Sandite Football Preview: Veterans get free admission to final home game

In honor of Veterans Day, all current and past members of the United States military will receive free admission to the final Sandite home game of the 2021 football season, Friday night at Memorial Stadium.

The Class 6A-II No. 6 ranked Charles Page High School football team (6-3, 3-3) will play unranked Putnam City West (0-9, 0-6) in a district tune-up game with nothing on the line, having already clinched a postseason berth at No. 4 Del City (8-1) next week.

Kickoff is at 7:00 p.m. on the campus of Charles Page High School at 600 North Adams Road. Tickets are $7.00 for adults and $5.00 for students.

Sand Springs

The Sandites are in their second year under Head Coach Bobby Klinck, who holds an all-time coaching record of 26-20. While Sand Springs was a perennial playoff contender from 2012 to 2017, they hit a rough patch of three losing seasons before Klinck’s arrival spurred them from 2-8 in 2019 to 7-5 last year.

In the season opener they beat archrival Sapulpa 53-26, then they easily handled Bishop Kelley 34-13. Against defending Arkansas 4A State Champion Shiloh Christian they had to come from behind in a 40-33 shootout. In district action they have won 30-13 against Ponca City and 48-34 against Muskogee before falling 37-32 to Booker T. Washington, 58-14 to Bixby and 41-28 to Choctaw.

Last week the Sandites won 41-20 at Bartlesville after jumping out to a 41-0 lead before sending in the backups.

“We certainly expected to win,” said Klinck. “The biggest thing I wanted to see was us get off to a good start. We hadn’t really gotten off to good starts this year. So we definitely emphasized that with our players and I was very proud that we came out and got on them really fast.”

“When you come off of three tough losses, it’s always good to get a win,” said Klinck. “We want to be playing our best football come November. So we need to have a great practice session this week and get after Putnam City West.”

Players to Watch

Ty Pennington (Sr. QB) is 139-223-2018-3 passing with 23 touchdowns, and is 114-407 rushing with eight TDs. He holds the school records in career passing yardage at 5,642, career passing touchdowns at 50, and single season passing touchdowns at 23.

Blake Jones (Sr. RB) is 118-795 rushing with eight touchdowns.

Brody Rutledge (Jr. WR) is 4-7-58-1 passing with two touchdowns and 32-464 receiving with four TDs.

Keaton Campbell (Sr. WR) is 37-552 receiving with eight touchdowns and averages 18.6 yards per kick return.

Jacob Blevins (Jr. WR) is 46-697 receiving with five TDs and averages 16 yards per kick return.

Ryan Shoemaker (Sr. TE) is 18-230 receiving with five TDs.

Jabe Schlehuber averages 31.9 yards per kick return with a school record-setting 99-yard TD.

Landon Hendricks (Sr. DE) has 53 tackles, 17 for loss, 7.5 sacks, 6 pass breakups, 2 fumble recoveries, 3 forced fumbles, a safety, and a blocked PAT.

Brooks Dudley (Sr. LB) has 82 tackles, 5.5 for loss, 1.5 sacks, and 1 pass breakup.

Gabe Brown (Sr. LB) has 56 tackles, 9.5 for loss, 5 sacks, 1 pass breakup, and a 75-yard scoop and score.

Conner Light (Sr. LB) has 51 tackles, 3.5 for loss, 1 sack, 1 pass breakup, and 1 forced fumble.

Drake Fain (Jr. LB) has 88 tackles, 5 for loss, 3 pass breakup, three fumble recoveries, and a 13-yard scoop and score.

Ryder Barnes (Sr. CB) has 49 tackles, 0.5 for loss, three interceptions, 6 pass breakups, and 1 fumble recovery.

Logan Wolfe (Jr. K) is 28-of-33 on PATs and 2-of-2 on field goals with a long of 34 yards.

Putnam City West

The Patriots are in their third season under head coach Craig Maynard, who owns an 0-27 record at Putnam West. The Patriots have lost 33 consecutive games and haven’t had a winning season since 2016.

This year the Patriots lost 67-0 to Guthrie, 55-12 to Putnam City, 56-5 to Putnam City North, 42-12 to Muskogee, 81-6 to Bixby, 43-6 to Ponca City, 62-6 to Booker T. Washington, 41-19 to Bartlesville, and 60-27 to Choctaw.

Players to Watch

Corey Gordon (Sr. S/WR) is a three star recruit committed to Baylor.

The Series

Sand Springs is undefeated against the Patriots with a 3-0 record. The Sandites won 29-24 in 2016, 28-14 in 2017, and 51-13 last season.