Sand Springs Football: Blake Jones scores 4 TDs in 53-26 rout of Sapulpa

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*A version of this story was originally published in the Tulsa World.

For the first time in the 99-year history of the Highway 97 Rivalry, the Sandites can boast of hanging half a hundred on their archrivals. 

After trailing 14-0 early in the first quarter, Class 6A-II No. 8 ranked Charles Page High School rattled off 30 straight points to close the first half of their season opener against 5A No. 9 Sapulpa, then coasted to a 53-26 final score.

“Sapulpa’s a very well-coached football team,” said second-year Sandite Head Coach Bobby Klinck about the Chieftains’ early lead. “I’ve coached with Tim Holt before. I knew they were going to come out here with a great game plan against us and I’m not surprised by it.”

The Sandites have won the series back-to-back under Klinck, and they’ve won it seven of the past eight seasons, evening the all-time record to 45-45-5. Sapulpa had held the overall series lead since 1945.

It didn’t start pretty, though.

D’Angelo Mitchell set up the Chieftains’ opening drive with a 47-yard kick return, and Sapulpa marched the remaining 50 yards in only five plays, scoring on a 12-yard pass from Zac Mason to Xander Konell.

The Chieftains got another short field on a mishandled punt attempt at the Sandite 49-yard line. Mason soon found Mitchell on a 47-yard pass and Ethan Peterson’s kick gave the visitors a 14-0 lead.

There were other mistakes throughout the game, too. Sand Springs committed 12 penalties for 125 yards, including a few unsportsmanlike calls. 

“We’ve got to be smarter in terms of the after-whistle penalties,” said Klinck. “We talk about emotional stability all the time with our team and we didn’t have that today. So we’ve definitely got to figure some things out in terms of making the other team earn everything they get.”

The Sandites did a pretty good job of stopping Sapulpa outside of those first two drives. The defense forced five punts and two turnovers on downs. Drake Fain sacked Mason for a safety in the first quarter, and Chase White picked him off on a fourth-down pass attempt in the endzone. 

The offense also showed up, anchored by lots of returning star power in the skill positions, while a brand new offensive line showed that they could hang with the best of them. 

“(Offensive Line) Coach (Jason) Medrano’s just done an unbelievable job,” said Klinck. “I’m so happy we were able to get him on board. Just the physicality and the mentality he brings to that front - it was evident. I was telling the offense ‘let’s run the ball, let’s run the ball. They haven’t stopped it yet.’ That’s a great weapon to have.”

Running the ball proved very successful, as Blake Jones amassed 181 yards and four touchdowns on 17 carries. Jones was in and out last season with injuries, but he made his presence known Friday night with a new career-best performance.

Also putting up big numbers was third-year veteran quarterback Ty Pennington, who was 16-of-25 passing for 245 yards and three scores. He had help from two triple-digit receivers.

In the first half, his primary target was backup quarterback Brody Rutledge, who finished the night with five receptions for 112 yards and two scores. His first two catches were touchdowns of 49 yards and 44 yards, the second of which gave Sand Springs the lead once and for all.

“I think it goes past the football field, just that personal relationship we have,” said Pennington of his receiver. “I trust him, he trusts me, it just showed on the field tonight. He had a big night.”

Jacob Blevins also had a big night, with nine receptions for 118 yards and a 35-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter. 

First-year Sandite kicker Logan Wolfe connected on all six of his PATs, as well as a 27-yard field goal. 

“I was proud of The Wolfe,” said Klinck. “For a guy who’s been a soccer guy, probably hasn’t played in front of this many people before, I thought he did an absolutely great job, especially on kickoffs. He’s going to become a weapon for us.”

Overall, the Sandites outgained the Chieftains 421 yards to 297. Mason finished the game 11-of-22 passing for 126 yards, three touchdowns, and one interception. Tyreese Jones also gave the Sandites fits at times, rushing for 138 yards with another 15 by air. He scored one touchdown on a 61-yard breakaway run in the third quarter.

Sandite Football will return to action next Friday at 7:00 p.m. with a road game against 5A No. 6 Bishop Kelley (0-1). Sapulpa will host unranked Edison Prep Academy (0-0), which is now led by former Chieftain Head Coach Robert Borgstadt, who resigned from Sapulpa in January.

CPHS Football: Sandites thump Sapulpa 31-16 behind Payton Scott's 352 yards

It was a packed house at George F. Collins Stadium and the Sandites had plenty of fans to cheer them on to a 31-16 victory. (Photo: Morgan Miller). 

It was rivalry week on the West side as the Charles Page High School Sandites (2-2 overall, 1-0 district) traveled to Sapulpa (0-4, 0-1) for the Chieftains' Homecoming game. Sand Springs rolled to a dominating 31-16 victory over their arch rivals to start district play.

CPHS 31 SHS 16
1Q CPHS 7-0
2Q CPHS 10-0
3Q SHS 13-7
4Q CPHS 7-3

Passing: CPHS 4-6-44-1, SHS 10-16-80-2.
Rushing: CPHS 44-359, SHS 29-203.
Plays-Offense: CPHS 50-403, SHS 45-283.
First Downs: CPHS 13, SHS 13.
Penalties: CPHS 6-56, SHS 3-19.
Fumbles/Lost: CPHS 0/0, SHS 1/1.

Click here to view full photo gallery.

Just a week after carrying for 231 yards and three touchdowns against Putnam West, senior running back Payton Scott had the biggest night of his career with 29 carries for 352 yards and four touchdowns against the Chieftains. He was one touchdown short of his highest-scoring night, but surpassed his highest running output by 79 yards and his highest total yardage by 30 yards. His four touchdowns came on carries of 45, 19, 75, and 36 yards.

The Sandites throttled Sapulpa in the first half, leading 17-0 as they headed to the locker room. Click here to read the full story from the first half.

Scott was already sitting comfortably at 18 carries for 190 yards before the Sandites returned to the field. Junior quarterback Caden Pennington was 4-6-44-1 in the first half, and didn't attempt a single pass in the second. Scott was the only player to run a play in the third quarter, and with the exception of a three-yard run from Tyler McCallie, and three knees from Pennington, he was the only carrier in the fourth quarter too. 

What Sand Springs did in the first half, Sapulpa did in the third quarter, running the ball for 56 yards before Elijah Willliams hit Marcus Esparza for 22 yards and a touchdown. Kaivon Mortazavi drilled the PAT and the Chieftains were on the board.

Scott pulled out a big eighteen-yard run for the Sandites on their first possession, but three runs later he was still at the line of scrimmage and the Sandites punted for the first time.

Sapulpa took advantage, marching 85 yards in fourteen plays, scoring on a one-yard keeper. This time Mortazavi missed the kick and the Chieftains trailed 17-13. Scott had an answer for them, taking the ball 75 yards to the house on the first play of the corresponding drive. 

Sapulpa had the ball to start the fourth quarter, racking up four first downs and 61 yards before settling for a field goal. The Chieftains handled the ball well at the start of the drive, heading 64 yards in nine plays for first and goal at the two-yard line. Then they caught a holding penalty, a few incomplete passes, and a stout Sandite D-line and ended up fourth and goal at the ten. An unsportsmanlike penalty on Sand Springs gave them an extra five, and Mortazavi drilled the goal from 23 yards out.

The Sandites didn't need nearly as many snaps to do twice as much damage on their next possession. A failed onside kick attempt gave them great field advantage at the Chieftain 47. Scott used three snaps for a first down, then took it 36 yards for the score, making it a two-possession game once again with only 3:32 to play.

Sapulpa's next drive ended in an eleven-yard interception return by Braden Askew. The Sandites picked up a first down from Scott, traveling to the Chieftain 32 before ending the game in victory formation.

Braden Millican and Kameron Adcock split receiving duties down the middle with two catches apiece. Millican ended up with 21 yards and Adcock had 23. Hayden Cramer led on defense with nine tackles, one for loss. 

The Sandites will return to action next week in Yukon with a non-district game against the 6A-I Millers (2-2). The Millers have losses of 31-14 to Mustang (2-2) and 56-20 to Broken Arrow (1-3), but defeated Norman North (3-1) 38-31 and Southmoore (0-4) 28-7. Last season the Sandites hosted Yukon and improved to 3-2 with a 30-14 victory behind Hunter Greathouse's three passing touchdowns.

Sapulpa will take on the top team in Class 6A-II as they travel to No. 1 Booker T. Washington (4-1) who started district play with a 63-21 thumping of No. 15 Ponca City (0-4)

Sand Springs Individual Statistics

Passing: Pennington 4-6-44-1.
Rushing: Scott 29-352, Edwards 4-16, Nortey 3-8, McCallie 2-5, Pennington 6-(-22).
Receiving: Adcock 2-23, Millican 2-21.
Punting: Smith 1-25.
Kicking: Weiser 5-161.
PAT: Weiser 4/4.
Field Goals: Weiser 1-25.
Tackles: Cramer 9, Fleischman 5, Edwards 4, Moyer 3, Bratcher 3, Adcock 2, Fain 2, Haley 2, Mackey 1, Denton 1, Lyons 1, Mallory 1, Askew 1, Finch 1.
Sacks: Edwards 1-5.
Tackles for loss: Bratcher 1-7, Edwards 1-5, Cramer 1-3, Moyer 1-3, Fleischman 1-2, Fain 1-1.
Kick returns: Scott 1-37.
Interceptions-return: Askew 1-11, Lyons 1-0, Edwards 0-2.
Forced Fumbles: Denton 1.
Fumble Recoveries: Weiser 1.

Sapulpa Individual Statistics

Passing: E. Williams 10-16-80-2.
Rushing: Esparza 6-99, Williams 13-70, Vann 10-34.
Receiving: Esparza 3-41, Sanders 5-40, K. Williams 1-6, Hancock 1-(-7). 
Kick returns: Sanders 1-22.
Punting: Mortazavi 1-15.
Kicking: Mortazavi 2-90.
Field Goals: Mortazavi 1-23. 
Interceptions-return: Lopez 1-25.

CPHS Softball: Lady Sandites sweep Highway 97 Rivalry series with 12-4 road win

The Charles Page High School Fast-Pitch Softball team (9-2) improved to 5-0 in district play Thursday evening with a resounding 12-4 win over Sapulpa (3-10, 2-5) on their arch-rivals' home field. The Sandites are tied with Broken Arrow as the only two undefeated teams in the district, and they are 2-0 against Sapulpa after defeating their foes 12-1 last week. 

Sand Springs didn't quite repeat their run-rule victory from the week before, but the game was never in any doubt after the visiting Sandites drilled four runs in the top of the first.

Three singles saw Elizabeth Luttrell score Kimi Presnell and Sabrina Usher, then Luttrell and Madelyn Blair came in on a single from Jensen Arnold. Luttrell tacked on a fifth run in the top of the third with a solo home run on the second pitch of the inning. 

The fourth inning brought further damage to the home team as Presnell received a walk, stole second and third, then scored on a hit from Makenna Skaggs. Blair also walked, Luttrell singled, and both scored on a single from Felicity Horn for the 8-0 advantage.

Sapulpa finally got on the scoreboard in the bottom of the fourth with one single and a pair of walks to load the bases. Jacie Taber (7-0 season, 20-7 career) struck out one, walked in one run, then sent a groundball to first to strand loaded bases. 

In the fifth inning Arnold hit a double and was relieved by courtesy runner Rachel Jones, who promptly scored on a single from Taber. Kinsey Skaggs relieved Taber and scored on a hit from Sabrina Usher to make it 10-1. Taber batted in another run in the sixth to score Cameron Clemons. 

Sapulpa notched their second run of the game in the bottom of the sixth by hitting three singles, the last of which brought in Ally Zanca. The Sandites got their final run from Makenna Skaggs who reached on one error and scored on another. 

The Chieftains tried to stage a comeback in the bottom of the seventh. Azelea Fogleman was hit by pitch and Kali Husman doubled. Both scored, but those would be the last runs of the game as Zanca flied out to left field and Sand Springs secured the win. 

The Lady Sandites will return to action next Thursday with a district road game against Stillwater (4-5, 2-2).

CPHS Soccer splits with Sapulpa, Boys win Highway 97 Rivalry 5-0

Oklahoma Wesleyan-signed senior Ignacio Garcia scored two goals in a 5-0 victory against Sapulpa. (Photo: Scott Emigh).

Boys' Soccer
CPHS 5 SHS 0. 
Shots: CPHS 20, SHS 10.
On Goal: CPHS 9, SHS 5.
Corners: CPHS 5, SHS 1.
Saves: CPHS 5, SHS 5.

Girls' Soccer
SHS 2 CPHS 0
Shots: CPHS 17, SHS 16.
On Goal: SHS 7, CPHS 4.
Corners: SHS 2, CPHS 1.
Saves: SHS 4, CPHS 3.

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

Charles Page High School played host to its biggest rival in a district battle Tuesday night at Memorial Stadium. The Lady Sandites fell 2-0 to the Lady Chieftains, but the boys dominated Sapulpa 5-0 for their biggest win of the season. 

The Sandites (5-7 overall, 1-4 district) notched their first district win with an exclamation mark, steamrolling their biggest rivals (3-9, 0-5).

Senior midfielder Logan Jeffus scored his fifth goal of the season to draw first blood in the 18th minute, and the Sandites took a 1-0 lead into the half. 

Edgar Soberano got the start at goalie and notched four saves in the first half before coming out with an injury. He was replaced by sophomore Ethan Tippit.

The Sandites came out pumped up after halftime and struck paydirt in the 55th minute with a penalty kick from Oklahoma Wesleyan University-signed senior Ignacio Garcia. Just three minutes later, sophomore Kaleb Brooks scored his first goal of the season. 

Garcia was a man on fire, taking more shots than the rest of his team combined. It paid off as he ended up with his first brace of the season, notching a goal in the 74th minute. 

Alex Hernandez also got in on the action, scoring his second goal of the year on a free kick in the 76th minute. 

The Lady Sandites (1-11 overall, 0-5 district) fell 2-0 to the Lady Chieftains (6-6, 2-3). Freshman midfielder Sara Arundell scored both goals for Sapulpa.

CPHS Baseball: Sandites win Highway 97 Rivalry 6-5 over Sapulpa

CPHS sophomore Cale Savage scored one run and two RBI in a 6-5 win over Sapulpa. (Photo: Scott Emigh).

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

The Charles Page High School Varsity Baseball team (10-7) hosted their arch-rivals from Sapulpa (9-6) Friday evening at the Sandite Baseball Complex and came from behind for a 6-5 payback win. 

Runs: CPHS 6, Sapulpa 5.
Hits: CPHS 11, Sapulpa 4.
Errors: CPHS 1.
LOB: CPHS 10, Sapulpa 7.

The Chieftains previously defeated the Sandites 1-0 in the season debut.

The Sandites jumped on their foes early with four runs in the first inning. Mack Thompson doubled and scored on a sacrifice by Treyce Tolbert. Hunter Greathouse and Braden Askew both singled, then Greathouse came home on a single from Cale Savage. Cal Watkins scored both Savage and courtesy runner Garrett McCallie with a double.

Check out the Sandite Baseball schedule and results here.

The Chieftains got on the scoreboard in the top of the fourth as Alan Shibley tripled to score Wyatt Sellers, then came in on a sacrifice by Andrew Merrihew. They tied it up in the next inning as Ethan Williams sacrificed to score Hayden Bullinger and Merrihew walked on loaded bases to score Sellers. 

Both teams stranded loaded bases in the fifth, then Sapulpa took the lead in the top of the sixth with a double from Williams to score Shawn Holland. 

The lead was short-lived, however, as Tolbert scored on a passed ball and Greathouse score on a single from Savage. 

Braden Askew (1-2) got the start on the mound, pitching three hits, one strikeout, and five walks in a little under five innings. Josh Cordell (3-1) got the win with one strikeout, two walks, and one hit in just over one inning. Braden Millican (1-0) pitched the final inning and recorded the save with no hits, no walks, and no strikeouts. 

Payton Scott rushes for 3 touchdowns and 197 yards in 35-7 victory over Sapulpa

Photos: Morgan Miller

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

The No.6 Charles Page High School varsity football team (2-2, 1-0) secured their first district win of the season with a dominating 35-7 victory over the No. 14 Sapulpa Chieftains (0-4, 0-1) Friday night, taking a 35-0 lead in the third quarter before their rivals got on the board.

This was the 90th year of Highway 97 Rivalry and the Sandites won their third-straight installment to bring the record to 41-45-5 with the Chieftains still leading overall. The two teams, which are separated by only a few miles of Highway 97, have met consecutively since 1930 and have hated each other ever since. 

There's been a lot of bad blood over the decades and in past years fights were notorious and security was always heavier at the Sapulpa game than any other game of the year. Even this year saw an unsportsmanlike penalty on Sapulpa for an out-of-bounds shove. The week preceding the game is known as "Sapulpa Hate Week" in Sand Springs, and both schools take their rivalry trash talk to twitter where it can get pretty heated. 

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This year, however, the two teams were able to come together in solidarity to honor a Sandite who passed away shortly before the game. Swift Myers, who graduated in May of this year, was battling his seventh bout with cancer when it took his life Friday evening. His wife, Abbi Myers, tweeted that "Swift made it clear to us before he left that when he died, he didn't want people saying he lost his battle. He beat the shit out of cancer."

After seven long bouts with the condition, Myers is finally at peace in Heaven, and for this year, the two football teams put aside their rivalry and met in the field after the game to honor and remember him. Swift's classmate America Higgins tweeted "I honestly I can't even consider Sapulpa a rival after their support they showed tonight." Even before the game, Sapulpa students were hanging banners throughout the school bearing the #SWIFTSTRONG motto, and brought those banners to the game as well. Wrestling National Champion Daton Fix posted that "Heaven gained an amazing person tonight. One of the toughest guys I will ever know. A fighter and a winner. #SwiftStrong forever."

The game itself was a dominating performance by the Sandites, who rushed for over 300 yards and held the Chieftains to a mere 12 first downs and forced six turnovers. Hunter Greathouse led the Sandites in passing with 5 completions for 76 yards and a touchdown, while Payton Scott led the ground game for both teams with 29 carries for 197 yards and 3 touchdowns. Dalton Morgan also played a significant factor on the ground with 11 carries for 100 yards. Sophomore Hayden Cramer led the defense with six solo tackles, followed by Tyler Delozier with five tackles and an interception.

Sandite Flag Crew members are painted with the Flash symbol, which has been adopted by #SWIFTSTRONG supporters.

Sapulpa quarterback Cameron Elder completed 8 of 13 passes for 53 yards and 1 interception. The ground game was fairly split between Elder and Dayton Vann with 59 yards each, but led by Marcus Henderson with 67 yards on 8 carries. Trevin Inks and Stanley White had four tackles each, and B.J. Dansby had the lone tackle-for-loss for the Chieftains.

Sapulpa got the ball to start but was held to fourth-and-two and had to punt less than two minutes into the game. The Sandites got on the board midway through the first quarter with a two-yard run from Scott to cap off a methodical 13-play, 72-yard drive. Kasey Bales kicked the extra point for a 7-0 lead. 

Sapulpa's next drive ate up the rest of the first quarter and two minutes of the second as they drove 51 yards to the Sandites' 29 before a tackle for loss by Jerry Lyons and fumbled snap forced them back to fourth and nineteen and they had to punt. Less than three minutes later, Scott pushed in yet another touchdown on a one-yard run to make it 14-0.

The Chieftains had yet another drive end without a first down after a third-and-seven pass was nearly picked off by Cody Motes, but was dropped. The punt gave Sand Springs the field at their 36 and they needed only five plays to score. Scott picked up a first down on a ten-yard run, and an offsides penalty put the Sandites at the Sapulpa 49. Greathouse pitched the ball to Scott, who reversed it back to Greathouse for a 46-yard pass to Bales who was barely stopped by Aaron Sechrist at the three-yard-line. Two plays later, Greathouse punched in the touchdown on a 1-yard sneak to make it 21-0 after the Bales kick.

Dansby got a huge kickoff return to the Sandite 38, and a 37-yard run from Henderson put the Chieftains at first-and-goal from the one-yard line. An illegal procedure on the Chieftains, followed by a sack from Gage Fain pushed Sapulpa back to the 7, and Tyler Delozier picked off a pass from Elder and returned it to the 47 before being forced out by Inks. 

Sapulpa nearly got the ball back as Greathouse nearly threw an interception in the endzone, but intended-receiver Kasey Bales managed to swat the ball away from the Chieftain defender. A few plays later, Greathouse connected from eleven yards out to Mack Thompson for the score. With 29 seconds left in the half, Bales sent in the point-after to make it 28-0.

The Sandites were only two minutes into the second half when they scored once more on a five-yard run from Scott to make it 35-0.

Sapulpa finally got on the scoreboard on the corresponding drive. Henderson picked up a fifteen-yard run, Elder connected with Dansby for thirteen yards, then went 36 yards on a keeper to score. Bobby Schmidt sent in the extra point to make it 35-7 where the score would remain for the duration.

The Sandites put together a big drive on their next possession, starting at their 15. Scott found a first down in a twelve-yard run, then Bales snagged a lateral and ran it eleven yards. A facemask penalty put the Sandites at the Sapulpa 42, and a run by Morgan took them to the 35. A handoff to Scott should have been a loss of two, but the running back was bolstered by offensive lineman Lincoln Adams who pushed it into a three yard gain and a first down.

Morgan picked up nine yards on a run and Bales hauled in a screen to put the Sandites at the 16. Morgan ran another seven yards while carrying four Sapulpa defenders before he went down, and Scott went five more for the first down at the four-yard line. Sapulpa brought the drive to an end, however, with an endzone interception by Sechrest who ran it all the way back to the Sandite 46 before being ran down by Cameron Lierly. 

The two teams exchanged possessions from there and with five minutes left, the Sandite backups went in to play. Sophomore Caden Pennington took over at quarterback, but didn't get to make any plays. Sophomore running back Garrett McCallie picked up 14 yards on 4 carries before Sapulpa put a stop to the drive and took over possession shortly before time expired.

The Chieftains are still looking for a win this season and will host No. 2 Booker T Washington (3-2, 1-0) next Friday at 7:00 p.m. The Sandites will look to improve to a winning record as they host 6A-I Yukon (0-4) in a non-district home game Friday at 7:00 p.m.