Sandites Throttle U.S. Grant 83-0 in School-Record Win

The first-ever meeting between No. 6 Sand Springs (6-4, 4-3) and U.S. Grant (0-10, 0-7) wasn’t pretty.

The Sandites took a 48-0 lead in the first quarter on only eight offensive plays before coasting to a school-record 83-0 win - despite a running clock that didn’t stop for first downs, touchdowns, or anything else after the first quarter.

“I’ve been a part of some blowout losses before,” said Sand Springs head coach Bobby Klinck. “The way those kids carry themselves, it says a lot about the coaching staff and the type of people over there.”

Grant has been outscored 621 to 14 this season and arrived with only 19 players to a Senior Night affair that was moved forward a day due to impending inclement weather.

“It’s a big deal that they’re playing,” said Klinck. “High school football is more than just wins and losses.”

Every effort was made not to run up the score, as the Sandites went through four quarterbacks and five running backs while only running 26 offensive plays and three passes. 25 different defenders registered tackles.

“A lot of people got to play, so that’s really good for our program,” said Klinck. “Hopefully we carry some of this momentum going into the first round (of the playoffs).”

One player in particular got the crowd excited, as the entire student section was chanting “We want Chase” throughout the night. Chase Whittington, an undersized but wildly popular defensive lineman, entered the game to thunderous applause in the fourth quarter.

In honor of Senior Night, Brody Rutledge got the start at quarterback and scored on the first play from scrimmage with a forward pitch to Jabe Schlehuber, who took it 80 yards.

Charles Gaylord recovered the ensuing kick and Kenneth Page scored on a 36-yard run on the next play. Kyle Morrall recovered the next kick and Page added an 8-yard touchdown run to go up 21-0 before the Generals ever took an offensive snap.

After a turnover on downs, Ali McCoy scored on an 8-yard run, then Gatlin Gunn returned a punt 25 yards to go up 35-0.

Jacob Blevins scored on a 45-yard run and McCoy added a 65-yard touchdown to end the first quarter 48-0.

Blaine Phillips scored on a 42-yard run in the second quarter and Marek Matheson stiff-armed his way into the endzone on a 23-yard keeper to take a 62-0 lead into halftime.

Hudson Sheppard scored the record-breaking touchdown from three yards out to beat the Sandites’ previous best win of 67-0 against Collinsville in 1938.

Riley Kohlmeyer recovered his second fumble of the night to open the fourth quarter and Emory Smittick cashed in from 14 yards out soon after. The final touchdown was scored on a 7-yard keeper by Jace Arnold.

“We came out and did what we were supposed to do, so that’s a definite positive,” said Klinck. “It’ll be good that we got this game done on Thursday, so now we can start working ahead and planning for the next game.”

The Sandites finished the regular season with their third consecutive winning record while handing the Generals their 13th consecutive loss.

The win secured a fourth-place finish in district action and Sand Springs will get to host Putnam City (4-6) in the first round of the 6A-II playoffs next Friday. The Sandites are 2-0 all-time against the Pirates.

Scoring Summary

CPHS;48;14;7;14–;83

Grant;0;0;0;0–;0

First Quarter
CPHS - Schlehuber 80 pass from Rutledge (Daniels kick), 11:43
CPHS - Page 36 run (Daniels kick), 11:30
CPHS - Page 8 run (Daniels kick), 10:48
CPHS - McCoy 8 run (Daniels kick), 8:26
CPHS - Gunn 25 punt return (Daniels kick), 7:08
CPHS - Blevins 45 run (Daniels kick), 5:37
CPHS - McCoy 65 run (kick failed), 2:19

Second Quarter
CPHS - Phillips 42 run (Daniels kick), 6:54
CPHS - Matheson 23 run (Daniels kick), 0:05

Third Quarter
CPHS - Sheppard 3 run (Pucket kick), 1:12

Fourth Quarter
CPHS - Smittick 14 run (Pucket kick), 9:05
CPHS - Arnold 7 run (Pucket kick), 5:45

Team Statistics

First Downs: CPHS 7, Grant 3. Rushes-Yards: CPHS 23-331, Grant 22-31. Comp-Att-Int: CPHS 3-3-0, Grant 2-7-0. Passing Yards: CPHS 107, Grant 10. Total Yards: CPHS 438, Grant 41. Fumbles-Lost: CPHS 1-1, Grant 7-6. Penalty Yards: CPHS 60, Grant 18. Punts-AVG: CPHS 0-0, Grant 4-30. Records: CPHS 6-4 (4-3), Grant 0-10 (0-7).

Spartan Football Train Runs Over Sandites, 67-3

If anyone was expecting a close rematch of the 2015 State Finals in Friday night’s game between 6A-II No. 5 Sand Springs (1-1) and Bixby, they were sorely disappointed.

The top-ranked Spartans (3-0) easily rolled to their 52nd consecutive win, 67-3, in their home opener against their former 6A-II rivals.

Austin Havens was 12-of-15 passing for 158 yards and three touchdowns, and starter Connor Kirby was 3-of-4 for 135 yards and two touchdowns, with another score on the ground.

“We’ve got packages for each of those guys,” said Spartan coach Loren Montgomery. “So it just kind of depends on what the defense is giving us, how they’re lining up to the different personnel packages. We try to roll in a lot of people.”

The Spartans took a 25-0 lead in the first quarter and steamrolled to a 53-0 halftime lead to put to bed any thoughts of an upset.

“I was pleased, obviously, with the way we played defense, particularly in the first half,” said Spartan coach Loren Montgomery.

Bixby held the Sandites to only 56 yards and three first downs in the first half, while coming away with two interceptions.

“I felt like we were clean early in the first quarter and a half or so, protected the football pretty well, executed our stuff,” said Montgomery. “I would have liked to have seen us run the ball a little bit better, but I was proud. We had a lot of guys step up and make plays.”

Bixby racked up 186 yards on 34 carries from 11 different backs, led by Jett Turner with 4 carries for 53 yards.

After forcing a punt on the Sandites’ opening drive, the Spartans needed only two plays to get on the board with a 62-yard pass from Connor Kirby to Kordell Gouldsby. Kirby ran in the PAT for an 8-0 lead.

Sam McCormick picked off Marek Matheson at the Sandites’ 12-yard line, setting up a 31-yard field goal from Levi Hoffman.

A quick three-and-out for the Sandites led to a 71-yard scoring strike from Kirby to Luke Hasz, followed by an encore on the two-point conversion.

Tyson Williams got the Spartan defense on the board with a 35-yard pick six, but the Sandites managed to block Hoffman’s kick to make it 25-0 after the first quarter.

Bixby opened the second stanza with a 10-play, 67-yard march, capped by a 1-yard run from Kirby. Joshua Newkirk recovered Hoffman’s onside kick and Austin Havens found Hasz for a 9-yard score three plays later.

Havens added a 31-yard touchdown strike to McCormick and Hasz scored on a 17-yard reverse to end the half.

In the second half Christian Kaiser scored on a 12-yard shovel pass from Havens to make it 60-0.

Kyle Morrall recovered a muffed punt to set up a 28-yard field goal from Jonathan Daniels to avert the shutout, and the Spartans scored their final touchdown on a 37-yard run by Turner.

Matheson ended the night 5-of-10 passing for 30 yards and two picks and the Sandites turned to freshman Easton Webb midway through the second quarter.

Webb was 6-of-11 for 59 yards. Jacob Blevins led the receiving corps with 5 catches for 50 yards.

The Sandites were limited to only 23 rushing yards on 27 carries.

Luke Hasz was the star for the Spartans with three catches for 93 yards and had 13 yards rushing for three total TDs.

Despite Bixby’s total dominance, there were still some mistakes to clean up before the Spartans start district play September 23rd at No. 9 Norman North (2-0).

“We put the ball on the ground a little too much,” said Montgomery. “We need to work better on protecting the football. I thought we did a little bit better job of it tonight, and got a little sloppy at times.”

“We need to become more efficient and continue to grow and develop an identity as a football team.”

The Spartans also expect to get back Arkansas-commit Dylan Hasz in time for the trip to Norman, who was out with a minor injury.

“We were missing three starters tonight, so hopefully this bye week will give us a chance to get a little bit healthy and get some guys back out on the field,” said Montgomery.

Sand Springs will return home next Friday with a non-district game against No. 10 Ponca City (0-2).

Kenneth Page scores 5 TDs in 35-21 win over Sapulpa

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This story was originally written for the Tulsa World.

Junior running back Kenneth Page blasted his way into the history books Friday night with 205 yards and five touchdowns to lead Sand Springs past Sapulpa, 35-21, in the American Heritage Bank Highway 97 Rivalry. 

The game was played before a maximum capacity crowd of over 3,500 at George F. Collins Stadium, with a state-wide broadcast from Cox YurView, and the Sandites took their first lead in the series since 1943.

It’s been 100 years since the two teams first met, and the Sandites now lead the series 46-45-5.

“A lot’s going through my head right now,” said Page. “My line did their job. I’m thankful they did their job. Without them, I wouldn’t have that.”

Highway 97 Rivalry football games are defined by chaos, and the 96th installment didn’t disappoint with five fumbles, two interceptions, and lots of big momentum swings.

On the third play from scrimmage, the snap bounced off Sandite quarterback Marek Matheson’s hands and was immediately recovered by Isaac Shelton.

One play later and Colton Howard found Marco Smith for a 37-yard touchdown and an early lead. 

Sand Springs responded with a methodical 15-play, 75-yard drive to score on Page’s 2-yard plunge. 

Chieftain quarterback Colton Howard put his team back ahead on a 15-yard scramble after shaking off a near-sack to end the first quarter 14-7.

The home team would only get three opportunities to make a play in the second quarter after an 18-play, 89-yard Sandite drive ate more than 9 minutes off the clock, capped by another 2-yard dive from Page.

A sack from Cash Lucas gave Sand Springs a quick three-and-out and they threatened again but Noah Ferguson picked off Matheson to end the half.

Jabe Schlehuber picked off Howard to give his team a red-zone opportunity in the third quarter but the Chieftains forced a turnover on downs to keep it tied. 

Sapulpa’s next drive was unsuccessful, however, and the Sandites took their first lead on a 5-yard Page run, set up by a 51-yard run on the first play of the drive. 

Smith tied it up for the final time on a 15-yard run, but Page added scores of 15 yards and 54 yards in the final stanza. 

“He’s only scratched the surface of what he can do,” said Sandites head coach Bobby Klinck. “He’s got a lot to work on, but there’s a lot to work with. I was very proud of him.”

The Sandite defense came away with eight tackles for loss, led by senior linebacker Drake Fain with 12 tackles. 

“He’s the leader of our defense,” said Klinck. “Him and Dominic Ornelas. We’re counting on those guys and we’re only gonna get better.”

Matheson also impressed in the fourth quarter, shaking off his early interception and completing two incredible Mahomes-ish completions to Jacob Blevins, including a crucial fourth-down conversion that set up the go-ahead score.

Matheson finished the night 11-of-21 for 154 yards. Howard was 7-of-13 for 111 yards for the Chieftains.

Despite Page’s performance, the Sandites were far from a well-oiled machine. 

“We’ve got to get better,” said Klinck. “Just got to clean some stuff up. I think we’re gonna be a good football team, but we’ve got to get a lot better in a hurry in the next couple of weeks before our next opponent.”

The next opponent being 6A-1 No. 3 Bixby (1-0), who is riding a 50-game win streak. The Sandites will get a bye week before traveling to Bixby Friday, September 9th. 

Sandites show promise in 24-7 preseason loss at Jenks

This story was originally written for the Sand Springs Leader.

It would be easy to try and justify the Sandites’ 24-7 preseason loss to the defending 6A-1 State Champions from Jenks.

After all, the Trojan program has twice the enrollment of Sand Springs, a wealthier community, and a blue blood tradition that includes 18 gold balls. 

But third-year Charles Page High School coach Bobby Klinck doesn’t make excuses for his team and he doesn’t let them make excuses for themselves. 

“I was a little disappointed in the way we came out,” said Klinck. 

“Obviously it’s Jenks. They over-physicalled us a little bit, but what we’ve been trying to instill in these guys is a belief in themselves that no matter who we’re playing, you have an opportunity.”

Klinck doesn’t shy away from giants, hence why the Sandites eagerly scheduled Jenks in the preseason and 6A-1 No. 3 Bixby in the second game of the year. 

“We’re never going to back down and I want our guys to know what that looks like and feels like,” said Klinck.

“We’ve just got to keep grinding, keep pushing. We’re going to keep getting better. I’m never satisfied, but we’re gonna keep getting better.”

The Sandites enter next week’s season opener ranked fifth in Class 6A-2 at 5A No. 9 Sapulpa in the 96th installment of Highway 97 Rivalry. 

It still remains to be seen who will be under center for Sand Springs. 

The obvious front runner is Kiefer move-in Marek Matheson. The 6’2”, 225-pound senior showed confidence and promise as he led his new team on their first four series. 

Matheson was 2-of-4 passing for 15 yards and was sacked twice while the team primarily leaned on Kenneth Page’s 9 carries for 26 yards.

On the final drive of the game, they turned to freshman Easton Webb, who methodically led a 12-play, 65-yard scoring drive against a Trojan unit that had swapped out many of the starters. 

Webb was 6-of-9 for 43 yards and connected on a 14-yard touchdown to Brody Rutledge to avert the shutout. 

“(Matheson)’s been getting the majority of the reps with the ones, but just like anything, whoever’s the week one starter doesn’t mean they’ll be the starter the next week. That’s for every position. It’s a constant, competitive deal every week.”

Jenks’ quarterback Ike Owens was 7-of-10 passing for 98 yards and one score while Jaiden Carroll carried the ball nine times for 79 yards and two touchdowns. 

“We’ve got to become better tacklers, be more physical, and come better mentally prepared,” said Klinck. 

The Trojans scored on each of their drives in the two-quarter game that didn’t allow punt returns or rushing the kicker, and each team started their possessions at the 35-yard line in lieu of a kickoff. 

Jonathan Daniels averaged 38 yards per punt for the Sandites while Drake Fain, Carder Hoffman, Dallas Elifrits, and Dominic Ornelas led the defense. 

The Sandites played a clean game with no penalties or fumbles. 

“I think Kenneth (Page) did a better job running the ball and you know we’ve got two of the best receivers,” said Klinck, referencing Rutledge and Jacob Blevins.

“If we can give our quarterbacks time to get the ball off, we’ve got opportunities in jump ball situations. They’re going to make great catches for us this year.”

Sand Springs is coming off an 8-4 campaign and will see some new faces in district action. The Sandites’ district replaced Bixby, Ponca City, and Choctaw with Stillwater, U.S. Grant, and Tahlequah, while retaining Booker T. Washington, Muskogee, Bartlesville, and Putnam City West. 

The first home game of the year will be September 16th in a non-district battle against Ponca at 7:00 p.m.

Sandite Football looking for new leaders to step up in 2022 season

Senior linebacker Drake Fain is expected to have a big impact in the 2022 Sandite football season.

This story was originally written for the Sand Springs Leader.

For the first time since 2016, the Sand Springs quarterback won’t be named Pennington when the Sandites take to the field this fall. 

After five years of being guided by brothers Caden and Ty Pennington, the Sandites will have a new set of hands under center, and it won’t be those of last year’s backup, Brody Rutledge, either.

“We’re pretty close” to naming the starter, said third-year head coach Bobby Klinck. 

“Brody has done such a good job at wide receiver. We talked to him, talked to his dad, and that’s kind of the position that he feels comfortable at and the position that we feel he has the best shot at going to the next level. We’ve kind of let him concentrate on that.”

The talented receiver ended last season with 697 yards and six touchdowns, but he’ll be relying on a fresh set of hands to get him the ball this fall.

Right now, the battle is between a senior and a freshman.

6’2” 215-pound transfer Marek Matheson comes to Sand Springs with an impressive resume as a two-year starter at Kiefer, where he guided the Trojans to a 12-10 record, including their first winning season since 2015.

“He’s done a good job of getting to know the guys and understanding the culture and working out,” said Klinck. “He’s doing a good job in terms of meeting our expectations.”

Matheson put up prolific numbers as a sophomore, throwing for 2,713 yards and 30 touchdowns with 11 interceptions, while running for 208 yards and five scores.

As a junior he put up 1,213 passing yards and 13 touchdowns with only two interceptions, while running for 305 yards and 11 scores. 

His father, Mark Matheson, played four years at quarterback for the University of Tulsa from 1989 to 1992. 

Then there’s the freshman. It’s rare to see a freshman starter at the 6A level, but Easton Webb has a resume of success. The 6’4” multi-sport star led the eighth grade Sandites to an undefeated season last year and conquered the INFC’s top division in seventh grade.

“He’s got all the tools that you want a quarterback to have. Size, athletic ability. He’s got a great arm and a really good demeanor. The physical part - he’s more than capable. It’s just the processing, the decision making, and all that stuff.”

“You can see he’s getting better with each week, with each opportunity. He’s going to be a really good football player here at Sand Springs. We’re just going to challenge him and keep encouraging him, but there’s no doubt that he’s going to be an unbelievable football player.”

“We’ve split reps coming up here just to see if anyone’s going to take the lead,” said Klinck. “The guys have done a really good job of just competing and getting after it. We’re going to take the competition into fall camp and hopefully make a decision pretty quick.”

The two have gotten plenty of reps the last two weeks after competing at a passing camp at Sapulpa, and 7-on-7 tournaments at Bixby and Owasso. 

After winning last year’s silver bracket at the two-day Owasso tournament, the Sandites actually made it to the gold bracket this time around. 

“Kind of the evolution of how we’re doing,” said Klinck. “Seems to be that we’re improving.”

The passing game isn’t all that’s been improving. The team has also been investing in its linemen - sending two dozen players to a Bixby camp for the first time.

“Coach (Jason) Medrano and Coach (Kevin) Avey got a bunch of guys together and it’s an opportunity for those guys to get more work in. It’s kind of the evolution of our program.”

“I think we’re definitely headed in that direction” of being more physical up front, said Klinck. “Coach Medrano has done a good job of really building that culture of being a big, strong, nasty human being. It’s kind of fun to see that take shape.”

Klinck also expects sophomore Kenneth Page to have a big impact after rushing for 183 yards and a touchdown as a backup last season.

“He can be one of those breakout tailbacks. We feel that’s just going to add on to our linemen and make them feel more confident.”

Webb isn’t the only highly anticipated freshman joining the Sandite ranks. Hudson Sheppard is expected to get some minutes in relief of Page, and Ryley Kester has already earned a starting spot.

“Ryley Kester is going to end up starting at offensive line for us,” said Klinck. “With his physicality and demeanor and everything - just cemented himself in that offensive line. Then we go to team camp and as a freshman he’s just a man amongst boys. He’s definitely a tone setter and we’re very excited to get his career going here.”

Another name Klinck expects fans to hear more of this fall is Blaine Phillips. 

“He’s really stepped up. He’s always been a hard worker. Some opportunities came up and he stepped in and has done a really good job. He’s kind of worked himself in to where we’ve got no choice but to give him some playing time. He’s one of those program kids who you root for. He just works hard, he’s a good athlete and he’s finally kind of found his niche to get some playing time.”

Klinck is entering his third year at the helm after guiding Sand Springs to a 7-5 mark in 2020 and an 8-4 record last season. They made the 6A-II quarterfinals in his first season and the semifinals in 2021.

The 2022 season will open on August 26th at Sapulpa in the 96th installment of Highway 97 Rivalry. Last year the Sandites evened the record at 45-45-5 and will now look to take the lead for the first time since 1944.