CPHS Football: Bobby Klinck hired as Sand Springs Head Coach

Fast Facts:

• 3-year starter, 3-time State Champion at Jenks High School.

• 2 years at OU, 2 years at TU. Conference USA Champion, Liberty Bowl Champion.

• Assistant Coach at Owasso, Muskogee, Broken Arrow, Southlake Carroll.

• 13-12 as Head Coach at East Central. District Champion and State Runner-Up. 2012 District Coach of the Year.

The Sand Springs Board of Education approved the hiring of Bobby Klinck as the new Head Football Coach at Charles Page High School Monday evening. Klinck will be the 18th Head Coach in CPHS history, inheriting a program that went 63-68 in thirteen seasons under Dustin Kinard. The Sandites wrapped up 2019 with their third-straight losing record, while Klinck won his second State Title as Defensive Coordinator at Owasso High School.

Klinck began making a name for himself at a young age as a three-year starter and All-State selection at Jenks. He rushed for over 2,500 yards and 33 touchdowns, and recorded 73 tackles in his senior season. The Trojans captured State Titles every year he played during their historic run from 1996-2001. In his senior State Championship game he recorded seven tackles, a fumble recovery, and an interception.

As the No. 14 ranked safety in the nation, Klinck was recruited by dozens of NCAA Division 1 schools, and ultimately settled on the University of Oklahoma, as part of the Sooners’ No. 1 ranked recruiting class in 2001. After wearing a redshirt for one season and seeing only limited special teams action, he transferred to the University of Tulsa in the Spring of 2004 to try and get more playing time.

His first season with the Hurricane was lackluster following a shoulder surgery, but he did start one game and saw minutes as a backup at free safety. In the 2005 season he earned a starting position and helped the Hurricane to its first Conference USA Championship since 1985, and a Liberty Bowl victory. He recorded a 19-yard scoop and score against Rice, and was named Conference USA’s Defensive Player of the Week after a three-turnover effort against SMU.

In his two years with TU, Klinck had one interception, two forced fumbles, three fumble recoveries with one touchdown, 32 solo tackles, 26 assisted tackles, 58 total, one tackle for loss, and three pass breakups.

After his playing career came to an end, Klinck spent three years as a graduate assistant at the University of Central Missouri before returning to TU in 2009. After one year with Tulsa he took up coaching receivers at Owasso during an 8-5 State Semifinals campaign. In 2011 he got his first Defensive Coordinator gig at Muskogee. The Roughers had a 4-6 record, but one of those losses came in overtime and his defense also pitched a 48-0 shutout.

In 2012 he was named the Head Coach at East Central High School in Tulsa at only 29 years of age. He had to rebuild the entire coaching staff, that returned only one assistant from the previous year. Inheriting a team that went 10-2 the season prior, he guided them to a 9-5 record that was really 13-1 before the first four wins were forfeited. After starting the year 4-0, they had to forfeit three non-district games and one district game after playing an ineligible transfer student.

The team didn’t let that adversity get them down, and they rolled to a district title with 5A playoff wins against Shawnee, Guthrie, and McAlester before falling 24-8 to the juggernaut Carl Albert in the Championship finals. The Cardinals won their games by an average score of 31-16, including two shutouts.

After graduating 24 seniors, including 21 starters and Gatorade Player of the Year Stanvon Taylor, Klinck went 4-7 in his sophomore campaign and was eliminated in the first round of the playoffs.

In 2014 Klinck joined the Broken Arrow coaching staff as Defensive Coordinator. Despite replacing seven starters that season, his defense pitched two shutouts and held its foes to an average of 16.2 points per game in a 7-4 campaign. According to MaxPreps, his team made 42 sacks on the season, and came away with ten interceptions, seven fumble recoveries, and three blocked punts.

In 2015 the Tigers improved to 11-2 and were State Runners-Up, falling 35-14 to Jenks. They shut out two more teams and held their foes to 18.7 points per game.

In 2016 Klinck moved to Carroll High School in Southlake, Texas, helping the national powerhouse to a 10-2 record and Playoff Quarterfinals appearance. His defense made 20 sacks, 12 interceptions, and 8 fumble recoveries.

One season in Texas was enough, and he returned to Owasso as the first hire of Bill Blankenship. That year saw the Rams’ first-ever State Championship in a 12-1 campaign that featured a 21-0 shutout of Jenks in the State Semifinals and a 21-14 Finals win over Union. The defense also got a shutout against Southmoore, 48-2, with the Sabercats’ lone points coming on a safety. Owasso gave up only 17.4 points per game.

The Rams went 7-5 in 2018, losing their semifinal match to undefeated State Champion Broken Arrow by only a field goal. His defense came away with 13 interceptions, 9 forced fumbles, 6 recoveries, 2 blocked kicks, and 32 sacks. They also recorded one shutout.

Finally, the 2019 Rams went undefeated at 13-0 for their second goal ball. This year’s defense pitched one shutout while allowing only 13.5 points per game. They made 13 picks with 10 forced fumbles and 10 recoveries, a blocked field goal, and 39 sacks.

Klinck will have big shoes to fill following Coach Kinard’s ouster. Despite holding a losing overall record, Kinard was hugely popular and was the second-longest tenured coach in town history. Although the program has been trending downward in recent years, it wasn’t long ago that Kinard guided the Sandites to a school-record six consecutive playoff appearances from 2012 to 2017 with a Runner-Up finish in 2015.

Lady Sandite Volleyball goes undefeated in day one of Coweta Tournament

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

PHOTO GALLERY

The Charles Page High School varsity volleyball team (6-3) won four straight matches Friday at the Coweta Tournament. Heritage Hall (1-9) fell 2-0 with sets of 25-20 and 25-19. Catoosa (1-4) fell 2-1 with sets of 25-19, 23-25, and 15-9. 

SEE RELATED: Sandite Volleyball tacks on two exciting wins at Coweta Tournament

The Sandites took on the home team in their third match of the day and defeated the Coweta Tigers 2-1 in an edge-of-your-seat thriller. The first game was hotly contested in the beginning, but the tide steadily turned in the Sandites' favor. 

Lee Leslie drew first blood with an assist from Madison Burris, then MaKenzie Ward set up kills for Leslie and Gloria Mutiri to make it 4-2. Coweta scored a pair of kills and profited from a Sandite error to take the lead back at 5-4, but Mutiri got in on four straight kills to put the Sandites on top once and for all. Sand Springs went on a run at the end of the game, winning six straight rallies for a 25-13 victory. 

The second game's outcome was nearly just as lopsided in Coweta's favor. The back-and-forth battle for the lead continued till Ward set up kills for Mutiri and Devree Youngblood to tie things up at 14-14. From there Coweta ran away with a long list of faults on the Sandites. Five straight errors and a handful of kills gave the Tigers the 25-16 win. 

In the final set the Sandites regained their footing and left Coweta behind after Mutiri nailed a pair of back-to-back kills for the 5-3 advantage. The Tigers grabbed one point on an error, but Mutiri and Holly Kersgieter added another pair of kills before giving up a point on a service error. Coweta handed up a fault of their own and Youngblood got back in on the action with a shot off Ward, then combined on a block with Kersgieter to double down 10-5. Leslie got back in the fray and Ward scored a solo shot. Youngblood and Leslie blocked a shot to make it 14-6 and the Sandites had plenty of wiggle room. Coweta won the next four rallies somewhat due to defensive indifference on the part of the Sandites, who already had the win in the bag, but ultimately Youngblood smacked a kill off Ward for the 15-10 win. 

Sand Springs breezed through their final match of the day in a 2-0 victory over Edison (2-6). 

Kersgieter scored back-to-back aces to start the match. Kylie Taylor scored a kill off a Mutiri assist, Youngblood took a solo shot, and an Eagle fault gave Sand Springs the 5-0 advantage. Edison picked up their first point on an error from Taylor, but the next seven rallies went to the Sandites. Sand Springs continued to pile on the points until Mutiri wrapped things up with an ace for the 25-6 win. 

In the second game it was Edison who started things off with an ace, but it didn't take the Sandites long to get back in the lead once and for all with an ace from Youngblood. Madison Ward got in the game and served up a pair of back-to-back aces and MaKenzie Ward scored three-straight aces soon-after. 

The Sandites gave up five errors from there before tightening back up. Youngblood made it 22-11 on an assist from MaKenzie Ward. Kersgieter served, dug the return and scored on the dig, then followed it up with an ace. She gave up one point with an error, but followed it up with a kill for the 25-12 win.

The Lady Sandites will return to action bright and early Saturday morning with a 10:00 a.m. match against East Central (5-6). The Cardinals went 1-3 on day one of the tournament with losses to Tahlequah, Claremore, and Catoosa, and a win over Edison. Immediately following that match the Sandites will take on Tahlequah (2-2). Tahlequah started their season Friday with wins over Edison and East Central, but lost to Claremore and Heritage Hall.

At 1:00 p.m. the Sandites will take on Claremore (5-3) in the final round of pool play. Claremore went 3-1 in day one of the tournament, defeating Edison, Tahlequah, and East Central, but lost to Coweta. 

All eight teams will compete in bracket competition. The Sandites have already earned their way into the gold bracket and if they can finish undefeated they'll play at 3:00 p.m. against the number four seed. The second and third-seeded teams will meet at 4:00 p.m. and the Championship match will be at 5:00 p.m.

Lady Sandite Volleyball heads to Coweta Tournament this weekend

Photo:\\MORGAN MILLER

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

The Charles Page High School varsity volleyball team (2-3) will compete in their first tournament this weekend. The Lady Sandites will travel to Coweta High School Friday morning for an eight team competition beginning at 9:00 a.m.

The Sandites started the season with back-to-back wins over opponents who dominated them in years past. The Muskogee Roughers (1-2) fell 3-1 to the Sandites in the season opener and next to go down were the Catoosa Indians (1-2). The Lady Indians were Regional Champions last year, but fell in straight sets to Sand Springs.

The ladies gave the defending 5A State Champions from Bishop Kelley a run for their money before falling 3-2 Monday night. Tuesday they were defeated 3-0 by the 6A State Runners-Up from Jenks (7-2) and Thursday they fell in sets of 22-25, 16-25, and 21-25 to Ponca City (5-4).

The girls will look to get back in the win column Friday when they take on yet another State Finalist in 5A Heritage Hall (0-4). At 11:00 a.m. Catoosa will get a rematch, at 1:00 p.m. the Sandites will play Coweta (1-1), and at 3:00 p.m. they will take on the Edison Eagles (2-3). 

On Saturday the Sandites will return to action with a 10:00 a.m. match against East Central (4-3) followed immediately by an 11:00 a.m. match against Tahlequah (0-0) and a 1:00 p.m. match against Claremore (2-2).

After pool play concludes, all eight teams will compete in the bracket competition. There will be two brackets, each beginning at 3:00 p.m. The second round will be played at 4:00 p.m. and the championship match will be played at 5:00 p.m. Each match will be decided by the best two out of three sets with the first two sets capped at 30 points and the third set played to 15 points with no cap. 

Sandite Boys' Soccer season comes to an end at Deer Creek

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By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

The Charles Page High School Boys' Soccer Team (3-12) saw their season come to a close in Edmond Thursday night as they were handily defeated 7-0 by the defending State Champions, No.18 nationally ranked Deer Creek (12-1). 

The boys finished the season with the same number of wins as last year, plus two more losses. In 2015 the boys started 0-4 before they found their first win, but this year they pulled off an impressive 4-0 shutout of Muskogee in the second game of the season.

They lost five straight from there, but placed sixth in the Edison Green and White Tournament after freshman Ethan Baxter scored a hat trick in a 4-1 defeat of Regent Prep. The third win this season is the most important game to win for a Sandite. The Highway 97 Rivalry went to Sand Springs in a 2-1 overtime victory Tuesday night. 

The Antlers wasted no time in getting on the board as sophomore Chris Smirlis notched a goal less than three minutes into the game. The game was a shooting melee, but Sandite keeper Edgar Soberano was all over it, picking up seven saves on thirteen shots before allowing a goal with 13 minutes remaining in the half. The Sandites finally got off their first shot of the game in the 32nd minute, but it was no where close.

The Antlers added another goal for the 3-0 lead with a little over five minutes in the half, then scored a fourth with only 0:50 seconds left. With moments left, Alex Hernandez fired off the second shot of the half for the Sandites from thirty yards out, but sent it wide left as the clock expired. Deer Creek added a PK 16 minutes into the second half for the 5-0 advantage. Tucker Brown added the sixth goal of the evening with 21 minutes to play, and from there Deer Creek sent in the backups to finish the night. The Antlers scored on a free kick with 16 minutes left and the rest of the night consisted of driving back and forth with neither team making any really close runs.

Redistricting really hurt the boys this season, who actually played better than last season in many ways. The tough district included two nationally ranked teams in Deer Creek and Union. The boys' season opener was also to a nationally ranked team, though East Central wasn't a district game. The boys were far better than their record indicated, as demonstrated by the fact Union and East Central each only beat the Sandites by two goals. Seven of the losses this season were decided by two goals or less.

Baxter led the team in scoring with 5 goals, followed by Andrew Morrison with 3, Kaleb Brooks with 2, Alex Hernandez with 2, Cade Loomin with 1, Cody Gurley with 1, and Ignacio Garcia with 1. 

The team will be graduating seven this year: Brooks, Lazaro Franco, Dylan Lambert, Simon Hollekve, Dalton Lane, and Hunter Jacob.

This season's photo galleries can be found at https://sanditepride.smugmug.com/2016-Soccer

Lady Sandite Soccer season comes to an end at Deer Creek

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By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

The Charles Page High School Girls' Soccer Team (9-6) traveled to Edmond Thursday night for their season finale against Deer Creek High School (11-3) and fell 5-2 to cap a disappointing end to a season that started with lots of promise. 

The girls started the year with a bang, racking up a 3-1-1 record in preseason scrimmages, including winning the Stillwater preseason tournament. In the season-opener at East Central they dominated their opponents with a 10-0 mercy rule shutout in only 23 minutes. Over the course of the season they racked up six shutouts and a championship trophy at the Edison Green and White Tournament.

The girls' six-straight win streak came to an end with a 6-0 loss to Union, who is currently ranked number one in the nation with a 30-game win streak. They rebounded with a dominating 9-1 performance against Putnam City North, which saw Megan DeShazo score six goals. From there, however, they lost the final four of the season and failed to make the playoffs.

Things started out fairly close as Deer Creek held a 3-1 lead after the first half, with the lone Sandite goal coming from Kyndal Zicker.

DeShazo narrowed the gap to 3-2 on a penalty kick exactly four minutes into the second half, but Megan Neilson returned the favor seven minutes later for the two-point advantage. 

Oral Roberts University-signee Taylor Reed added to the lead on a high-sailing free kick from 27 yards out that sailed just over Sandite goalie Abigail Banks's head into the top right corner with 21 minutes to play.

With a 5-2 lead and 17 minutes left, the Lady Antlers pulled their starting lineup and sent in the second string. That evened things out quite a bit, but even the youngsters from an annual powerhouse like Deer Creek are above average players and the two teams were evenly matched for the duration and regulation expired before either team could score again. 

With the bulk of the ladies' wins coming against non-district foes, the girls settled for sixth in the district and failed to make the playoffs. Despite the heavy losses at the end of the season, the girls still outscored their opponents by an impressive 46-26 overall this season.

DeShazo led her team in scoring with 13 goals, followed by Zicker with 12, Kayla Foster with 10, Brooklyn Eardley with 9, and Kylie Taylor with 2.

Foster, who is signed to play with Missouri University of Science and Technology next season, led for much of the season, scoring two hat tricks in the first four games, but was sidelined for half a dozen games after sustaining an injury against Bixby. 

DeShazo, a junior, opened the season with a hat trick against East Central, and had the highest single-game performance for the girls with her six goals against Putnam North. 

The girls will be losing McKinzie Horton, Marissa Doll, Bryn Lewis, Taylor Coyle, Ashley Marino, and Alexis Slabby plus four players who are signed to play at the collegiate level. Eardley is headed to ORU, Kylee Cramer is headed to Oklahoma Baptist University, and Madison Dye will be playing for Northeastern State University. 

This season's soccer gallery can be found at https://sanditepride.smugmug.com/2016-Soccer

Sandite Soccer celebrates 19 on Senior Night

STAFF REPORTS

Charles Page High School celebrated its senior soccer players and trainers Friday night at Memorial Stadium. The girls lost their game 2-1 in overtime to Westmoore and the boys lost 2-1 in double overtime.

Taylor Coyle is the daughter of Kary and Mike Stephens and James Coyle. She's been a player for the Sandite soccer team for three years. Throughout high school, she's been a member of the National Honor Society (NHS), the Family, Career, and Community Leaders of America (FCCLA) secretary, a counselor at Make Promises Happen special needs camp, and a Peer Tutor in Ms. Harper's Special Ed class. After graduation she plans to attend Tulsa Community College (TCC) where she will major in Mild/Moderate Special Education.

Jacob Dixon is the son of Mike and Tammy Dixon. He's been a player for the Sandite soccer team for four years. During his high school career he's been involved in NHS and Future Farmers of America (FFA). After graduation he plans on enlisting in the United States Navy. 

Kylee Cramer is the daughter of Jill and Barrett Cramer and has played for the Sandite soccer team for four years. Throughout high school she's been involved in NHS, the Fellowship of Christian Students, the Native American Student Association (NASA), Calvary Baptist Youth Group, and the Oklahoma Indian National Honor Society. She's played competitive soccer with the West Side Alliance (WSA) 97 Girls for two years and Blitz United 98 Girls for one year. After graduation she plans to attend Oklahoma Baptist University where she will major in Nursing.

Lazaro Franco is the son of Lazaro and Elisabeth Franco and has played for the Sandites for three years. After graduation he plans on attending TCC where he will major in Electronics and Electrical Engineering Technology. 

Marissa Doll is the daughter of Russell and Elfi Doll and has played for the Sandites for three years. She's been a four-year member of Student Council and a three-year member of NHS, where she served as Vice President her senior year. She's a member of Youth and Government, has played soccer since she was five and has played competitive soccer with WSA for seven years. After graduation she plans to attend the University of Oklahoma (OU) where she will major in biochemistry with the goal of becoming a dentist.

Hunter Jacob is the son of Dawna Maron and Randy Jacob. He has played for the Sandites for one year, has played with the Sand Springs Soccer Club for eight years, and the WSA for one year. After graduation, he plans to attend OU where he will major in Biomedical Engineering. 

Madison "Hoot" Dye is the daughter of Erik and Nina Dye. She's played for the Sandites for one year. Throughout high school she has participated in NHS, FCCLA, and made the TCC President's Honor Roll. She's played for WSA for twelve years and has been the captain of her competitive team for the last six years. After graduation she will be attending Northeastern State University on a soccer scholarship. 

Dylan Lambert is the son of Robert and Jennifer Lambert and has played for the Sandites for four years. During his high school career he has been involved in NHS, FFA, Boy Scouts, Venturing Crew, Soccer, and Spanish Club. He attained the rank of Eagle Scout in 2015 and is graduating with honors. He has played recreational soccer with the Sand Springs Soccer Club for eight years. After graduating he plans to attend Oklahoma State University where he will major in Architecture and minor in Paleontology, Archaeology, and Horticulture.

Brooklyn Nicole Davis Eardley is the daughter of Sunnie and Josh Eardley and the late Marques Davis. She has been a player for the Sandites for four years. During her high school career she has been involved in NHS, NASA, Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Competition, as well as CPHS Volleyball. She has played competitive soccer with the WSA 98 Girls Red for twelve years. She is signed to play soccer for Oral Roberts University where she will major in Pre-Sports Medicine. Eardley is fourth on her team in scoring this season with 9 goals.

Twin brothers Austin and Andrew Morrison are the sons of Steve and Leslie Morrison and have both played for the Sandites for four years. Austin has played soccer for six years. Both plan on attending TCC where Austin will major in Aviation and Andrew will major in Nursing. Andrew is one of the leading scorers for the Sandites with four goals this season. 

Kayla Foster is the daughter of Mark and Melissa Foster and has played for the Sandites for four years. Throughout high school she has participated in NJHS, NHS, Spanish Club, and played volleyball her freshman and sophomore years. She has played competitive soccer with WSA 98 Girls Red for nine years. She is signed to play for Missouri University of Science and Technology and plans to major in Petroleum Engineering. Foster is third in the team for scoring this season with 10 goals over six games after sitting out more than half the season with a leg injury. She's scored two hat tricks in wins over East Central and Enid.

McKinzie Horton is the daughter of Kassi and Colin Horton and has played for the Sandites for four years. Throughout high school she has participated in WSA, Ultimate Youth, FCS, and FCCLA. She has played recreational and competitive soccer with WSA for eleven years. After graduating she plans to attend TCC and major in Sonography. 

Dalton Lane is the son of Shannon Dobson and Kevin Smith and has played for the Sandites for one year. He's been a four year member of NHS and has played recreation and competitive soccer with SSSC and WSA for nine years. After graduating he plans to attend the University of Tulsa where he will major in Petroleum Engineering. 

Courtney Langley is the daughter of Dana and Gene Langley and has been a trainer for the Sandites for three years. Throughout high school she has served as the President of Student Council, Secretary of NHS, and has participated in Youth and Government, Fellowship of Christian Students, Horizons, and Key Club. After graduating she plans on attending NSU to major in Biology and Business. 

William Pelfrey is the son of Benjawan Sanka and William and Duangpon Pelfrey. He's played for the Sandites for four years, and has played soccer for twelve years. After graduation he plans on enlisting in the US Army.

Bryn Lewis is the daughter of Jim and Sharon Lewis and has played for the Sandites for four years. She's played in the Gold Pride Marching Band for four years, including two years as Drum Major. She's participated in the Sandite Concert Band for seven years, FCS, President of Youth and Government, and President of NHS. She also plays for Sandite Volleyball and is a volleyball partner with the Sandite Special Olympics. She's played competitive soccer with WSA for thirteen years. After graduation she plans on attending the University of Tulsa where she will major in Engineering. 

Ashley Marino is the daughter of Juan and Maria Marino and has played for the Sandites for four years. During her high school career, she's also been involved in Masa Club and Sandite Track. After graduation she plans on majoring in Criminal Justice at NSU. 

Alexis Slabby is the daughter of Kristina Slabby and Shane Morgan and has played for the Sandites for the past two years. During her high school career she has also participated in FCCLA and Make Promises Happen. After graduating she plans on attending the University of Central Oklahoma to obtain a liberal arts degree, then enlisting in the Marine Corp. 

Full photo galleries from both games and Senior Night festivities can be viewed and purchased at https://sanditepride.smugmug.com/2016-Soccer/41516-Sand-Springs-vs/