Sandite College Football Report: Pennington Makes Playoff Run with Pitt State

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Photo by Derek Livingston, Pitt State Athletics.

Just two seasons removed from establishing himself as the most successful quarterback in Sand Springs history, Ty Pennington is now making a name for himself at Pittsburg State University.

The redshirt freshman has been a productive backup this season, passing 46-of-67 for 447 yards and 6 touchdowns with zero interceptions while carrying the ball 74 times for 344 yards and 4 touchdowns.

The No. 7 ranked Gorillas are 11-1 on the season and poised for an NCAA Division II playoff meeting at No. 2 Grand Valley State (10-1) this Saturday at 12:00 p.m. in Allendale, Michigan.

Pennington made his debut in a season-opening 34-7 win against Washburn (2-9), completing his only pass attempt and finishing with 23 total yards on five plays.

In the second game of the year he went 3-of-4 for 44 yards and a touchdown with 43 rushing yards on five attempts in a 40-14 win over Fort Hays State (7-4).

Two weeks later he was 2-of-2 for 23 yards while rushing six times for a career-high 53 yards and a touchdown in a 33-14 win over the Nebraska-Kearney.

In their first ranked matchup of the year, the No. 3 Gorillas prevailed 33-25 over No. 20 Emporia State (8-3) and Pennington had a career night on the ground and in the air. The former Sandite was 8-of-10 passing for 96 yards and two touchdowns while running 10 times for a team-high 80 yards.

Pennington saw limited action in a 31-21 win over Missouri Southern State (5-6) but worked his way into the game early in a 28-7 victory against Northwest Missouri State (7-4), scoring three of the Gorillas’ four touchdowns on short-yardage wildcat packages.

The No. 2 ranked Gorillas improved to 9-0 on Homecoming with a 55-6 rout of Sioux Falls (3-8). Pennington was 4-of-5 passing for 72 yards and two touchdowns.

The Gorillas’ 20-game MIAA win streak came to an end in a 31-30 loss to Missouri Western State (8-3), but Pitt got back on track with a 20-10 win over Central Oklahoma (5-6) to clinch back-to-back MIAA Championships.

Pennington got the start in the win, filling in for injured starter Chad Dodson Jr., and was 18-of-30 passing for a career-high 108 yards and one touchdown.

Pennington returned to his backup role in the first round of the playoffs, passing 1-of-2 for 17 yards while leading the Gorillas on the ground with 8 carries for 76 yards in a 35-14 victory over GLVC Champion University of Indianapolis (9-2).

Saturday’s game against the GLIAC Champions will be broadcast live on pay-per-view at this link for $10.55.

The Gorillas also beat Indianapolis in the first round of last year’s playoffs before falling to Ferris State, last year’s GLIAC Champion.

Pitt State is the winningest program in NCAA Division II history with four national championships, but hasn’t made it past the second round since its 2011 championship season.

The GOAT Retires

While Ty Pennington is the best quarterback in Sandite history statistically, Payton Scott is the best running back, holding almost every single-game, season-single, and career rushing record at Sand Springs.

Scott finished his senior season with 31 carries for 161 yards and one touchdown plus 8 receptions for 51 yards. In his career he had 135 carries for 662 yards and five touchdowns plus 27 receptions for 165 yards. The Bronchos went 5-6 this season

Northwest Oklahoma Reunion

Charles Page High School offensive line coach Jason Medrano was hired as the assistant head coach at Northwestern Oklahoma State University after the 2022 season and immediately began recruiting some familiar players.

2023 graduates Drake Fain, Kyle Morrall, and Jacob Blevins all enrolled at NWOSU as freshmen and 2022 alum Blake Jones transferred from Northeastern State.

The Rangers went 1-10 in their first season under head coach Ronnie Jones, matching their previous year’s total. They snapped a 15-game losing streak with a 41-0 rout of rival Southwestern Oklahoma State (0-11) in the season finale.

Jones finished the season with 16 carries for 14 yards and one touchdown, one reception for 38 yards, seven kick returns for an average of 10 yards, and one tackle.

Fain had 23 tackles, including a season-best seven against Henderson State, and a sack against SWOSU.

Morrall had one kick return for 15 yards and a tackle. Blevins saw action in one game but recorded no statistics.

CPHS seniors Marcus Sims and Kenneth Page both also have offers from NWOSU and could grow the number of Sandite-Rangers next season.

NSU Looking Forward

2023 alum Brody Rutledge joined 2022 grad Gabe Brown at Northeastern State University this season. The RiverHawks went 1-10 on the season and fired head coach J.J. Eckert following a four-year, 4-40 campaign.

Brown redshirted last year and made 9 tackles in his freshman season, with 2.5 tackles for loss and two pass breakups. Rutledge played in four games as a true freshman but didn’t record any stats.

Sandite Football Preview: Sand Springs travels to Bartlesville Friday

The Class 6A-II No. 6 ranked Charles Page High School varsity football team (5-3, 2-3) will travel to unranked Bartlesville (2-6, 1-4) Friday in a must-win district battle. The Sandites need to win their last two games in order to reach the playoffs.

The Game

The game will be played at Custer Stadium at 7:00 p.m., on the campus of Bartlesville High School at 1700 SE Hillcrest Drive, Bartlesville, OK 74003.

Tickets are $7.00 for adults and $5.00 for students.

Sand Springs

The Sandites are in their second year under Head Coach Bobby Klinck, who holds an all-time coaching record of 25-20. While Sand Springs was a perennial playoff contender from 2012 to 2017, they hit a rough patch of three losing seasons before Klinck’s arrival spurred them from 2-8 in 2019 to 7-5 last year.

In the season opener they beat archrival Sapulpa 53-26, then they easily handled Bishop Kelley 34-13. Against defending Arkansas 4A State Champion Shiloh Christian they had to come from behind in a 40-33 shootout. In district action they have won 30-13 against Ponca City and 48-34 against Muskogee before falling 37-32 to Booker T. Washington, 58-14 to Bixby and 41-28 to Choctaw.

“We still control our own destiny,” Klinck said after the loss to Choctaw. “That’s what I tell these kids. It’s okay to be disappointed. Last week we got rolled at Bixby. I could tell the kids were disappointed.”

“We’ve got two weeks to get a lot better. I do feel we’re going to be a dangerous football team when it comes time for the playoffs.”

Players to Watch

Ty Pennington (Sr. QB) is 128-204-1827-3 passing with 20 touchdowns, and is 111-359 rushing with seven TDs. He has over 5,400 passing yards in his career and holds the school record in passing yardage. He also set the school record in passing touchdowns at 47.

Blake Jones (Sr. RB) is 110-742 rushing with seven touchdowns but has been battling injury since the Booker T. Washington game, and only took two reps last week.

Kenneth Page (Fr. RB) is 22-113 rushing with one TD as Jones’s backup.

Brody Rutledge (Jr. WR) is 2-3-49-0 passing with two touchdowns and 30-446 receiving with four TDs.

Keaton Campbell (Sr. WR) is 33-493 receiving with seven touchdowns and averages 20 yards per kick return.

Jacob Blevins (Jr. WR) is 41-585 receiving with five TDs and averages 16 yards per kick return.

Ryan Shoemaker (Sr. TE) is 18-230 receiving with five TDs.

Jabe Schlehuber averages 31.9 yards per kick return with a school record-setting 99-yard TD.

Landon Hendricks (Sr. DE) has 52 tackles, 17 for loss, 7.5 sacks, 6 pass breakups, 2 fumble recoveries, 3 forced fumbles, a safety, and a blocked PAT.

Brooks Dudley (Sr. LB) has 74 tackles, 5.5 for loss, 1.5 sacks, and 1 pass breakup.

Gabe Brown has 51 tackles, 6.5 for loss, 3 sacks, 1 pass breakup, and a 75-yard scoop and score.

Conner Light has 46 tackles, 2.5 for loss, 1 pass breakup, and 1 forced fumble.

Drake Fain has 76 tackles, 4 for loss, 3 pass breakup, two fumble recoveries, and a 13-yard scoop and score.

Ryder Barnes has 44 tackles, 0.5 for loss, two interceptions, 6 pass breakups, and 1 fumble recovery.

Logan Wolfe (Jr. K) is 28-of-33 on PATs and 2-of-2 on field goals with a long of 34 yards.

Bartlesville

The Bruins are in their third season under Head Coach Jason Sport, who was previously the defensive coordinator. Sport is 8-21 as head coach and is the third head coach for the Bruins in the past five years. They haven’t had a winning record since a 10-2 season in 2015.

Bartlesville won its season opener 15-14 at Claremore, but lost six in a row from there: 34-14 to Sapulpa, 42-7 to Collinsville, 71-0 to Bixby, 66-0 to Booker T. Washington, 49-14 to Muskogee, and 34-7 to Ponca City. Last week they snapped the skid with a 41-19 trouncing of Putnam City West, who has lost 32 consecutive games.

Players to Watch

Harrison Clark (Sr. QB) made his first career start last week after Simian Gilkey was injured against Ponca City. The backup was 13-of-20 passing for 196 yards and one touchdown.

Gage Keaton (WR) was 4-110 receiving against Putnam West.

Austin Zink (So. RB) was 20-118 rushing with two TDs against Putnam West.

The Series

Assigning an exact number to the Sand Springs vs. Bartlesville rivalry is difficult due to the number of different high schools in Bartlesville history. Bartlesville schools overall lead Sand Springs 40-25, but the current Bruins program, which unified two previous Bartlesville schools, only leads 21-16 since it opened in 1982.

Last year Sand Springs won 21-14 on Senior Night to snap a two-year losing skid. Ty Pennington had 142 rushing yards and two touchdowns with 180 passing yards in the game, while Blake Jones scored one touchdown with 43 rushing yards.

Bartlesville won the two years prior, but in 2017 Sand Springs throttled the Bruins 55-13 behind a school-record 507-yard, seven TD rushing performance from Payton Scott.

16-21 vs. Bartlesville High
2020: Sand Springs 21-14 (H)
2019: Bartlesville 54-34 (A)
2018: Bartlesville 29-27 (H)
2017: Sand Springs 55-13 (H)
2016: Sand Springs 47-28 (A)
2015: Bartlesville 24-7 (A)
2014: Sand Springs 28-27 (Homecoming)
2013: Bartlesville 40-27 (A)
2012: Sand Springs 27-25 (H)
2011: Sand Springs 34-0 (Homecoming)
2010: Bartlesville 48-16 (A)
2009: Bartlesville 45-14 (H)
2008: Sand Springs 52-24 (A)
2007: Bartlesville 27-26 (H)
2006: Bartlesville 24-14 (A)
2005: Sand Springs 22-3 (A)
2004: Sand Springs 28-18 (H)
2003: Bartlesville 35- (A)
2002: Bartlesville 34-7 (H)
2001: Sand Springs 13-8 (H)
2000: Sand Springs 21-0 (A)
1997: Sand Springs 31-0
1996: Bartlesville 20-16
1995: Sand Springs 28-12
1994: Sand Springs 27-7
1993: Sand Springs 28-6
1992: Bartlesville 40-33
1991: Bartlesville 21-0
1990: Bartlesville 7-0
1989: Bartlesville 23-20 OT
1988: Bartlesville 27-7
1987: Bartlesville 28-27 OT (Shared District Title)
1986: Bartlesville 20-6
1985: Sand Springs 35-15
1984: Bartlesville 17-6
1983: Bartlesville 24-21
1982: Bartlesville 14-0

4-10 vs. College High
1979: Sand Springs 8-0
1978: College 20-15
1975: College 21-0
1974: College 14-7
1973: Sand Springs 14-7
1972: College 43-15
1960: College 48-14
1959: College 16-6
1958: College 30-0
1957: College 19-0
1956: Sand Springs 6-0
1955: College 19-0
1954: College 28-6
1953: Sand Springs 13-7

2-6 vs. Sooner High
1977: Sand Springs 21-0
1976: Sooner 6-0
1975: Sooner 28-6
1974: Sooner 28-9
1973: Sand Springs 34-22 (Sooner)
1972: Sooner 41-7
1971: Sooner 21-6
1970: Sooner 29-0

3-3 vs. Central High
1930: Central 20-6
1929: Sand Springs 12-0
1922: Central 6-0
1921: Sand Springs 22-6
1920: Central 43-7
1919: Sand Springs 19-7

Things to do in Bartlesville:

Woolaroc Museum & Wildlife Preserve
1925 Woolaroc Ranch Road
Barlesville, OK 74003

Frank Phillips Historic Home
1107 South Cherokee Avenue
Bartlesville, OK 74003

Price Tower Arts Center
510 South Dewey Avenue
Bartlesville, OK 74003

Phillips Petroleum Company Museum
410 Keeler
Bartlesville, OK 74004

Bartlesville Union Depot
201 South Keeler Avenue
Bartlesville, OK 74003

Bartlesville Area History Museum
401 South Johnstone Avenue
City Center Building - Floor 5
Bartlesville, OK 74003

Payton Scott clinches 36-30 victory for Team Oklahoma over Florida

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

The Oklahoma Outlaws got off to a rough start Thursday morning at the Greco-Roman Junior National Duals. After going undefeated in day one, the Okies went down 35-32 to California in a hotly contested battle that wasn't decided till the final match. The Gold may be out of reach for Oklahoma now, but the scrappy team proved their hearts are still in it with a stellar 36-30 victory over Florida in round two.

State Champion Nick Mahan (Lawton) started the dual off with a 19-9 tech fall over Mikall Fundora, State Champ Dan Baker (Sulphur) came out on the winning end of a high-scoring 15-11 decision over Josiah Gittman, and State Champ Bear Hughes (Coweta) dominated Fidel Lara with a 13-0 tech fall for an 11-2 lead.

Florida finally picked up their first win with a 13-2 tech fall by Darius Hamilton over Tanner Hawkins. Broken Arrow's Trenton Lieurance went the distance for a 4-2 decision over Kyron Taylor, then Florida went on a run.

Jacob Cochran won an 18-10 decision over Alex Fields (Guthrie), Elijah Varona teched Wyatt Adams (MacArthur) 12-0, and Malyke Hines picked up a 20-10 tech fall over Alec McDoulett (Little Axe).

National Champion Dalton Duffield (Westmoore) quickly handled Luis Hernandez with a 0:42 pin. Jet Taylor (Sallisaw) went down 11-0 to Jordan Marshall. State Champion Jacob Butler (Elgin) won a 7-1 decision over Marcus Abreu and State Champ Jaxen Gilmore (Yukon) teched Demetrius Anderson 11-0. 

Brik Filippo, a State Champ from Tuttle, put up a valiant effort against nationally ranked No. 16 Anthony Artalona but went down in a 6-1 decision.

With a 30-26 lead and two matches left, Sand Springs's Payton Scott had the chance to clinch the dual, and the pressure was on. The next match would be Ezequiel Rubio (Ponca City) as a heavy underdog against Max Wohlabaugh, who just won the Cadet Greco-Roman National Title in Akron three weeks ago. The Sandite didn't disappoint, and pinned Christian Febus in 3:39 to put the victory just out of reach for Florida. Wohlabaugh won his match 11-1, but Oklahoma won the dual 36-30.

Up next for Oklahoma is the undefeated top-seeded Minnesota Blue team. Minnesota features nationally ranked No. 11 Jake Allar, No. 11 Taylor Venz, No. 12 Lucas Jeske, and No. 13 Owen Webster.

Oklahoma dominates Georgia 68-2 in Dual Nationals round one

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

Team Oklahoma got off to a fast start against Team Georgia Blue in the first round of the Junior Greco-Roman Dual Nationals Wednesday morning, building up a massive lead before the wrestling even started.

Jet Taylor, Jacob Butler, and Jaxen Gilmore received forfeits for 126 to 138. Tuttle's Brik Filippo wasted no time in putting points on the board with a 10-0 tech fall over Khyree Alexander, then Sand Springs's Payton Scott took down Dustin Berry 10-0 in thirty seconds flat. Ezequiel Rubio pinned Cole White in a quick twenty then Nick Mahan teched Chandler Miele 13-2.

Bear Hughes continued the winning streak with an 11-0 tech over Devyn Villafane. Zach Marcheselli received a forfeit, Tanner Hawkins picked up a 16-6 tech fall over Richard Walker, then Trenton Lieutance, Alex Fields, and Wyatt Adams all received forfeits.  Alec McDoulett teched Brandon Foster 11-0 and Westmoore's Dalton Duffield wrapped things up with a 12-0 tech of Alex Cain for a final score of 68-2 with no matches lost.

Up next for Oklahoma is Team Pennsylvania who solidly defeated Team Kansas Red 49-12 in round one. 

Four Sandites will represent Oklahoma at Jr Dual Nationals

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

The Junior Dual Nationals will return to the Cox Business Center in Tulsa on June 22nd. The Tournament will last through the 25th and will feature four Charles Page High School wrestlers.

Last year Team Oklahoma bulldozed their way through both styles, placing fourth in Greco and first in Freestyle. That talented team included three Sandites. Cody Karstetter and Kyler Childers had just graduated that year and are now wrestling the collegiate circuit. Daton Fix is back to help his State defend its title.

Riley Weir just finished his Freshman year with a 21-12 record at the 106 pound class and a State Championship appearance. Weir placed fourth at the Perry Tournament of Champions and ninth at the highly prestigious Kansas City Stampede. He came in third at the Regional Championship to qualify for State, but was eliminated after losing his first two matches. Weir nursed an injured elbow throughout the final weeks of the high school season and wasn’t even close to full strength in the post-season. This event will be a great demonstration of his true potential in the upcoming high school season.

Jack Karstetter finished his Junior year with a 39-8 record and placed second at 132 pounds in the State Championship after giving up a heart-breaker 3-2 decision to Kruz Simons of Edmond North. Throughout the high school season he placed fourth at Perry, ninth at Kansas City, second at the Geary Invitational, first at the Sand Springs Invitational, first at the Jay Hancock Memorial, and secured the Regional Championship.

Since school let out he came in Runner-Up at the UWW Cadet Greco-Roman Nationals and secured his spot on Team USA for the Pan-American Championships in Lima, Peru this July.

Daton Fix is earning his way into the history books after completing his third straight undefeated high school season. He’s currently sitting at an overall record of 118-0 with three-straight State Championships. He’s only the second Sandite in school history to win three State Championships, the first being David McGuire from 1963-1965. No Sandite has won four.

Since the high school season ended, Fix won the UWW Junior Freestyle National Championship, defeated the Iranian Champion Kheyrollah Gharamani at the Beat The Streets Gala in Times Square, and scored a pair of 10-0 tech falls over National Champion Austin Gomez to earn his way onto the USA World Team.

Fix will compete at the Grand Prix of Spain, a Senior level tournament in Madrid from July 9-10, then will travel to Fargo, North Dakota for the Junior Freestyle Nationals from July 16-23 where he is a defending Champion. From August 30th through September 4th he will compete at the UWW World Championship in Macon, France.

Payton Scott finished his Sophomore year with a 19-6 record at 152 pounds and placed fourth in the State Championship. He missed the first half of the season while getting back in shape after a long and grueling football post-season, but placed fourth at Geary, second at Sand Springs, and first at the Regional Championship.

Scott was also a member of last year’s Cadet National Dual Team that finished seventh in Freestyle and second in Greco. Overall he went 13-3 between the two styles.

Other Team Oklahoma members include:

• Alex Fields of Guthrie, 2016 Southern Plains Regional Champion in both styles.
• Rhett Golowenski of Tuttle, two-time OSSAA 4A State Champion.
• Mason Naifeh of Tulsa Union, two-time OSSAA 6A State Placer.
• Wyatt Adams of Lawton MacArthur, 2015 OSSAA 5A State Champion.
• Dalton Duffield of Westmoore, three-time OSSAA 6A finalist, 2015 Fargo National Champion.
• Jacob Butler of Elgin, 2016 OSSAA 4A State Champion.
• Kaden Gfeller of Heritage Hall, three-time undefeated OSSAA 3A State Champion.
• Brik Filippo of Tuttle, 2016 OSSAA 4A State Champion, two-time finalist.
• Beau Guffey of Tuttle, three-time OSSAA 4A State Champion.
• Jaryn Curry of Choctaw, 2016 OSSAA 6A State Champion, 2015 USAW Cadet National Runner-Up.
• Dayton Garrett of Tuttle, three-time OSSAA 4A State Finalist, 2015 State Champion.
• Wyatt Sheets of Stilwell, four-time OSSAA 4A State Champion, Oklahoma State commit.
• Christian Bahl of Stillwater, 2016 OSSAA 6A State Champion.
• Dan Baker of Sulphur, 2016 OSSAA 3A State Champion.
• Drew Hinkle of Jenks, 2016 OSSAA 6A State Runner-Up.
• Zach Marcheselli of Broken Arrow, 2016 OSSAA 6A State Champion.
• Bear Hughes of Coweta, 2016 OSSAA 5A State Champion.
• Gunner Cash of Tecumseh, two-time OSSAA 4A State Qualifier.
• Gage Johnson of Norman North, 2016 OSSAA 6A State Runner-Up.
• Trenton Lieurance of Broken Arrow, two-time OSSAA 6A State Placer.

9 Sandites remain at State, only slightly behind Broken Arrow and Choctaw

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

The remaining Sandites have about an hour long break before the next round begins at the 6A State Championship in Oklahoma City. 

Charles Page wrestling qualified eleven for the tournament with seven Regional Champions, more than either Broken Arrow or the Dual State Champions from Choctaw. Unfortunately 220 pound junior and Regional Champion Delvin Jordan was unable to participate dropping the number to nine. 

106 freshman Riley Weir (20-12) came in third at Regionals and was pitted against Choctaw's Colt Newton (40-3) in the first round and was pinned in 0:41. From there he was majored 14-4 by Yukon's Braden Fowler and eliminated. 

113 Regional Champion Michael Ritchey (22-16) was defeated in round one by Westmoore's Wes Hardin (31-11) by a narrow 5-2 decision but managed to hold the lead in the next match for a 5-3 victory over Spencer Schickram (14-9) of Ponca City. 

120 Regional Champion Blake Sargent (36-10) went into overtime with Zackery Bibb (24-5) of Capitol Hill and lost 4-2 in the tie breaker round. He fell in an early hole to Justin Gundlach (29-11) of Moore and trailed 3-2 going into the final period, but rallied for a takedown and pin at 5:14 to stay alive in the consolation bracket. 

126 two-time undefeated State Champion Daton Fix (44-0) pinned Bobby Robinson (30-13) of Deer Creek in 1:37.

132 Regional Champion Jack Karstetter (38-7) breezed through his first match with a 17-2 tech fall over Norman's Jeffrey Adams (23-12) in 5:42.  

138 Regional Champion Beau Bratcher (40-6) pinned Choctaw's Jeff Speer (23-10) in 4:48. 

145 Regional Champion Payton Scott (18-4) pinned Westmoore's Trey Painter (32-10) in 3:52.  

160 Regional Runner-Up Zane Basma (32-11) scored an 8-3 decision over Sam Hensley (31-13) of Edmond Memorial.  

170 Trace Fleischman (10-4) placed fourth at Regionals but rebounded big time at State with a 3-1 upset of West Regional Champion Jacob Schimmels (23-6) of Edmond. 

The top three teams are as close now as they have been all season with Broken Arrow at 25.5, Choctaw at 25, and Sand Springs at 23.5.  

The semi finals will begin at 7:15.