Sandites Host Sapulpa in District Championship Game Friday

6A-2 No. 1 Sand Springs (7-2, 6-0) will host No. 6 Sapulpa (7-2, 6-0) this Friday at 7pm in the de facto district title game. Here are 16 fast facts about the Highway 97 Rivalry and 10 facts about the Sandites’ season thus far.

Sand Springs leads the Highway 97 Rivalry 48-45-5 all-time and 5-0 in the Bobby Klinck era.

The two teams first met in 1922 and have played every single year since 1930. Sapulpa led the series from 1944 to 2021 when the Sandites finally tied it and Sand Springs has led the series since 2022.

Sand Springs has won five games in a row against Sapulpa and 10 of the last 11. Neither team has ever won six in a row in this series.

Sapulpa has not won in Memorial Stadium since 2013.

Sand Springs won 21-0 last year with Easton Webb passing for 201 yards and 3 TDs while Emory Smittick had 14 tackles to lead the defense. It was the first shutout in the series since 2003. Sapulpa hasn't been shut out in back-to-back meetings since 1938.

2023 was the highest-scoring game in series history with Sand Springs winning 64-54.

Historically, the two teams are rarely good at the same time. In seasons in which both teams finished with winning records, Sand Springs leads 11-4-2.

Trivia fun fact: Keith Hooks (1996-1998) is the only Sandite QB to beat Sapulpa four times, winning all three seasons as starter plus a playoff game in 1997.

Sand Springs is currently allowing 15.1 points per game, the fewest since 2015, and 5.8 points per district game, the fewest since 1977.

The Sandites are currently scoring 40.2 points per game and 50.5 per district game, the most in school history for each category.

We have outscored our district opponents 303-35, compared to 283-108 against the same six opponents last season.

This is our first 6-0 start to district play since 1997 and only the second such start in school history.

Sand Springs is looking for its first district championship since 1997, and its 11th district championship in school history.

With seven wins in a row, the Sandites are on their longest winning streak since 1997.