CPHS Football Preview: Bixby at Sand Springs, home playoff game on the line

Payton Scott (34) posts a block for 2016 quarterback Hunter Greathouse (5) in a Semifinal Playoff game against Bixby. Scott ran for 86 yards and a touchdown in the 35-21 loss while Greathouse passed for 125 yards and two touchdowns. (Photo: Morgan Miller). 

The No. 8 ranked Charles Page High School football team (5-4, 3-2) will host the three-time defending State Champions from No. 5 Bixby (5-4, 4-1) in their regular season finale Friday night at Memorial Stadium. Both teams have already clinched playoff appearances, but their seeding is very much undecided.

The Spartans and Sandites are second and fourth, respectively, in their district. With a loss, the Sandites will take on the District One Champions, likely No. 2 Midwest City (8-1, 6-0). With a win and a Ponca City upset of Muskogee, the Sandites will be the District Runners-Up and get to host a playoff game. If both Sand Springs and Muskogee win their games, it will come down to point differential and the Sandites will be guaranteed third place. If the Sandites beat Bixby by more than ten points, they can take second.

Both teams have the same record overall, but the Spartans have pulled off one more district win than the Sandites. Sand Springs went 2-2 in non-district play to the Spartans' 1-3, but the Spartans played a tougher schedule. 

Bixby defeated 6A-I Jenks (5-4) 35-18, but the Trojans weren't quite themselves at the time, starting the year 0-4 for the first time since 1968. Since then they have rattled off five-straight victories in dominant fashion. From there the Spartans fell 47-28 to Bentonville (7-2), 37-35 to No. 6 Putnam City (6-3) and 34-22 to 6A-I Westmoore (7-2). All competitive losses to quality programs. 

Sand Springs dropped their season opener 59-21 to Pulaski Academy (9-0), then gave up a 21-20 come-from-behind loss to No. 9 Choctaw (5-4) after leading for the entire game. They rebounded with a 28-14 win over No. 12 Putnam City West (1-8). The Sandites won a district bout with Sapulpa then won 26-21 over 6A-I Yukon (4-5).

Looking at mutual opponents:

• No. 14 Sapulpa (1-8, 1-5). Sand Springs beat their biggest rivals 31-16. Bixby pummeled the Chieftains 48-10. It's tough to compare scores in a rivalry game. 
• No. 15 Ponca City (1-8, 1-4). Sand Springs wrecked the Wildcats 41-7, but once again Bixby had the better performance with a 68-7 beat down.
• No. 7 Muskogee (4-4, 3-2). Bixby handily defeated the Roughers 38-23 while the Sandites fell 40-34. It's worth noting that the Sandites came back from a 30-13 deficit to a 34-30 lead before giving up a 96-yard kick return. Even then, they picked up a first down at the Muskogee thirteen-yard line before time ran out. 
• No. 1 Booker T. Washington (8-1, 5-0). Both teams were shut out by the top-ranked Hornets. Sand Springs fell 40-0, Bixby fell 21-0. 
• No. 13 Bartlesville (1-7, 1-4). The Spartans had one of their worst games of the season two weeks ago, only defeating the Bruins 37-21. The Sandites had their biggest win of the year last Friday and murdered Bartlesville 55-13. 

If both teams play their best performances of the season, the Spartans will likely be the victors. But in a year plagued by turnovers and poor execution, they could easily be upended by the Sandites who have played a relatively clean season. 

Bixby leads the series 15-12 and 8-2 in the last seven years. The Spartans won the first meeting in 1922 when Sand Springs High School was coached by A.R. Bateman. The Sandites won back-to-back from 1926-1927 and the teams didn't meet again until the 1980s when they split the series 3-3. The Sandites won the 1990s series 5-3, but the most recent saga has been rather one-sided on the part of the Spartan program. 

The Spartans are led by CPHS graduate Loren Montgomery, who was an All-State offensive lineman under Head Coach L.D. Bains. Montgomery joined Bixby in 2010 and has a coaching record of 56-34 in his eighth season. He is 8-2 against his Alma Mater and has led his team to three consecutive State Championships since the 6A split. Sandite coach Dustin Kinard is 60-58 in his eleventh year leading the program. This will be their sixth-straight year making the playoffs, which is a town record.

Bixby Average Box

Scored: 35
First Downs: 21
Fumbles/Lost: 2/1
Penalties: 7-58
Passing: 13-24-200-1
Rushing: 38-191
Plays-Offense: 62-391

Allowed: 24
First Downs: 18
Fumbles/Lost: 2/1
Penalties: 7-56
Passing: 17-29-237-1
Rushing: 30-117
Plays-Offense: 59-354

CPHS Average Box

Scored: 29
First Downs: 14
Fumbles/Lost: 1/1
Penalties: 3-28
Passing: 5-10-68-0
Rushing: 45-283
Plays-Offense: 55-350

Allowed: 26
First Downs: 16
Fumbles/Lost: 2/1
Penalties: 6-49
Passing: 15-25-184-1
Rushing: 35-188
Plays-Offense: 60-371

Sand Springs vs. Bixby History

2016: Bixby 35-21 (State Semifinals)
2016: Bixby 35-19 (A)
2015: Bixby 38-28 (State Championship)
2015: CPHS 20-0 (H)
2014: Bixby 41-14 (State Semifinals)
2014: Bixby 34-31 (A)
2013: Bixby 35-21 (A)
2012: CPHS 21-7 (H)
2011: Bixby 43-23 (A)
2010: Bixby 48-35 (H)

1999: Bixby 23-7 (H)
1998: CPHS 30-6
1997: CPHS 19-0
1996: CPHS 28-7
1995: Bixby 17-10
1994: CPHS 33-7
1993: CPHS 26-20
1992: Bixby 20-17 OT

1985: CPHS 14-3
1984: CPHS 5-3
1983: Bixby 21-4
1982: Bixby 28-7
1981: Bixby 14-12
1980: CPHS 10-7

1927: CPHS 20-6
1926: CPHS 30-12

1922: Bixby 19-14

Sand Springs Season Statistic Leaders

Passing

44-92-565-4 Pennington, 5TD
1-2-45-0 Foster, 1TD

Receiving

9-144 Scott, 1TD
8-129 McCallie, 1TD
11-88 Millican
2-61 Hawkins
2-47 Fleischman, 1TD

Rushing

285-2160 Scott, 28TD
26-239 Nortey, 2TD
59-58 Pennington, 1TD
13-31 Jones
5-27 Edwards

Point-After Kicks

30/34 Weiser

Field Goals

1/2 Weiser, Long 25

Punting-Avg

31-31 Smith
1-48 Pennington

Kicking-Avg

26-35 Weiser
19-40 Cox
1-51 Smith

Punt Return

Kick Return

9-172 Denton
3-91 Scott
5-62 Bratcher
4-38 Millican
1-14 Mackey

Tackles

79 Cramer
48 Fleischman
43 Edwards
36 Fain
30 Lyons

For Loss

10-31 Finch
9-26 Fain
7-35 Edwards
6-32 Lyons
5-23 Cramer

Sacks

4-30 Lyons
3-31 Edwards
3-15 Fain
3-11 Finch
1-12 Fleischman
1-12 Cramer

Interceptions

4-31 Askew
1-6 Cramer
1 Cartwright
1 Lyons

Breakups

5 Cramer
4 Bratcher
4 Mackey
3 Denton
2 Lyons

Fumble Recoveries

3-2 Edwards
2 Askew
1-24 Mackey
1 Bratcher
1 Cramer

Forced Fumbles

1 K. Adcock
1 Cartwright
1 Denton
1 Finch
1 Lyons
1 Mackey

CPHS Volleyball drops seven-straight matches against top-ten foes

The Charles Page High School varsity volleyball team (2-7) is riding a rough streak of seven-straight losses following a 2-0 start to the season. After opening the year with straight-set victories against Bartlesville (0-4) and 5A No. 13 Booker T. Washington (3-5), they suffered their first defeat 3-1 at No. 8 Union (5-4). They returned to Union for a tournament this past weekend and lost all five matches, then fell to No. 7 Jenks (7-7) on Tuesday.

Jenks 3 CPHS 0
(25-7, 25-22, 25-21)

Kills: Mutiri 12, Youngblood 5, Burris 2, Bradshaw 1, Madison Ward 1.
Assists: MaKenzie Ward 8, Burris 7, Bradshaw 1, Mutiri 1. 
Aces: Mutiri 1, Taylor 1.
Blocks: Mutiri 2.
Digs: Taylor 4, Madison Ward 3, Burris 1, Mutiri 1. 

The Lady Sandites won only two of seventeen sets in the tournament, but Head Coach Janna Green wasn't too disappointed with the results. "This last tournament was rough, but we got a lot better and played some very competitive teams even though we went 0-5."

"Very competitive" may have been an understatement. All five teams are ranked in the top-ten of their division, and three are ranked in the top five. Sand Springs, meanwhile, just cracked the rankings at No. 19 in Class 6A.

Despite a winning 24-14 record last season, the Lady Sandites are still considered underdogs in the eyes of traditional powerhouse programs. They lost Holly Kersgieter who decided to focus exclusively on basketball, for which she has received seven NCAA Division I offers. However, they still boast a senior-heavy squad of experienced players led by Ohio State University-commit Gloria Mutiri.

On Friday the girls fell 3-0 to 5A No. 3 Bishop Kelley (4-3) who were the State Runners-Up last season. The Lady Comets defeated Sand Springs 25-15, 25-12, and 25-20. Then Sand Springs took on No. 1 Edmond Santa Fe (7-0) who made the State Semi-Finals last season. The Lady Wolves prevailed 25-17, 25-16, and 25-14. Finally, the closest round of the tournament was a rematch with Union. The Redskins won 3-0, but each set was highly contested at 25-21, 25-23, and 25-21. 

Saturday was another day of close losses to highly skilled competitors, and the Sandites notched set wins against each of their opponents. Against No. 4 Stillwater (8-3) they won the third set 28-26, but lost the other three 25-19, 25-13, and 28-26. Against 5A No. 7 Victory Christian they won the second set 25-18, but fell 25-22, 25-20, and 25-20 in the other games.

On Tuesday the girls took on another tough opponent in No. 7 Jenks (6-6), who was undefeated against Oklahoma teams. All of their losses came at the John Turner Invitational in Houston, Texas. Jenks was also coming off a State Semifinals appearance.

The Lady Sandites got off to a rough start, falling in a 4-0 hole before receiving a point off a Trojan error. All of the Sandites' early points came from Jenks's mistakes, and the home team worked up a 15-5 lead before Devree Youngblood scored the first Sandite kill of the game. Youngblood's two kills, both with assists from Madison Burris, were the only kills of the set for the Sandites, who lost game one 25-7.

The second game was a whole different story. Mutiri came alive with a kill, a block, and an ace en route to a 7-3 lead. Youngblood added a kill, Burris and Chelsea Neely combined for a block, and in just a few minutes the Sandites had outscored their entire first set. 

Sand Springs held on to the lead till 10-10 when Jenks went on a six-point run, but the visitors retaliated with a seven-point streak including five points from Mutiri and a kill from Kenzie Bradshaw. 

Things continued to stay all knotted up, but Jenks didn't take the lead again till 22-21 when Ally Stoner served an ace. Unfortunately for the Sandites, they would only score one more point on a campfire kill from Youngblood. Despite trailing for most of the set, Jenks rallied in the end for a 25-22 win. 

The third set was another close one with eight tied scores, though Sand Springs led for the majority. Jenks took the lead out of the gate, but MaKenzie Ward set up Mutiri and Madison Ward for back-to-back kills and an 11-9 advantage. The game tied a few times, but Jenks didn't lead again till 19-18 when they surged ahead in the final moments for a 25-21 win.

The Lady Sandites will return to action Friday at the Broken Arrow Tournament at Centennial Middle School. They will play on Court #2 against No. 5 Edmond Memorial (1-0) at 11:00 a.m., against No. 9 Edmond North (4-3) at 2:00 p.m., and against No. 11 Owasso (2-1) at 3:30 p.m. Bracketed matches will be played on Saturday beginning at 9:00 a.m. Other teams participating in the tournament include No. 3 Norman North (6-1), No. 10 Broken Arrow (2-2), No. 16 Southmoore (1-2), and Bartlesville.

CPHS Volleyball: Mutiri scores 22 kills in 3-1 loss at Union

The Charles Page High School varsity volleyball team (2-1) suffered their first defeat of the season at the hands of a Frontier Valley Conference foe. The Union Redskins (2-0) avenged their last seasons's loss to remain undefeated in the new year.

Kills: Mutiri 22, Cypert 4, Campfield 2, Neely 1
Assists: Burris 11, MaKenzie Ward 7, Mong 2, Cypert 1, Campfield 1.
Aces: Campfield 2, Burris 2, Madison Ward 2, Taylor 1, MaKenzie Ward 1
Blocks solo: Neely 1, Mutiri 1.
Block Assists: Neely 1, Burris 1.
Digs: Taylor 11, Madison Ward 11, Mutiri 11, Burris 4, Campfield 4, MaKenzie Ward 1.

The Lady Sandites started out hot, working up a 6-3 lead in the first set before the Redskins surged ahead to 9-7. Chelsea Neely scored a kill and Cloe Campfield served an ace for a brief 10-9 lead, but the home team stuck with their foes and won four-straight rallies for a 17-13 advantage. Sand Springs took the penultimate lead at 20-19 after winning four straight rallies including an ace from MaKenzie Ward. Union reclaimed the lead for a single rally, but Sand Springs won four more in a row and wrapped things up at 25-22 with a set from MaKenzie Ward and a kill from Gloria Mutiri.

The second set was a constant battle. The game saw five tied scores and four lead changes, with the home team taking charge at 13-12 as the Sandites were caught out of rotation. Union took a seven-point lead late in the game, but Sand Springs battled back with four straight rally wins including an ace from Madison Burris. The Lady Sandites tried to get back in the game, but the Redskins hung on for a 25-20 victory to tie the match.

Union took a 3-0 lead in set three, Sand Springs won the next five rallies, then Union won the four after that to take the lead for the duration. Sand Springs pulled as close as 16-14 thanks to kills from Makenna Cypert and Mutiri with an ace from Madison Ward. Union rapidly pulled away from there, however, for a 25-16 win.

It was make or break for Sand Springs in the fourth set. Mutiri struck first with an assist from Raylynn Mong and quickly worked up a 4-1 lead, but the Redskins were on a roll and won the next six rallies. The lead changed twice more, but Union took the final lead at 12-11 and rapidly surged ahead for the 25-15 lead. 

Mutiri, an Ohio State University commit, led all scorers with 22 kills. Burris recorded eleven assists, followed by MaKenzie Ward with seven. Mutiri, Madison Ward, and Kyle Taylor each had eleven digs apiece. 

The Lady Sandites will return to Union on Friday for a tournament at the Union Multipurpose Activity Center (UMAC) at 6836 South Mingo Road in Tulsa. 

Fall sports season is officially under way at Charles Page High School

Season ticket prices have been set for Sand Springs high school athletics.

$7.00 General admission
$11.00 Reserve seating
$20.00 Student Athlete All-Sport Pass, general admission
$25.00 Student Non-Athlete All-Sport Pass, general admission
$40.00 Senior Citizen All-Sport Pass, general admission
$50.00 Season pass, home games, reserve seating
$60.00 Adult All-Sport Pass, general admission
$85.00 All-Sport Pass Package with reserved seating

Charles Page High School boasts one of the premier athletic programs in the State of Oklahoma. Fall athletics include Cross Country, Football, Fast Pitch Softball, and Volleyball.

Lady Sandite Volleyball went 24-14 last year, reaching the number thirteen ranking in Class 6A before being eliminated in the playoffs by No. 4 Edmond Santa Fe. Head Coach Janna Green was named Frontier Valley Conference Coach of the Year, junior Gloria Mutiri committed to Ohio State University, and Lee Leslie signed with Oklahoma Wesleyan University.

The Sandite Football team went 7-5 last season and attained the number one ranking in Class 6A-II before being defeated in the semifinals by the defending and eventual State Champions from Bixby. The Sandites won a 26-25 upset over then top-ranked Muskogee with a two-point conversion that made the EPSN SportsCenter number one play. Four seniors went on to play collegiate ball and three received OCA All-Star accolades.

The Lady Sandite Softball team went 30-9, placed second in the district, made the State quarterfinals and won the 6A Academic State Championship. Sydney Pennington signed with Oklahoma State University, Jessica Collins signed with Connors State College, and both made the All-State team. 

The Boys' Cross Country team won the Kiefer meet and placed second at Sapulpa. The Girls placed first at Kiefer, second at Sapulpa, and fourth in the conference. The girls team qualified for State, Aden Baughman qualified individually, and Cheyenne Walden won her fourth State Championship. Walden signed with Oklahoma State University and Alexis Davis signed with Southwestern Oklahoma State University.

SOTW: Aden Baughman wins National Championship in 800 meter run

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Charles Page High School junior Aden Baughman was selected as Sandite of the Week for his first place finish at last weekend's USA Track and Field National Championship. The event was held in Rock Chalk Park at the University of Kansas.

Click here to view previous Sandites of the Week.

Baughman competed in the 15-16 year-old division of the 800 meter run and took first place in both the preliminaries and finals. In the prelims he finished in 1:56.1, less than half a second ahead of the runner-up. On Saturday he repeated his win with a 1:56.72 performance, edging the runner-up by half a second.

The Sandite won all but one of his 800-meter races this past school year, and the National Championship marked his eight-straight victory in the distance.

On Thursday afternoon Baughman placed thirteenth out of 45 runners in the 1500 meter preliminaries, falling just one place short of qualifying for the finals. His 4:15.71 time was 5.58 seconds behind the first-place runner, and 0.82 seconds away from qualifying. 

Baughman trains with Revolution Running & Fitness, an all-ages club led by CPHS Cross Country Head Coach Chris Corbin. The Competitive Club practice is held Wednesdays at the high school track, while the Strength and Conditioning Class is held Tuesdays and Thursdays at Angus Valley Elementary School.

Sandite of the Week can be anyone with significant ties to the Sand Springs community who is making a positive impact in Sand Springs or the world.

Sandite of the Week Aden Baughman qualifies for National Championship

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Charles Page High School junior State Champion Aden Baughman was selected as our Sandite of the Week for his first-place victory at Lindenwood University in St. Charles, Missouri on Saturday.

Baughman's first place performance at the USA Track and Field Region 9 Junior Olympic Championship event qualifies him for the 51st Hershey National Championship in two weeks.

Click here to view previous Sandites of the Week.

The championship is expected to attract nearly 10,000 athletes to Rock Chalk Park in Lawrence, Kansas. The venue is one of only five IAAF Class I Certified tracks in the United States and has a seating capacity of nearly 8,000. 

Competing against athletes from the Arkansas, Oklahoma, Ozarks, and Missouri Valley associations, Baughman finished the 800-meter run in 1:58.83, 2.55 seconds ahead of Claremore freshman 5A State Runner-Up Jack Vincent. 

Baughman previously took first place in two events at the Oklahoma Association Championship last month with an 800-meter time of 2:00.23, and a 1500-meter time of 4:14.08. At the State Championship in May he took first in the 800 in 1:59.23.

Ian Baustert took second place at the State 1500 in 4:37.98 and first in the Association 1500 in 4:23.79. He placed third in the State 3000 in 10:10.34, second in Association in 9:48.35, and fourth at Regionals in 9:53.81.

Oklahoma State University freshman Cheyenne Walden took first place in the State 3000 run with a time of 10:18.59.