Wrestling Roundup: Junior High Lady Sandites Place 2nd at Home Tourney, Keystone Kids 2nd at State

Chanute, Kansas edged out No. 5 Westmoore 211.5 to 207 to win the second annual Sand Springs girls high school wrestling tournament Saturday at Clyde Boyd Middle School.

The defending champions, Springdale Har-Ber, slipped to 17th this year while host No. 10 Sand Springs placed 21st in the field of 42 teams.

In junior high action the Sandites finished runner-up to Norman by a margin of 228 to 214.5 after calling down a pair of varsity freshmen. Defending junior high champion Perry tied for third place with Bixby at 173 points. 37 schools participated in the junior high tournament.

Sand Springs went 3-1 in the finals while Norman was 1-2, but the Tigers had the edge in consolation with seven top-five placers to the Sandites’ five.

High School Girls

Kelsi Hilton led the varsity team with a fourth place finish at 140 pounds, with both of her losses coming to Har-Ber’s Kinalisa Lokot. Hilton previously pinned Lokot for first place at the Diamond State Invitational in December, but the junior State placer got the upper hand this time with a pair of second period falls.

Laila Mirza went 5-2 at 115 for fifth place, with all of her wins coming via fall. Trinity Owens placed eighth at 110, Audree Robinson placed 10th at 125, and Emily Ambriz placed 10th at 235.

Junior High Girls

Kenzie Johnson won at 89 pounds with two falls and an 8-7 semifinal decision. In the finals she pinned Ponca’s Bailey Ward in 4:10.

Bailey Copeland won at 96 pounds, pinning her first four opponents before dominating Cleveland’s Hannah Stephenson 8-0 in the finals.

Ambrielle Chambers won at 102 pounds, pinning all five of her foes. In the finals she stuck Norman’s Rylie Hillis in 2:41.

Copeland and Chambers, both freshmen, usually wrestle with the varsity team.

Rylee Allen was runner-up at 117, pinning her first four opponents before getting pinned by Norman’s Claire Lancaster in the finals.

Kyla Crittenden placed third at 73, Faith Humble placed sixth at 117, Collby Garrison placed seventh at 145, Lyla Waldren placed eighth at 102, Cailey Miller placed eighth at 155, Brylee Smith placed ninth at 145, Audrey Pride placed ninth at 117, Rowen Hull placed tenth at 138, Savannah Taylor placed 11th at 110, and Sawyer Briscoe placed 12th at 102.

Junior High Boys

The junior high boys competed at the 82nd annual Ted Anderson tournament in Edmond and took fifth place with two champions.

Griffin Sensintaffar won at 86 pounds for his fourth title of the season. He pinned his first three opponents before closing out with a pair of decisions. In the finals he wont 3-0 against Broken Arrow’s Bryson McQueen in a rematch of last week’s semifinals. Sensintaffar pinned McQueen last weekend en route to a tournament title at Perry.

Freshman Jaxon Grigsby won at 126 pounds with two pins and two decisions before taking down Edmond North’s Brooks McCollom in the finals. Grigsby scored a takedown with 15 seconds left to tie it at 3-3. He scored a takedown in overtime but McCollom had a pair of escapes to tie it at 5-5 before Grigsby scored a reversal in the third overtime period for the 7-5 win.

Kasen McAffrey placed third at 140, Kaden Pope placed fifth at 132, Rowdy Ash placed sixth at 80 pounds, Corbin Wooley placed sixth at 155, and Hunter Fields placed sixth at 170.

Youth Wrestling

The Keystone Kids Wrestling Club competed at the OKUSA State Championship and took first place in Division I and Division II and second place overall. Head coach Kyle Waag was named the OKUSA Coach of the Year for the east side of the state.

Madden Moore, Jett Galloway, and Raylee Dawes won gold in Division I and Holden Yingst was runner-up.

Patrick Sanchez and Hagan Wolfenberger won gold in Division II, Hudson Waag was runner-up, and Maddix Spencer placed fourth.

In Division III Ty Galloway and Autumn Foust placed third and Sutton Hawley placed fourth.

Maddox Pope won gold In Division IV while Karson Waag and Bryson Pope were runners-up. Wes Wilson and Zander Pope placed fourth.

Kayden Worthington won gold in Division V.

In the Novice divisions: Landon Replogle and Carter Randall won gold; Gage Fadenrecht and Maverick Spencer placed third; and Hunter Sims, Brayden Replogle, Nakona Eaglin, and Joseph Satoe placed fourth.

Sandites Win Skiatook Tournament With Three Champions

The Charles Page High School boys’ wrestling team crowned three champions en route to a team title at the one-day Skiatook tournament Friday - the second team title of the season for the Sandites.

No. 6 Sand Springs locked up first place very early on, scoring 254.5 points to runner-up 4A No. 2 Catoosa’s 194.

It was a strong bounce-back performance for the Sandites (10-1), who suffered their first dual loss of the season the night before. No. 3 Broken Arrow (8-0) won 12 out of 14 matches in a 45-11 rout.

“We responded well,” said head coach Ty Bowling. “Last night, it was rough, but I think we needed that. I think we will learn a lesson from it, we’ll get better from it. And today I think we started the process. We had a good day and rebounded well.”

The Sandites put seven in the finals with Jayden Pait, Zander Grigsby, and Jaxon Trotter winning their brackets while Dawsen Briscoe, David Ritchey, Isaac Sensintaffar, and Peyton Callis finished as runners-up.

Pait suffered an MCL tear in the quarterfinals of the Mid America Nationals last December in Enid, but he looked very much back to form, winning the 138-pound bracket with four falls.

“I was pretty upset going throughout the whole season,” said Pait. “You never want to get hurt your senior season…I’ve been out for about a month and a half now so getting these wins today really boosted my confidence.”

After pinning his first three opponents in the first period, he took a 2-0 lead into the second period against Catoosa State qualifier Michael Blendowski before reversing into a fall.

“Getting that reversal meant a lot because I knew that he was good at riding legs and I knew what I had to do on bottom,” said Pait.

“I’ve been battling some recovery, battling some confidence issues in some of my matches, but I feel confident now…I’m feeling good, I’m ready to come back, ready to compete some more and qualify for State.”

Zander Grisgby earned his third tournament title of the season, winning the 165-pound bracket with a technical fall, a forfeit, and three pins. In the finals he easily handled Hilldale’s Nathan Stroble with a second-period fall.

Trotter picked up his first tournament title of the year at 175, pinning his first two opponents and earning a 20-5 technical fall in the semifinals before meeting Bixby State qualifier Colton Kaiser in the finals.

“I knew I’d have a good match in the finals,” said Trotter. “Throughout the day I was just trying to focus on my shots and really dial in my neutral to help me in this match and just have me warmed up. I think it helped out a lot.”

The two stayed neutral throughout the first period but Trotter scored an escape early in the second before scoring a double-leg takedown for the 3-0 lead. Kaiser managed an escape in the third but Trotter’s defense kept the Spartan at bay for a 3-1 decision.

Briscoe won his first four matches at 106 before falling 9-0 to Skiatook State qualifier Cole Smith in the finals.

Ayreson Reiss went 4-1 and placed third at 113, losing only to Skiatook State runner-up Jagen Jones. He received a forfeit in the third-place match.

Kase Skaggs and Ritchey both went 4-1 at 120, with their only losses coming to Bixby State qualifier Colden Dyer. Dyer teched Skaggs in the semifinals before winning a 4-1 decision against Ritchey in the finals. Skaggs bounced back with a 19-3 technical fall against Tonkawa’s Tate Coffey for third place.

Jaxon Grigsby pinned his first two opponents at 126 before falling 12-4 to eventual champion Logan Hargrove, from Catoosa, in the semifinals. Grigsby bounced back with a 16-0 technical fall against Skiatook’s Landon Dodd.

Matthew Moore pinned his first three opponents at 132 before falling 7-0 to Catoosa State qualifier Tucker Collinsworth in the semifinals. He bounced back with a 10-1 major decision over Darin McWhorter for third place.

Jesse Moore teched his first two opponents at 144 before falling 3-0 to tournament champ Tharyn Hausler of Bixby. In consolation he pinned Inola’s Bryson Faulkner for third place.

Brody Ensten and Sensintaffar both competed at 157 and suffered their only losses to the champion.

Ensten pinned two opponents before falling to Wagoner State placer Bryce Steele in the semifinals. He bounced back with an 8-3 decision over Catoosa State qualifier Fernando Dominguez for third place.

Sensintaffar pinned his first three opponents and beat Dominguez 7-3 in the semifinals before falling 5-0 to Steel in the championship.

Callis pinned his first three foes at 190 and won an 8-4 decision in the semifinals before falling 3-2 to Bixby State placer Hank Puckett in the finals.

Heavyweight Ryley Kester pinned his first two opponents before falling to Catoosa’s Tank Love in the semifinals. In consolation he won a 5-1 decision over Wagoner’s Dax Griffin

Preston Reyna placed fourth at 150, Jaden Allen placed fourth at 215, Hunter Spencer placed fifth at 126, Nathan Feather placed seventh at 113, Jackson Burdge placed seventh at 144, Brock O’Dell placed seventh at 157, and Gage Gunn placed 10th at 132.

Varsity Girls

The varsity girls took second place at the Ray Murphy Jr. Memorial Tournament on Saturday with 144.5 points, just a hair behind Rogers, Arkansas with 147.

Ambrielle Chambers, Trinity Owens, Laila Mirza, Audree Robinson, and Kelsi Hilton all took first place.

Chambers recorded three first-period pins and a major decision at 105 pounds; Owens had three pins at 110; Mirza had two pins and a tech fall at 115; Robinson had two pins and a decision at 125; and Hilton had three pins at 140.

Samantha Baker placed fourth at 125, Mia Bruns placed third at 130, Kayla Arnold placed fourth at 145, Tessa Urrey place fourth at 155, and Emily Ambriz placed fifth at 235.

JV Boys

The junior varsity Sandites took third place at the Ray Murphy tournament with 154.5 points and three champions.

The mostly varsity tournament was led by Coweta’s JV with 190 points and Bartlesville’s varsity with 183.5.

Skaggs took first place at 120, Spencer won at 126, and Kaden Pope won at 132.

Brody Wilson placed second at 113, Caleb Childers placed fourth at 113, Scott Halpain place fourth at 150, Reiss placed fifth at 113, Nathan Feather placed sixth at 120, Dallas Flores placed sixth at 165, Jeffery Norton placed seventh at 120, Jesse Kerr placed eighth at 113, Logan Childers placed eighth at 126, Gage Gunn placed eighth at 132, and Alex Lahmeyer placed eighth at 175.

Sandite Junior High Wrestlers Place 3rd at Home Tournament

Both the boys and girls wrestling teams took third place at the Sand Springs Junior High tournament on Saturday, December 2nd at Clyde Boyd Middle School.

The Gold team placed third, Black was 18th, and White was 23rd in the tournament with four total champions. Bristow won the boys’ tournament with 244 points, followed by Coweta with 241.5 and Sand Springs Gold with 193.

Union won the girls’ tournament with 221 points, followed by Perry with 160 and Sand Springs with 135. The Lady Sandites had eight finalists and three Champions.

Boys

Kasen McAffrey pinned all eight of his opponents in the first period. The 140-pound champion outscored his opponents 26 to 5, only allowing escape points.

Griffin Sensintaffar won the 86-pound bracket with four first-period falls and two technical falls, outscoring his opponents 61 to 4, only allowing escape points.

Jaxon Grigsby won the 126-pound bracket with four falls, outscoring his opponents 49 to 6.

Kaden Pope won the 132-pound bracket with six pins, outscoring his opponents 57 to 14, only allowing escape points.

Kayden Worthington went 6-1 at 140 pounds with four pins before falling in the finals to teammate Kasen McAffrey.

Corbin Wooley went 7-1 for third place at 155 pounds with four pins. His only loss was a 12-5 decision to Vinita’s Kolbe Bargas that he avenged with a first-period falls in the placement round rematch.

Hunter Fields went 5-3 with three pins for seventh place at 170. Andrew Price went 4-3 with two pins for seventh place at 106.

Kellen Foster went 3-4 with two pins for eighth place at 112. David Cline went 3-4 with three pins for eighth place at 195.

Rowdy Ash went 2-3 with one pin for 10th place at 80. Chandler Copeland went 2-3 with two pins for 10th place at 92. Lincoln Callis went 2-3 with one pin for 10th place at 98.

Sam Moore went 3-3 with two pins for 11th place at 119. Josh Compton went 3-3 for 11th place at 126. Jace Smith went 3-3 with three pins for 11th place at 285.

Jeffery Norton went 2-4 with two pins for 12th place at 106 pounds after injury forfeiting his final two matches.

Syrus Pratt went 4-3 with two pins for 13th place at 170. Caleb Childers went 3-3 with two pins for 13th place at 112.

Girls

Savannah Taylor won the 102-pound bracket, pinning all six of her opponents. Audrey Pride won the 126-pound bracket with five pins. Ayla Asher won the 138-pound bracket with five pins.

Kenzie Johnson went 6-1 at 89 pounds, pinning her first six opponents before falling to Berryhill’s Grace Halbert in the finals.

Bailey Copeland went 4-1, pinning her first four opponents at 96 pounds before falling to Union’s Raeya Perkins in the finals.

Faith Humble went 4-2 for second place at 117 with four pins. Liz Cline went 4-2 for second place at 126 with three pins. Addison Dinapoli went 3-3 for second place at 138 with two pins.

Camden Garrison went 5-2 for third place at 96 pounds, pinning four of her opponents, including Glenpool’s Alexis Morris in the consolation finals.

Cailey Miller went 6-2 for third place at 155 pounds, pinning six of her opponents in the first period.

Rylee Allen went 4-2 with three pins for fifth place at 117.

Lyla Waldren went 3-4 for sixth place at 102. Areli Martin went 3-4 with two pins for sixth place at 117.

Mia Bruns went 3-3 for seventh place at 126. Rowen Hull went 4-2 for seventh place at 138 with two pins.

Sandites Crown Six Champions at Union Open

The Sand Springs wrestling team crowned six champions at the Union/Pryor Ice Fighter Open Saturday in Tulsa, including three high schoolers and three junior high wrestlers.

High School Boys

Preston Reyna won the 144A bracket with three pins, taking out Broken Arrow’s Robert Miller in the finals in 2:41.

Zander Grigsby won the 175A bracket, outscoring his opponents 25-2 with two decisions and a 13-0 major decision against Stillwater’s Noah Perkins in the finals.

Jaxon Grigsby was runner-up at 132BA, outscoring his first four foes 47-1 with three major decisions and a technical fall before falling 1-0 to Coweta’s Toby Shipman in the finals.

Peyton Callis was runner-up at 190, pinning his first two opponents and winning a 7-5 decision against Broken Arrow’s Braden Jones in the semis before falling 6-2 to Stillwater’s Parker Brown in the finals.

Kase Skaggs placed third at 120B, pinning his first two foes before falling to Broken Arrow’s Hudson Beckley. In consolation he won a pair of decisions.

Jaxon Trotter placed third at 175B, with a major decision, a technical fall, and a pin. He fell 11-0 to Edmond North’s Jude Randall in the semifinals but pinned Union’s Jeremiah T’eo in the consolation finals.

Ayreson Reiss placed fourth at 113A, winning three decisions in the consolation bracket, with both of his losses coming to the same wrestler. Broken Arrow’s Bradley Lazzerini pinned Reiss in the first round and received a medical forfeit in the placement match.

Matthew Moore placed fourth at 138A with two pins and a decision, only losing a pair of decisions including a close 7-6 finale against Poteau’s Jake Fredrickson.

Colt Chambers finished with a winning 3-2 record at 132BA, pinning his first three foes in the first period before being eliminated one round short of placement.

High School Girls

Ambrielle Chambers won the 105 bracket with three first-period falls, taking down Enid’s Kadence Fuksa in the finals.

Trinity Owens placed third at 115, losing her first match to Broken Arrow’s Kristen DeLaRosa before pinning her next two opponents in the first period.

Laila Mirza placed third at 120, pinning her first opponents in 0:24 before giving up a fall in the semifinals to Broken Arrow’s Emily Beckley. In consolation she won a 7-0 decision before pinning Union’s Ma’Kadrian Titus in 18 seconds.

Audree Robinson placed fourth at 130, winning a 12-3 major decision in the consolation semifinals before falling to Henryetta’s Kiley Haywood.

Kayla Arnold went 2-2 at 140 with a decision and a pin, but was eliminated one round short of placement.

Junior High Boys (8th/9th Grade)

Kaden Pope won the 132-pound bracket with four pins and a 10-2 major decision over Owasso’s Jaxon Truitt in the finals.

Hunter Fields placed third at 155 with four pins and an 11-0 major decision, only falling 7-0 to Booker T. Washington’s Maximus Houston in the semifinals. In the consolation finals he pinned Fort Gibson’s Kolt Stevens in 2:52.

Brody Wilson went 4-2; Caleb Childers and Joshua Compton went 3-2; and Andrew Price, Kellen Foster, Conner Mcentire, Elijah Hadley, Camryn Ewing, and Blake Norton all went 2-2, but were eliminated short of placement.

Junior High Girls

Kenzi Johnson took first place at 89 pounds with an 18-3 technical fall and a pin of Ponca City’s Jaycee Wardlow in 1:02 in the finals.

Savannah Taylor was runner-up at 102 pounds, outscoring her first two opponents 19-2 before falling to Broken Arrow’s Jaylyn Lazzerini in the finals.

Lyla Waldren placed fourth at 102 with a sudden-victory decision and a pin, with both of her losses coming to Cleveland’s Hannah Stephenson.

Faith Humble went 2-2 but was eliminated short of placement.

Boys Middle School (6/7th Grade)

Brody Flores was runner-up at 73 pounds, going 2-1 in a round robin with a decision and a forfeit.

Gage Buchanan went 2-2 at 119 but was eliminated short of placement.

Girls Middle School

Kambyr Lee won the 145-pound bracket with two pins.

Chloe Strawn placed third at 82, pinning McAlester’s Lily Dykens in 1:56.

Liz Cline placed third at 126 with a decision and a forfeit.

Baylin Maynard placed third at 138 with two first-period falls.

Brylee Smith placed fourth at 155.

The Lady Sandites also recently held the program’s first ever junior high dual meet at Cleveland, falling 48-30.

Griffin Sensintaffar & Kaden Pope Win Broken Arrow Open

The Charles Page High School boys wrestling team took fourth place and the Lady Sandites placed ninth at the 32nd Annual Joe Zamora, Skyler Holman Open in Broken Arrow this weekend.

The junior high girls placed eighth, the sixth/seventh-grade girls placed sixth, the junior high boys placed sixth, and the sixth/seventh-grade boys placed seventh.

High School

Junior Kase Skaggs placed third at 120 pounds with a pin, a tech fall, and two decisions. In the quarterfinals he won a 6-1 decision over McAlester’s Kam Hutchison, a returning 5A State finalist. Skaggs’s only loss was a semifinal fall against Broken Arrow State qualifier Hudson Beckley.

Freshman Kasen Mcaffrey placed third at 144 pounds, pinning his first opponent before losing a close 9-6 decision to Broken Arrow’s Robert Miller. He bounced back with a pair of decision in consolation, edging out two-time Sapulpa State qualifier Ethan Peterson 4-2 in the finals.

Freshman Corbin Wooley placed fourth at 150 pounds with two pins. His only losses were pins by two-time Arkansas State Champion Benjamin Smith and Broken Arrow State qualifier Kadence Roop.

Junior Peyton Callis placed fourth at 190 pounds with two pins and two major decisions, only falling 4-0 to Union State qualifier Wura Yinusa before getting pinned by Broken Arrow’s Braden Jones in the finals.

Junior High

Griffin Sensintaffar took first place at 86 pounds, dominating his bracket with two pins and a 16-0 technical fall.

Kaden Pope won the 132-pound bracket with three pins, including a fall in the finals.

Kenzie Johnson took second place at 70 pounds with one pin.

Rylee Allen placed third at 121 pounds with five pins, all in the first period.

Stefanie Ortiz placed fourth at 172 pounds, winning three decisions, including back-to-back sudden victories in overtime.

Middle School

Gage Buchanan was runner-up at 119 pounds with one fall and an 11-0 major decision.

Rowdy Ash placed third at 80 pounds with one pin, outscoring his opponents handily while only falling 4-2 in the semifinals in sudden victory overtime.

Zailyn Garland placed third at 80 pounds with two first-period falls and a 12-6 decision in the consolation finals.

Kambyr Lee placed third at 142 pounds with two pins.

Baylin Maynard placed fourth at 129 pounds with one pin.

Undefeated Sandite Freshmen Win Frontier Valley Conference, Beat Sapulpa 42-24

For the third time in the past four years, the Sand Springs Class of 2027 football team has laid claim to a conference championship after wrapping up a 9-0 freshman campaign.

The Sandites ended their junior high careers with a 42-24 rout of Sapulpa in a Highway 97 Rivalry game Tuesday night at Memorial Stadium to secure the Frontier Valley Conference National West League Championship for the second straight year.

“What we’re trying to build here at Sand Springs is a winning culture,” said head coach Thomas Parks.

“With these kids winning these conference championships and the team before them winning the conference championship - when they get into high school, all they’re going to be used to is winning, and that’s a good thing for the varsity Sandites.”

This class of Sandites also won the Indian Nations Football Conference AA Division during their sixth grade year.

“Sixth grade we went all the way undefeated,” said kicker Kaidyn Cowan. “That was a sight to see.”

But in seventh grade the Sandites were split into two separate teams and neither was able to make the postseason after dividing their top players.

“Eighth grade we came back, we were still trying to get used to each other again,” said Cowan. “There wasn’t that much teamwork in it, but we got it done.”

The Sandites went 7-1 last year, losing only to Carver Middle School, with whom they split games and shared the conference title.

This time around, however, they finished alone atop the throne after winning 20-0 against Muskogee, 12-6 at Bartlesville, 14-6 against Booker T. Washington, 26-8 at Sapulpa, 30-6 against Union, 44-22 at Muskogee, 28-0 against Bartlesville, 26-14 at Booker T. Washington, and 42-24 against Sapulpa.

“They’re tough and they’re resilient,” said Parks. “There’s been times where things didn’t go our way but we never got too down, we always came back, we always had an answer.”

“We weren’t going to back down from anybody, no matter who we played. We always showed up and played Sandite football. If we play good Sandite football, it’s good enough to beat anybody we come across.”

In the season finale against Sapulpa the Sandites took an 8-0 lead to open the second quarter on a 56-yard touchdown pass from Dom Forbes to Boston Kissee and a two-point run by Kendell Page.

After Kaden Pope recovered an onside kick for the Sandites, Gabe Harris cashed in a 39-yard touchdown run to make it 14-0, but Sapulpa would soon respond.

After putting together a six-play, 74-yard scoring drive, the Chieftains forced a quick turnover on downs and were driving downfield again with the potential to tie things up. But Gabe Harris had other plans, intercepting Sapulpa for a 74-yard pick six.

“Gabe’s been a really good player for us,” said Parks. “Early in the year he faced a little adversity but he kept showing up, kept working hard, and became a dynamite running back and a dynamite player in our secondary. I love Gabe Harris and everything about him.”

Page converted a two-point run and the Sandites averted the momentum shift, taking a 22-6 lead into the half.

The Sandites opened the second half with an onside kick recovery and cashed in immediately. From an empty backfield with a five-receiver set, Forbes shocked the Sapulpa defense with a 60-yard touchdown draw on the first play from scrimmage.

Sapulpa responded with a 56-yard scoring run of its own on the very next play, but Dawson Jamison stuffed the quarterback draw to prevent the two-point play.

Joseph Farmer returned the ensuing kick 73 yards to set up a two-yard touchdown dive by Page and once again the momentum stayed with the Sandites.

“This year is (Farmer)’s first year in Sand Springs,” said Parks. “He’s been an absolutely amazing addition to this team. He can play offense, he can play defense, return kicks, cover kicks - he does everything. He’s a coach’s dream as a player.”

Page added another two-point run to make it 36-12.

“Kendell didn’t get as many carries as he would probably like,” said Parks, “but whenever he was in there he did his job, he did it right, he ran the ball hard, and there are definitely more carries coming that kid’s way if he keeps showing up and doing what he’s supposed to do and producing the way he did for us.”

The Sandite defense came up big on the ensuing possession with Nikyllien Crisp and Hunter Fields getting a tackle for loss, followed by a tackle for loss and a sack from Grady Harris to back the Chieftains up to fourth-and-23.

“Grady’s the type of kid that shows up every day, does what’s right, does his job,” said Parks. “He’s not looking for the accolades, he’s not looking to get noticed, he just wants to do right by the team. He’s the ultimate team player.”

The Sandites shifted Kissee to quarterback and brought Christian Headley into the backfield late in the third and the two methodically worked their way downfield for a two-yard touchdown run by Headley for the final Sandite points of the game.

Sapulpa added a 45-yard touchdown pass on their next drive but Charles Palmer sacked the Chieftain quarterback on the two-point attempt. The Chieftains ended the game with a 73-yard hook-and-ladder for a touchdown as time expired.

Forbes ended the game 2-of-5 passing for 62 yards and had five carries for 78 yards and two total touchdowns.

Pope had two receptions for 45 yards, Gabe Harris had four carries for 62 yards, and Kissee had four carries for 62 yards to go with his 56 receiving yards.

“Boston Kissee is another one of those players that’s a coach’s dream,” said Forbes. “He can play offense, he can play defense, he plays on both of our special teams, he comes to every meeting, he shows up and works hard. I never have to worry if Boston Kissee is doing the right thing. When he gets in at quarterback I have complete trust that our offense is not going to take a step back at all.”

Defensively the Sandites were led by Grady Harris with seven tackles while Caiden Ruhland and Crisp had three apiece.

After the game Cowan gave one last postgame speech to his team reminding them of the bond they forged over the past several years.

“We’re closer than brothers, closer than best friends, closer than anything,” said Cowan, who expects big things from his teammates in the coming years.

“I just hope it’s going to be great and we can get some more championships.”