Football Preview: Sandites Host No. 6 Bartlesville on Thursday

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The Class 6A-II No. 5 ranked Charles Page High School football team (4-3, 2-2) is set to host No. 6 Bartlesville (3-4, 3-1) Thursday evening at Memorial Stadium.

Sand Springs is coming off a 39-14 road win at No. 9 Putnam City West and looking to get above .500 in district play while the Bruins are coming off a 14-10 near upset against No. 4 Stillwater for their first district loss of the season.

The Church That Matters Tailgate Party will start at 6:00 p.m. outside of the stadium. Tickets are $6 and include your choice of a hamburger, grilled chicken sandwich, or hot dog with chips and a drink. Proceeds will benefit the Sandite Tennis program.

Limited tickets are still available for the Varsity Club, which includes a buffet dinner and indoor seating to view the game from the CPHS Fine Arts Building in the south end zone.

Tickets for the Varsity Club are $30 and must be purchased by 5:00 p.m. on Thursday. Doors open at 5:30 p.m.

Kickoff is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. Tickets are $5 for students and seniors 65+. General admission is $8. Chick-Fil-A sandwiches and other concessions are available inside the gate with proceeds benefiting the Gold Pride marching band.

The History

Sand Springs has won three in a row against the Bruins, but Bartlesville leads the series 21-18. The series is one of the longest-standing rivalries for either school, having been played 24 consecutive seasons. The two teams have only missed playing each other twice since Bartlesville High School opened in 1982.

Sand Springs High School went 3-3 against Bartlesville Central from 1919 to 1930. The Sandites were 4-11 against Bartlesville College from 1953 to 1979 and 2-6 against Bartlesville Sooner from 1970 to 1977. College and Sooner were unified under the Bruin banner in 1982.

Following the Bartlesville unification, the Bruins won the first three meetings in the new series before LD Baines’s Sandites prevailed 35-15 in 1985 to secure their first winning season in eight years.

Bartlesville won seven in a row from 1986 to 1992 and the Sandites responded with three in a row from 1993 to 1995.

This is the third time the Sandites have won three in a row against the Bruins but thus far they have never gotten past that mark.

The Bruins’ biggest win in the rivalry was 48-16 in 2010 while the Sandites have the largest margin of victory at 55-13 in 2017. Each team owns three shutouts against the other.

The highest-scoring game in the series was a 54-34 Bruin victory in 2019 while the lowest-scoring game was a 7-0 Bruin victory in 1990.

During the Bobby Klinck era the Sandites have won 21-14 in 2020, 41-20 in 2021, and 36-29 last season.

Sand Springs squandered a 22-point third-quarter advantage in last year’s game and needed overtime to secure the win.

Bartlesville is making gains under second-year head coach Harry Wright, who led the Bruins to a 5-7 record and a playoff win last year after they only went 2-8 the previous season.

This Season

Sand Springs has proven it can win in the trenches and run the ball against almost anybody this season, averaging 183 rushing yards per game. The Sandites have struggled to mesh in the passing game, however, averaging only 115 yards by air.

The task against Bartlesville will be to get promising sophomore quarterback Easton Webb, who missed one game with injury, in sync with an all-new receiving corps. With only three games left till the playoffs, the Sandite offense needs to work on being more multidimensional.

Webb was 7-of-15 last week against Putnam West, throwing for 83 yards. Kenneth Page had 3 catches for 57 yards and 26 carries for 138 yards and three touchdowns.

Alex Dudley led the defense with 6 tackles, followed by Owen Floyd and Gatlin Gunn with 5 apiece. Joseph Farmer had an interception, Floyd forced a fumble, Christian Freitus had a scoop-and-score, and Hunter Wilson blocked a punt and scored a safety.

On the Season:

Webb is 46-of-69 for 597 yards, 4 TDs, and 6 INTs with 1 rushing TD. Caleb Goodman has 28 catches for 344 yards and 3 TDs.

Kenneth Page has 119 carries for 627 yards and 8 TDs plus 2 TD receptions. Ali McCoy has 74 carries for 643 yards and 8 TDs but he is expected to miss the game with an injury.

Dawson Puckett is 24-of-27 on PATs and 1-of-2 on field goals, connecting from 30 yards.

The defense is led by Floyd with 53 tackles, Gunn with 40 tackles, and Dudley with 39 tackles. Dudley and Gunn each have two interceptions.