CPHS Football Preview: Sandites vs. Deer Creek, Friday at Yukon

The Sandites have only played once at Miller Stadium, and defeated Yukon 26-21 in 2017.

The No. 3 ranked Sand Springs football team is back in the Class 6A-II playoff semifinals for the first time since 2016, and this time it’s a rematch of last year’s first-round playoff game against No. 4 Edmond Deer Creek.

The game will utilize the GoFan Electronic Ticket process, with tickets priced at $8.35. Cash admission will be $10 per person. School-aged children and above will need to purchase a ticket but children ages three and younger are admitted free of charge.

The game will be played at 7:00 p.m. at Miller Stadium at 1777 S. Yukon Pkwy, Yukon, OK 73099. Miller Stadium has a capacity of 6,112. Deer Creek will be the home team, and Sand Springs fans will sit on the visitor side. Sand Springs is planning a tailgate beginning at 5:30 p.m.

There is no livestream planned for the game, so fans should watch out for fake scam pages on social media.

The winner of the game will play the winner of No. 1 Bixby (11-0) vs. No. 2 Stillwater (9-2).

Sand Springs

The Sandites are in their second year under Head Coach Bobby Klinck, who holds an all-time coaching record of 28-20. While Sand Springs was a perennial playoff contender from 2012 to 2017, they hit a rough patch of three losing seasons before Klinck’s arrival spurred them from 2-8 in 2019 to 7-5 last year.

In the season opener they beat archrival Sapulpa 53-26, then they easily handled Bishop Kelley 34-13. Against defending Arkansas 4A State Champion Shiloh Christian they had to come from behind in a 40-33 shootout. In district action they won 30-13 against Ponca City and 48-34 against Muskogee before falling 37-32 to Booker T. Washington, 58-14 to Bixby and 41-28 to Choctaw.

The Sandites snapped the losing streak 41-20 at Bartlesville after jumping out to a 41-0 lead before sending in the backups. They then rolled Putnam City West 44-7, once again getting a first-team shutout before allowing the Patriots on the board in the final minutes. In the first round of the playoffs they upset the District One Champions from Del City 21-17 on the road.

“We have unbelievable players, unbelievable coaches,” said Klinck after Friday’s game. “We’ve got great players in Sand Springs. We are not good coaches without great players. It’s all about those dang kids and the effort and the heart they give.”

Sand Springs holds one gold ball, a 2A title in 1966, and last appeared in the state finals in 2015. Their last semifinal appearance was 2016, and they are 2-6 in the semifinals all-time.

Players to Watch

Ty Pennington (Sr. QB) is 170-265-2544-4 passing with 27 touchdowns, and is 134-467 rushing with ten TDs. He holds the school records in career passing yardage at 5,935, career passing touchdowns at 52, single season passing touchdowns, single season passing yardage, and career total touchdowns at 77.

Blake Jones (Sr. RB) is 149-918 rushing with eleven touchdowns an 7-56 receiving.

Brody Rutledge (Jr. WR) is 4-11-58-1 passing with two touchdowns and 39-658 receiving with six TDs.

Keaton Campbell (Sr. WR) is 45-678 receiving with nine touchdowns and averages 18.6 yards per kick return.

Jacob Blevins (Jr. WR) is 56-833 receiving with eight TDs, 9-43 rushing with one TD, and averages 16 yards per kick return.

Ryan Shoemaker (Sr. TE) is 22-291 receiving with five TDs.

Jabe Schlehuber averages 31.5 yards per kick return with a school record-setting 99-yard TD.

Landon Hendricks (Sr. DE) has 58 tackles, 19 for loss, 7.5 sacks, 6 pass breakups, 2 fumble recoveries, 3 forced fumbles, a safety, and 2 blocked kicks.

Brooks Dudley (Sr. LB) has 93 tackles, 6 for loss, 1.5 sacks, and 1 pass breakup.

Gabe Brown (Sr. LB) has 65 tackles, 11 for loss, 5 sacks, 1 pass breakup, 1 forced fumble, and a 75-yard scoop and score.

Conner Light (Sr. LB) has 71 tackles, 5.5 for loss, 3 sacks, 3 pass breakups, and 2 forced fumbles.

Drake Fain (Jr. LB) has 105 tackles, 6 for loss, 1 sack, 3 pass breakups, three fumble recoveries, an interception, and a 13-yard scoop and score.

Ryder Barnes (Sr. CB) has 63 tackles, 0.5 for loss, three interceptions, 9 pass breakups, and 1 fumble recovery.

Edmond Deer Creek

The Antlers (9-2) are in their fifth season under head coach Wade Standley, who holds a 26-25 record with the Antlers and is 67-51 in his career. He also went 11-10 at Ada and 30-16 at Norman North.

Deer Creek currently holds its first winning record since a 9-4 mark in 2015. They dropped to 2-8 in 2016 and went 4-6, 4-6, 5-5, and 4-6 over Standley’s first four seasons.

This year they won 35-7 at Edmond North, 44-0 against Southmoore, and 35-14 at Yukon before dropping a 35-28 overtime battle against Stillwater to start district play. They then won 38-13 at Putnam North, 70-0 against Northwest Classen, and 23-6 at Midwest City before falling 35-28 to Del City in overtime. They are currently on yet another three-game win streak, 67-20 at Lawton, 65-7 against U.S. Grant, and 36-29 with a road upset against Choctaw.

The upset of No. 2 Choctaw gave the Antlers their first-ever playoff win at the 6A level. Deer Creek last made it to the State semifinals in 2001, and won their only championship in 2000 at the 3A level. The Antlers are 1-2 in the semifinals, all-time.

Players to Watch

Brett Pense (Sr. QB) is 149-250-2061-2 passing with 27 TDs and 57-190 rushing with 6 TDs.

Deontaye Wilson (Jr. RB / CB) is 178-930 rushing with 10 TDs and 12-131 receiving with a TD.

Michael Holley (Sr. WR) is 28-415 receiving with 6 TDs.

Berkley Dalton (Jr. WR) is 27-367 receiving with 5 TDs.

Jevion Jones (Sr. WR / OLB) is 17-299 receiving with 4 TDs.

Gavin Smith (Sr. WR / FS) is 16-284 with 5 TDs and 3-7 rushing with a TD.

Jacob Sexton (Sr. OT) is a four-star Oklahoma commit standing at 6’5”, 285 pounds.

The Series

The two teams have met only once before, and it was in last year’s first-round playoff. The Antlers didn’t qualify for the postseason outright last year, but due to the high number of COVID-related game cancelations, the OSSAA added a play-in round for anyone who wanted to compete.

Sand Springs was short 27 players due to contract tracing, but they still prevailed 34-29 to advance to the quarterfinals at Stillwater.

Sand Springs jumped out to a 13-0 lead in the first quarter and led by as much as 20-3 before the Antlers surged back. Pennington was 14-of-24 passing for 171 yards and a TD, and ran 26 times for 163 yards and two more TDs. Jacob Blevins caught five passes for 104 yards a TD, while Blake Jones was 10-73 rushing with a TD.

Deer Creek quarterback Brett Pense was 18-of-36 for 293 yards and two TDs, but the backfield was held to 29 yards on the ground.