Championship finals appearances.

The Sandites

Junior quarterback Ty Pennington is 118-of-231 passing for 1903 yards and 13 touchdowns with only four interceptions. He also has 148 carries for a team-best 494 yards and 11 more touchdowns.

Blake Jones has 87 carries for 410 yards and six touchdowns, Jamon Sisco has 35 carries for 119 yards, and Tyyee Atkison has 28 carries for 106 yards and a touchdown.

Keaton Campbell is the top receiver with 46 catches for 601 yards and seven scores. Sisco has 29 catches for 574 yards and three scores, and Jacob Blevins has 21 catches for 504 yards and two scores.

Zach Heinen remains perfect kicking PATs this season at 26-of-26, and he is 2-of-3 on field goals with a long of 36. Heinen averages 33 yards per punt, and Greg Reed averages 45 yards per kick.

Sango Whitehorn (78), Landon Hendricks (77), Brooks Dudley (69), and Drake Fain (68) lead the team in total tackles. Hendricks (18.5), Whitehorn (18), and Lane Webster (14) lead the team in tackles for loss. Hendricks (5), Whitehorn (4.5), and Webster (2) lead the team in sacks.

Brycen Peterman leads the team with two interceptions, and Fain, Dylan Sallis, Bryson Chase, Caden Harris, Dudley, and Micah Calico all have one pick apiece.

Hendricks leads the team in fumble recoveries with five, followed by Peterman with four. Chase, Darren Hawkins, Brody Rutledge, Trevor Stone, Dominic Ornelas, Braylon Flores, Conner Light, and Fain all have one apiece.

The Antlers

Junior quarterback Brett Pense is 94-of-198 passing this season for 1,210 yards and 10 touchdowns, with 13 interceptions. He also has 67 carries for 81 yards and two more scores on the ground.

Berkley Dalton leads the receiving corps with 14 catches for 299 yards and two touchdowns, followed by Logan Ward with 18 catches for 252 yards and four touchdowns. Taylor Tomlin has 18 receptions for 187 yards and two scores, and Hunter Holley has nine catches for 176 yards and a score.

Will Hinton leads the team on the ground with 107 carries for 765 yards and five touchdowns, followed by Michael Holley with 45 carries for 214 yards and a score.

Reed Eden, Andre Bruner, Eli Dunn, Asher Blue, and Joseph Davies lead the team in tackles per loss. Blue, Davies, and Denver Hanna have two sacks apiece. Jevion Jones has a team-best two interceptions, and Johnny Osborne has a team-best two fumble recoveries.

Ward handles the team’s kicking duties and is 16-of-18 on PATs this year. He is 4-of-5 on field goals with a long of 42, and he averages 30 yards per punt.

Around The State

No. 14 U.S. Grant (2-6) and No. 16 Putnam City West (0-8) have both opted out of the playoffs and will be playing each other in what is being dubbed the OKC Metro Bowl. The two teams are in rebuilding years, with rosters less than half as deep as most of their opponents. Rather than ending the year with what would likely be lopsided defeats, they have decided to give their seniors a winnable game to go out on, and a trophy has been created to commemorate the event.

No. 15 Northwest Classen (1-4) started the year with a win but canceled five-straight games due to COVID before losing to U.S. Grant. They forfeited their last three games for non-COVID reasons, which disqualified them from postseason competition. They still have the option to schedule a non-playoff game at any point prior to the conclusion of the postseason, if they can find a willing opponent.

No. 1 Bixby, No. 2 Stillwater, and No. 4 Choctaw all received byes in the first round. Stillwater has lost only two games in three seasons, both to Bixby, both in the State Championship finals. Choctaw is riding a four-game win streak, and their only in-state loss was to Bixby when they held the Spartans to a season-low scoring performance of 24-13. Bixby has won 33-consecutive games over three seasons, and is coming off a nationally-televised 70-21 win over Booker T. Washington on ESPN.

No. 5 Putnam City North (7-2) will host No. 12 Bartlesville (3-7), No. 8 Del City (3-5) will host No. 11 Ponca City (3-5), No. 3 Midwest City (6-2) will host No. 13 Muskogee (0-6), and No. 6 Booker T. Washington (6-3) will host No. 10 Lawton (4-4).