Sandites Throttle Tigers 41-7, Abbi Elder Named Homecoming Queen
/Abbi Elder was named Homecoming Queen and Mason HArris was Kissing Captain. Photo: Charity Emigh.
Tahlequah tried to set the tone early in its Friday night road game at Sand Springs. On fourth-and-one near midfield, the Tigers handed the ball off to Darryn Spahr and the senior back ran into a wall named Owen Floyd.
Two plays later Ali McCoy took the ball 57 yards to the house. Tone set.
McCoy ran for over 200 yards in the first half as the No. 5 Charles Page High School football team (3-2, 1-1) steamrolled to a 41-7 win over No. 6 Tahlequah (1-4, 0-2) on Homecoming.
“It wouldn’t be possible without the five guys up front,” said McCoy, who ended the night with 10 carries for 213 yards and two touchdowns.
“I expected us to do good on the ground, but I didn’t expect that outcome. It feels good sharing this moment with our seniors. We’ve been working really hard.”
One of those seniors was Kenneth Page, who had 12 carries for 132 yards and three scores. Another was wildcat quarterback Jace Arnold who ran the ball six times for 43 yards and another score.
When the clock finally ran dry the Sandites had amassed 392 yards on the ground, averaging a first down with every snap.
“I really like how we came out after a disappointing performance last week,” said head coach Bobby Klinck, referencing a 51-13 loss to No. 1 Muskogee.
“(The offensive line) is the heart and soul of our football team and they’re getting better each week.”
Kenneth Page scored 3 touchdowns against Tahlequah on Homecoming. Photo: Charity Emigh.
As dominant as the offense was, the defense was equally in control, recording two takeaways, seven tackles for loss, and two turnovers on downs. The Sandites forced four punts on the night and only allowed 79 yards in the second half.
“It was really good to see our secondary as a whole just continue to get better,” said Klinck. “Our secondary hadn’t been our strong point defensively, so for them to kind of lead and do some big things, I’m very happy with them.”
That secondary stepped up time and time again with Landyn Barnes breaking up a pass to force a punt on the Tigers’ second possession before intercepting Cash McAlvain on their third possession.
The pick was crucial for keeping momentum on the Sandites’ side as Tahlequah’s Jacob Morrison had just intercepted Easton Webb on the previous drive.
Two plays later, McCoy had another mad dash for a 49-yard touchdown.
Spahr got the visitors on the board with a 14-yard run to open the second quarter, but Page responded with a 19-yard run, the Tigers went three-and-out, and Arnold scored his 10-yard run to make it 27-7 after a failed PAT.
Two Tiger penalties set the Sandites up for a kickoff from deep in Tahlequah territory and they used the opportunity to practice their onside kick.
Dawson Puckett’s first attempt only traveled eight yards before going out of bounds, but that kick was nullified as the Sandites had lined up offsides and got a re-do.
This time it was flawlessly executed and recovered by Cooper Guardado to set up a 33-yard touchdown run by Page.
Tahlequah successfully moved the ball 61 yards on its next drive before Mason Harris sacked McAlvain and forced a fumble that was snatched up by Keagan Gilman with 42 seconds in the half.
The Sandites nearly punched in another but ran out of time after driving 52 yards on five plays to enter the red zone.
The starters got one more drive to open up the second half and Page scored his third touchdown on a one-yard plunge for the final score of 41-7.
From there, both teams played mostly backups and took turns exchanging punts till the clock ran out.
Sand Springs will take to the road next week with a key district match-up at No.4 Stillwater (3-2, 2-0), who prevailed 48-13 over No. 8 Booker T. Washington in their Week 5 game.
The Pioneers have won their past two meetings with Sand Springs and lead the series 32-12 all-time.
CPHS 41 Tahlequah 7
1Q: CPHS 14-0.
2Q: CPHS 20-7.
3Q: CPHS 7-0.
4Q: 0-0.
First Downs: CPHS 14, Tahlequah 15.
Fumbles-Lost: CPHS 1-0, Tahlequah 3-2.
Penalties: CPHS 9-85, Tahlequah 7-80.
Passing: CPHS 7-11-97-1, Tahlequah 16-25-128-1.
Rushing: CPHS 36-392, Tahlequah 32-114.
Offense: CPHS 47-489, Tahlequah 57-242.
