Cash Lucas Sparks Sandites to 25-21 Comeback Win at Tahlequah

Cash Lucas recovered two fumbles Friday night at Doc Wadley Stadium. The second was the spark his team needed to overcome a 21-6 second quarter deficit.

No. 7 Sand Springs (3-2, 1-1) scored 19 unanswered points for a 25-21 victory over No. 8 Tahlequah (2-3, 1-1)  in its first district win of the season.

“Any time you get a road win in 6A Oklahoma high school football, you’ve got to celebrate that,” said Sand Springs coach Bobby Klinck.

The Sandite defense got burned by a 67-yard hook and ladder on the first play from scrimmage when Brody Younger tossed a short pass to Race Stopp, who pitched it to Brayden Northington for the score. 

That one play accounted for nearly a quarter of the Tigers’ offense, however, and the Sandites held Tahlequah to only 65 yards in the second half.

Back-to-back sacks from Dallas Elifrits and Waylon Jeffers put a stop to Tahlequah’s last chance drive late in the fourth and the Sandites escaped with a win.

“I’m more proud of how they responded to some tough plays like that first razzle dazzle,” said Klinck.

“People are going to come after us now. We’re not the same old Sand Springs. People see us as a marquee win, so we’ve got to be ready for that kind of stuff. I’m really proud of the way our guys respond.”

After Tahlequah’s opening score the Sandites put together a 10-play, 56-yard march, but Dylan Leep broke up Easton Webb’s fourth-down pass attempt in the end zone.

Lucas recovered a fumble deep in Tiger territory, but a 28-yard field goal attempt by Jonathan Daniels was no good and the Tigers responded with a 10-play, 80-yard scoring march. 

Younger found Northington wide open on a 9-yard touchdown pass, but the Sandites responded with a 31-yard pass from Webb to Kenneth Page to end the quarter with points on the board. Brody Rutledge’s two-point pass attempt was broken up, however.

Tahlequah opened the second period with an eight-play, 61-yard drive that ended in controversy. A short pass to Eli Gibson appeared to be broken up by Gatlin Gunn, but no whistle was blown.

A full four seconds after everyone else had turned their backs on the ball, Stopp realized it was still live and scooped it up for the touchdown.

After a Sandite turnover on downs and Lucas’s second fumble recovery of the night, the Sandites brought out some trickery of their own.

With 4:47 left in the half, Webb threw a lateral to running back Ali McCoy, who played quarterback in junior high, and the sophomore aired out a 49-yard touchdown pass to Brody Rutledge.

“Anybody on this team - we trust them,” said Klinck. “We put them through a lot around here and we put them through a lot so they make these types of play.”

Rutledge ran the ball for an extra 20 yards after contact, tiptoed the sideline, and dived into the pylon for the score to showcase his athleticism.

“What can you say about him? I mean, he’s just done everything right not only with his talent, but with his work ethic and the way he’s done everything,” said Klinck. “I couldn’t be happier for that young man. It’s all paying off for him.”

A three-and-out set the Sandites up for a 47-yard scoring run by Page, but Jacob Blevins was stopped short on a two-point pass from Rutledge and Tahlequah took a 21-19 lead into the half.

Webb gave his team the lead once and for all on the opening drive of the second half with a three-yard QB draw.

The freshman quarterback ended the night 14-of-24 passing for 201 yards and two total touchdowns. 

Blevins was his top receiver with nine catches for 134 yards, and Page had 32 carries for 208 yards in addition to his 44 receiving yards.

Defensively the team was led by Elifrits, Gunn, and RJ Smittick with six tackles each. Lucas added five. 

Most impactful for the Sandites was their clean performance. After back-to-back games with 150+ yards in penalties, the team only had 30 yards against the Tigers with no unsportsmanlike flags.

“It was a concerted effort to try to eliminate those things,” said Klinck. “We had a nice talk on Sunday and we had to change a few things to make sure that we’re disciplined.”

Younger gave an exemplary performance for the Tigers, going 14-of-17 for 176 passing yards and added 31 more on the ground.

“I just want to give a shoutout to Coach Gilbert over there at Tahlequah,” said Klinck. “I’ve gone against him for a long time and he’s nothing but class. He’s one heck of a football coach and he had those guys ready to play tonight.”

“They’re a team that moved up, but they’re no stranger to big-time football. We knew we were going to get their best shot.”

Next up for the Sandites will be a home test against No. 1 Stillwater (5-0, 2-0). The Pioneers lead the series 31-12-1, winning the most recent meeting 49-17 in the 2020 quarterfinals.

“We’ll look at the tape and make some adjustments, see what we can do, and we’ll get back after it,” said Klinck.

“We’ve got to be ourselves. They’re going to do some different things defensively. We’ve just got to be ourselves and get after it.”

Tahlequah will look to get back to .500 with a road game at No. 6 Muskogee (5-0, 2-0).

Sand Springs;6;13;6;0–;25
Tahlequah;14;7;0;0–;21

1Q: THS - Northington 67 pass from Younger (Jimerson kick), 11:45
1Q: THS - Northington 9 pass from Younger (Jimerson kick), 0:59
1Q: CPHS - Page 31 pass from Webb (pass failed), 0:00
2Q: THS - Stopp 4 fumble return (Jimerson kick), 8:35
2Q: CPHS - Rutledge 49 pass from McCoy (Daniels kick), 5:37
3Q: CPHS - Webb 3 run (pass failed), 6:13

TEAM STATISTICS

First Downs: CPHS 19, THS 13. Rushes-Yards: CPHS 44-201, THS 30-105. Comp-Att-Int: CPHS 14-24-0, THS 14-17-0. Passing Yards: CPHS 201, THS 176. Total Yards: CPHS 402, THS 281. Fumbles-Lost: CPHS 5-1, THS 6-2. Penalty Yards: CPHS 30, THS 65. Punts-AVG: CPHS 1-28, THS 4-36.5. Records: CPHS 3-2 (1-1), THS (2-3, 1-1).