Sandite Football drops third-straight, prepares for Bartlesville trip
/A version of this story was originally written for the Sand Springs Leader.
The Sandite football team has been through the gauntlet this past month, dropping three consecutive games to the top three teams in Class 6A-II.
No. 4 Charles Page High School (5-3, 2-3) fell 41-28 at home last Friday in a district match against No. 2 Choctaw (6-2, 4-1), ending a brutal three-game stretch that also saw losses to Bixby and Booker T. Washington.
With the loss, the Sandites can finish no higher than fourth in the district, and they’ll need to win their last two games to make the playoffs. Fortunately they’ll be heavy favorites after three weeks as underdogs.
“We still control our own destiny,” said Sand Springs head coach Bobby Klinck. “That’s what I tell these kids. It’s okay to be disappointed. Last week we got rolled at Bixby. I could tell the kids were disappointed.”
“We’ve got two weeks to get a lot better. I do feel we’re going to be a dangerous football team when it comes time for the playoffs.”
Choctaw already saw the Sandites as a dangerous team, and was on upset alert throughout the night.
“They’ve got tough, hard-nosed kids like us that just keep battling,” said Choctaw coach Jake Corbin. “We knew it would be an absolute battle on the road and a great atmosphere. It’s a cool place to play when you’re not the opponent. We knew it’d be a big-time game and we knew that they were a really good team, a really talented team.”
Choctaw struck first on a 34-yard pass from Steele Wasel to Jax Smith, but Drake Fain stopped a two-point conversion attempt, and the Sandites took their only lead of the night soon after. Keaton Campbell put the home team on the board with a 15-yard reception from Ty Pennington, and Logan Wolfe kicked the point-after for the lead.
The Yellowjackets got back on top with a two-yard run by Wasel, who then tossed a two-point pass to La’Trell Ray to make it 14-7 late in the first. Ray then scored on a 40-yard run in the second quarter.
Brooks Dudley brought pressure on Choctaw’s next possession to force a three-and-out, and a bad punt snap was recovered by Landon Hendricks to set up a three-yard run from Pennington to make it 21-14.
JuJu Smith scored on a 10-yard reception late in the half, and added a two-yard run in the third quarter to put his team up 34-14, but Sand Springs wouldn’t go down without a fight.
Pennington connected with Brody Rutledge for a 24-yard score, the defense forced a punt and a turnover on downs, then Pennington found Ryan Shoemaker for an 11-yard touchdown to make it 34-28 with 4:10 to play.
Ryder Barnes recovered an onside kick and the Sandites marched to the Choctaw 35-yard line before Cameron Hunt picked off Pennington and set up a 61-yard touchdown run by Ray for the final points of the game.
Even down double digits with only two minutes left, they didn’t give up, and the Sandites put together a ten-play 54-yard drive that ended on a fourth-down incompletion in the red zone as time expired.
“The difference between winning and losing can be just a few plays,” said Klinck. “Whether it’s blown coverage or a missed interception opportunity, those types of things. We’ve got to start making those types of plays if we’re going to get this program over the hump.”
“That’s what we try to get these kids to understand, that’s why we’re so hard on them during practice and demand excellence. Hat’s off to Choctaw, really good football team, but I like my team.”
While the Sandites matched up well against the Yellowjackets overall, they couldn’t find an answer for the heavily recruited DeSean Brown, who sacked Pennington four times for 37 yards.
The senior record-breaking quarterback was 19-of-33 passing on the night with 272 yards, and even strung together nine-straight completions late in the game with 189 yards in the fourth quarter. He also ran for 74 gross yards, but lost 63 to sacks.
“He’s an absolute stud,” Corbin said of the Sandite QB. “He’s just a tough kid, throws really accurate balls. He plays tough as nails. He can barely walk at the end and he’s still standing in there firing off, running it. I definitely shook his hand after the game and wanted to tell him what a great job he did. He’s a super tough kid.”
Choctaw was paced offensively by Wasel, who was 16-of-29 passing for 215 yards and two touchdowns, while Ray had 11 carries for 122 yards and two scores.
Shoemaker led the Sand Springs receiving corps with four catches for 77 yards, while Kenneth Page led on the ground with ten carries for 62 yards. Fain paced the defense with nine tackles, three for loss, and two pass deflections, followed by Dudley with eight tackles, three for loss, one sack, and one deflection.
Next up for the Sandites is a district road match at Bartlesville (2-6, 1-4), Friday at 7:00 p.m. Last year the Sandites beat Bartlesville 21-14 at home on Senior Night.
