Week 4 Sandite Pride Rankings and Predictions

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By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

Photo by: Morgan Miller

Week 3 was heavily disrupted by severe weather systems across the state that lead to more cancellations than actual games.

#1 Charles Page (2-0, 0-0) District 1

The Sandites were one of few teams to actually start a game Friday night, but it was cancelled shortly before halftime and will thus not count towards their record or stats. However, their performance on the field still plays into my rankings. They lead 5A unranked Guthrie 18-7 with 6 minutes in the half, and QB Hunter Greathouse was 4-5-129 in that short amount of time. Guthrie may not be the team they've been in recent memory, but they're far from pushovers. 

#5 Bartlesville (3-0, 0-0) District 1

The Bruins were far enough North that they had plenty of time to put a 42-20 beat down on Enid before the weather reached them. Enid is an 0-3 pushover this year and the 20 points they scored on Bartlesville is the most they've mustered all season. I expect Bartlesville to come hot at the Sandites with their offense, but be unable to put up any stops of their own against double-threat Hunter Greathouse. I'm expecting a shootout with the Sandites coming on top by a pair of touchdowns, minus a few blocked/missed PATs.

The Pick: CPHS 46, Bartlesville 35.

#2 Bixby (2-1, 0-0) District 1

Despite nearly 700 yards of total offense, the Spartans didn't put up nearly the points I expected them to against Springdale, AR (0-3). It looks like the defending State Champions have their offense in good order between QB Tanner Griffin and RB Nic Roller but are going to need to whip their defense in shape quickly if they want to hold up against BTW and CPHS. The Spartans won 57-38, which is more points than they allowed anyone but Jenks to score last season.

#10 Claremore (2-1, 0-0) District 1

The Red Zebras held up to a 10 point loss to Siloam Springs, 22-12, only 3 points worse than I expected. Their passing game was abysmal and they won't stand much of a chance rushing against Bixby. If they manage to score at all it will be due more to Bixby's slacking defense than Claremore's capabilities. 

The Pick: Bixby 52, Claremore 3

#3 Booker T Washington (2-0, 0-0) District 1

The Hornets game against East Central was cancelled Friday, though it's safe to say it would have been a slaughter considering the 62-6 they put on Tulsa Central in week 2. 

#9 Ponca City (1-1, 0-0) District 1

The Wildcats' game against Shawnee was also cancelled, but not before they were outscored 10-6 in the first quarter. It's hard to judge a team off less than a quarter so I didn't drop them in my rankings, but I had expected Ponca to easily defeat the unranked 5A team. 

The Pick: BTW 42, Ponca City 13.

#4 Midwest City (2-1, 0-0) District 2

The Bombers pulled off a big upset over the top ranked 5A Del City, 37-14, and are my favorite to win the District 2 title. They lost to BTW in the season opener, but when it comes to Eisenhower, they're going to bring the thunder.

#14 Eisenhower (0-3, 0-0) District 2

Lawton Ike scored a lot more against 5A #2 MacArthur than anybody expected them to, but were still handed a solid 57-34 beat down. 

The Pick: MWC 28, Ike 6

#6 Choctaw (2-1, 0-0) District 2

Choctaw suffered their first loss of the season in a close 25-23 to Putnam North. 

#12 Enid (0-3, 0-0) District 2

The Plainsmen have been getting their butts handed to them left and right this year, and I don't expect things to change in district play.

The Pick: Choctaw 38, Enid 12.

#7 Muskogee (0-3, 0-0) District 1

The Roughers have definitely not lived up to expectation these past two season under new Head Coach Rafe Watkins, but in their defense, they've only played really solid teams thus far. 33-22 to 5A #5 McAlester, 34-25 to 6A #5 Owasso, and 56-21 to undefeated #3 Fayetteville, AR. If they were in District 2 I could see them making a run at the district title, but in the talent-crowded Tulsa district I see them winning 3 games at most. 

#13 Sapulpa (1-1, 0-0) District 1

Lawton may not be the team they were last year, but the Chieftains got off lucky that their game was cancelled. Unfortunately for them, there's no rain in the forecast for this Friday.

The Pick: Muskogee 35, Sapulpa 12.

#8 Putnam City West (1-2, 0-0) District 2

I was so impressed with PCW after their 5 point loss to Del City and their 29-6 win over PCN, then they had to go and blow it, getting slaughtered 49-17 by PC. 

#11 Lawton (1-1, 0-0) District 2

I'm a lot less confident in PCW for this matchup than I was last week, and it's really anybody's game in my book. 

The Pick: PCW 31, Lawton 28

#15 Stillwater (0-3, 0-0) District 2

Stillwater lost 26-14 to Edmond North Friday, and is the only team not starting District play this upcoming weekend. As District 2 is only 7 teams, the Pioneers will be battling with U.S. Grant as both teams look for their first win of the season. 

The Pick: Stillwater 29, Grant 14.

 

My Record

  • Week 1: 10-2 83%
  • Week 2: 12-2 85%
  • Week 3: 6-3 66%
  • Overall: 28-7 80%

Charles Page leads Guthrie 18-7 before weather cancellation

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By: Scott Emigh, Sand Springs Leader Sports Correspondent

Photo by: Morgan Miller

The Charles Page High School football team led the Guthrie Bluejays 18-7 Friday night before the game was cancelled six minutes before the half.

Kickoff was scheduled for 7pm but didn’t occur until after 9pm due to weather delays.

Junior Quarterback Hunter Greathouse led the Sand Springs Sandites with 129 passing yards for two touchdowns and 22 rushing yards. Guthrie QB Zane Maltz had only 67 yards passing and -10 yards rushing by comparison.

Click here for the full story.

Division 6A-II District-1 Week 1 Roundup

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2014 6A-II State Champions Bixby fell to the top-ranked 6A-I Champions from Jenks at home Friday in a 58-24 beat-down that may cause many to rethink their ranking of Bixby as the #2 team in the state. Then again, the Spartans lost to the Trojans 66-20 in their season-opener last year, so maybe there really is just that much of a gap between the top teams. Bixby managed only 14 first downs to Jenks’s 20, and managed only 310 total yards, and punted an average of only 32.8 yards. Add to that 2 fumbles and they didn’t exactly perform like state champions. I’d be surprised if Bixby falls more than a spot in the Division2 rankings, if at all, but I expect them to fall behind Union and Southmoore in MaxPreps State rankings.

Booker T Washington had a solid victory over Midwest City in their season opener, winning 28-16 at Midwest City whom they only defeated 17-12 at their home field last year. Their next five games were won 227-0 last year, so it’s not unreasonable to think the upcoming season will be even more impressive. BTW is led by a new, but far from inexperienced Quarterback, in Senior Dakarai Willis. Midwest City may have been clearly defeated, but they were far from destroyed. After being caught off guard with two 90-yard kick-off returns by BTW’s Rylan McQuarters, MWC held BTW scoreless for the second half and rallied for two fourth-quarter touchdowns. Washington will easily handle the 4A Central Braves next week and the Bombers should have no problem taking down 5A #10 Carl Albert.

The 5A East Central Cardinals had a score of impressive seasons, culminating in a 2005 State Title, but haven’t had a winning season since 2012.  They’ve only managed a 7-13 record over the last two seasons, so they’re not exactly a big deal to beat. However, Bartlesville hasn’t had a winning season in even longer, so improving from a 48-27 win in 2014 to a 47-0 shutout in 2015 is a good way to kick off the season. Next week the Bruins face Cascia Hall, and though they’re only 4A, they’ve put up impressive records the last few seasons, and claimed 3 consecutive state titles from 2007-2009. It should be a good match for a rebuilding 6A team.

Muskogee lost 33-22 to 5A semi-finalists McAlester, which was actually an improvement over their 35-7 season debut last year—which ended in a 3-7 season record. At one point they even led 22-19, a marked improvement from their last several season openers. It’s quite possible that they’ll make a legitimate playoff run this year. Muskogee takes on Owasso next week, and despite a 21 point shutout by Union, the Rams should still make quick work of the Roughers.

Charles Page lost a lot of big names from 2014, including their starting QB, Kicker, and star RB/WR. They also put into place some young new talent in Junior QB Hunter Greathouse who had an excellent debut in Page’s 61-8 domination of 5A Nathan Hale. Though the Sandites have Enid next week; their first real test will be in two weeks against Guthrie.

Ponca City devastated Enid 42-14 on the Plainsmen’s home field in a full reversal from their 14-13 loss last year. Ponca has Guthrie for week two, which will be a real test of their season to come. Guthrie came into the season ranked fourth in 5A, but time will tell if their 28-27 loss to unranked Duncan was a fluke or foresight of the season to come.

The Claremore Zebras entered the season unranked by Tulsa World polls but won their first matchup against Pryor 21-20. After a 4-6 losing season in 2014, this could be a good sign for the season to come. Next week the Zebras have Rogers, Arkansas at home.

Finally, Sapulpa is in a major rebuilding year after a season of drama and devastating losses that amounted to a 1-9 record. With a new Head Coach in former Broken Arrow offensive coordinator Jake Corbin, the Chieftains can only move up from here. They suffered a 38-12 loss in their season opener at Choctaw, but considering their previous-season loss of 50-13, they already seem to be on the up and up.  Next week Sapulpa takes on Hale at home and can be expected to hang half a hundred on them easily.