Sand Springs 8th Grade football team goes undefeated, beats Sapulpa 40-0
/A version of this story was originally written for the Sand Springs Leader.
There’s no playoffs for eighth grade football, but if there were, all eyes would be on Sand Springs.
The Clyde Boyd Middle School eighth grade football team wrapped up a perfect 8-0 season Thursday night at Memorial Stadium with a 40-0 shutout of Sapulpa.
It was the team’s sixth clean sheet of the season, and the Sandites outscored their foes 356 to 18.
“It’s just a great group of kids,” said head coach Thomas Parks. “They’re coachable, they want to learn, they want to get better. They bring it every single day.”
Quarterback Easton Webb was 5-of-6 passing for 58 yards and two touchdowns, while carrying the ball six times for 55 yards and two more scores.
“The thing about Easton Webb is he shows up every single day,” said Parks. “He wants to get better. He doesn’t often make mistakes and when he does make a mistake he wants to learn from it. He never gets too high, never gets too low. He’s just the ultimate team leader.”
Hudson Sheppard scored the first touchdown of the night on a 67-yard run late in the first quarter, and Isaac Sensintaffar ran in the two-point conversion.
Sheppard ran for 70 yards on four carries, and Sensintaffar had 79 yards on two carries. Cooper Guardado had a 17-yard TD reception in the second quarter, and Brighton Davidson had a three-yard TD reception in the fourth. Jacob Marlow had a big impact at center with several big blocks.
Sheppard also led the team defensively with five tackles. Ryley Kester had three tackles for loss and a fumble recovery. Alex Dudley had a fumble recovery and Sensintaffar made an interception, and Ethan Shea had a 19-yard pick-six.
The perfect season was a continuation of what this team did in the Indian Nations Football Conference last year, winning the league’s top division as seventh graders.
“A big reason for this team’s success has been the youth football coaches,” said Parks. “Cody Sensintaffar, Joey Webb, Adam Dudley. When I got them in eighth grade they were well-prepared, they knew what was going on.”
Parks expects his team to make a big impact on varsity over the next four years. “They’re all a good group of kids, they’re not afraid to mix it up and get in there and get after it.”
Eight Grade Schedule
9.2.21 Sand Springs 60-12 Muskogee Green (H).
9.9.21 Sand Springs 58-0 Bartlesville Blue (A).
9.16.21 Sand Springs 44-0 Carver (H).
9.23.21 Sand Springs 42-0 Sapulpa Blue (A).
10.7.21 Sand Springs 36-0 Muskogee Green (A).
10.12.21 Sand Springs 54-6 Bartlesville Blue (H).
10.21.21 Sand Springs 22-0 Carver (A).
10.28.21 Sand Springs 40-0 Sapulpa Blue (H).
Ninth Grade
The Charles Page High School freshman football team also won big over Sapulpa, paying back a loss from earlier in the season to end the year 2-7.
“Nothing feels better than a 20-0 shutout,” said head coach Gage Kaiser. “That’s huge for our kids. Just to finish strong right here, keep them rolling into next year.”
Quarterback Ali McCoy was 5-of-8 passing for 59 yards and two touchdowns, and ran it 15 times for 90 yards, a touchdown, and a two-point conversion.
“Ali, he’s a baller,” said Kaiser. “He’s great in the run game, he got us some good passes, especially in the second half.”
Caleb Goodman had three receptions for 44 yards and two touchdowns, and Jaden Allen led the defense with five tackles. Christian Freltus recovered a fumble and Dameon Leathers had an interception in the shutout.
