Sandites Host Sapulpa in District Championship Game Friday

6A-2 No. 1 Sand Springs (7-2, 6-0) will host No. 6 Sapulpa (7-2, 6-0) this Friday at 7pm in the de facto district title game. Here are 16 fast facts about the Highway 97 Rivalry and 10 facts about the Sandites’ season thus far.

Sand Springs leads the Highway 97 Rivalry 48-45-5 all-time and 5-0 in the Bobby Klinck era.

The two teams first met in 1922 and have played every single year since 1930. Sapulpa led the series from 1944 to 2021 when the Sandites finally tied it and Sand Springs has led the series since 2022.

Sand Springs has won five games in a row against Sapulpa and 10 of the last 11. Neither team has ever won six in a row in this series.

Sapulpa has not won in Memorial Stadium since 2013.

Sand Springs won 21-0 last year with Easton Webb passing for 201 yards and 3 TDs while Emory Smittick had 14 tackles to lead the defense. It was the first shutout in the series since 2003. Sapulpa hasn't been shut out in back-to-back meetings since 1938.

2023 was the highest-scoring game in series history with Sand Springs winning 64-54.

Historically, the two teams are rarely good at the same time. In seasons in which both teams finished with winning records, Sand Springs leads 11-4-2.

Trivia fun fact: Keith Hooks (1996-1998) is the only Sandite QB to beat Sapulpa four times, winning all three seasons as starter plus a playoff game in 1997.

Sand Springs is currently allowing 15.1 points per game, the fewest since 2015, and 5.8 points per district game, the fewest since 1977.

The Sandites are currently scoring 40.2 points per game and 50.5 per district game, the most in school history for each category.

We have outscored our district opponents 303-35, compared to 283-108 against the same six opponents last season.

This is our first 6-0 start to district play since 1997 and only the second such start in school history.

Sand Springs is looking for its first district championship since 1997, and its 11th district championship in school history.

With seven wins in a row, the Sandites are on their longest winning streak since 1997.

Sandite Baseball Goes 2-1 at Bartlesville Tournament

The Charles Page High School baseball team went 2-1 at the Bartlesville Bruins Classic last week, winning 9-2 against Ponca City (2-12) and 5-2 against Enid (12-9) on Thursday before falling 6-4 to Sapulpa (16-2) on Friday.

Sand Springs out-hit the Wildcats 13 to 6 with Miller Tavaglione (3-1) earning the win on the mound. Tavaglione struck out six while surrendering five hits and six walks in 4 and 1/3 inning. Gatlin Gunn allowed only one hit with one strikeout in 2 and 2/3 innings of relief.

Wyatt Rutledge, Jace Arnold, Eli Buxton, and Alex Dudley recorded two hits apiece. Easton Webb and Sutton Cook had two RBIs each while Buxton and Jackson Stewart had two runs apiece.

Arnold (2-0) got the win against Enid with six hits, two walks, and six strikeouts in six innings on the mound. Rutledge recorded a save with two hits and one strikeout in the seventh.

The Plainsmen scored two runs in the top of the first and led till the fifth. Kayden Campbell got one back after singling in the third and scoring on a passed ball.

Gunn scored on a passed ball in the fifth to tie it, then Campbell, Isaac Sensintaffar, and Rutledge all scored on a passed ball as well. Campbell went 3-for-3 at the plate, scoring two runs.

Campbell (3-1) took the loss to Sapulpa despite surrendering only three hits and four walks with five strikeouts in 4 and 2/3 innings.

Sapulpa scored two in the first but a three-run third inning put the Sandites on top after a bases-loaded walk and RBI singles from Dudley and Gunn.

The Chieftains tied it with a solo homer in the fifth then took the lead on an error and a single. Buxton scored on a passed ball in the bottom of the inning but that would be the last run for the Sandites.

A Monday district trip to Muskogee was canceled due to inclement weather but the Sandites (13-5, 4-2) will host a double-header against the Roughers (5-11, 0-6) Tuesday at 5:00 p.m.

Decade of Dominance: Sandites Continue Highway 97 Win Streak

Sapulpa took an early lead in its Thursday night dual against Sand Springs, but a major decision from Jaxon Grigsby kicked off an eight-match win streak and the visiting Sandites picked up their eighth consecutive victory over their Highway 97 rivals.

“It’s always a good day when we can beat our rivals,” said head coach Ty Bowling.

The No. 9 Sandites (4-0) trailed 16-0 through the first four matches but rallied to a 49-20 victory in a rivalry win streak dating back to 2013 against 5A No. 14 Sapulpa (0-2).

“It’s good that we didn’t get down,” said Bowling. “We got the momentum back in our favor so that’s always good to see. It’s easy to get down and stay down but those guys behind them - they picked each other up.”

Sapulpa benefitted from a forfeit at 106 pounds, a weight class that’s been vacant all season for Sand Springs, though Bowling says they’re working on getting somebody in there soon.

Then Ayreson Reiss (3-1) suffered his first loss of the season in an 11-7 decision to Jack Madden.

The Chieftains then hit their strongest weights where returning State qualifiers Cavin Pepper and Jackson Willingham earned 12-0 and 3-2 decisions over Caden Rodriguez (0-2) and Hunter Spencer (0-2), respectively.

Finally, Jaxon Grigsby (8-3) broke the Chieftains’ run with a 10-2 major decision over Jackson Mills at 132 pounds, collecting a trio of nearfall points in the third period to earn the bonus point.

Kasen McAffrey (2-0), Preston Reyna (9-2), and Isaac Sensintaffar (6-2) collected forfeits at 138, 150, and 157, while Jesse Moore (4-0) won a 5-3 decision over Alexander Henderson at 144.

Brody Ensten (7-3) picked up the first fall of the night, pinning Nicholas Dobbs in 3:25, then Jaxon Trotter (10-2) pinned Ryan Peterson in 2:46 to clinch the dual for the Sandites.

“We knew coming in if we had the dual locked we were going to go one direction, and if we needed a couple wins we were going to go another direction in the lineup,” said Bowling. “So it was big that we were able to lock it up after 175.”

Peyton Callis (10-2) pinned Sequoyah Hall in 48 seconds before Micco Jones finally snapped the Chieftains’ losing streak with an 8-0 major decision against Ali McCoy (5-5).

Heavyweight Mason Harris (10-1) capped off the night with a pin of Isaiah McCall-Watashe in 1:16.

The Sandites are now 4-0 in duals and will be favored Tuesday when they host Jenks (1-0) in the 2023 finale. Sand Springs was also supposed to travel to a tournament in New Orleans this weekend but cancelled that trip to focus on getting healthy.

“We started with two duals then we wrestled at Mid-America which has some of the toughest teams around the country,” said Bowling.

“We had teams from Washington and Utah and Texas, and of course all of the Oklahoma teams are always tough. Wrestling ten matches over a three-day period, then turn around and Claremore and Sapulpa are always tough, so a lot of hard matches back-to-back-to-back.”

The Sandites were missing several of their top wrestlers against Sapulpa, including Zander Grigsby (9-0), Matthew Moore (7-4), Jayden Pait (6-0), and Kase Skaggs (9-1), but none of their injuries are serious.

"They’ll be back soon,” said Bowling. “It’s more precautionary, just making sure that we have them for the long term.”

Lady Sandites Enjoying Successful Inaugural Dual Season

The Charles Page High School girls wrestling team (3-1) is enjoying a successful first dual season and picked up its third win of the season Tuesday night, 42-30 against Claremore a dual that came down to the final match.

Bailey Copeland, Ambrielle Chambers, and Laila Mirza all pinned their opponents to help the Lady Sandites bounce back from a 42-30 loss at 5A No. 12 Skiatook (2-0) last week.

Sand Springs wrestled two duals at Skiatook last Tuesday, winning 60-24 against Glenpool (1-3) before falling to the Bulldogs.

Copeland, Mirza, and Tessa Urrey pinned their opponents in the Glenpool dual.

Kenzie Johnson and Kelsi Hilton secured pins against Skiatook while Mirza recorded a 14-1 major decision.

The Lady Sandites will return to action Thursday at 6:00 p.m. in the first-ever Highway 97 Rivalry dual at No. 14 Sapulpa.

Zander Grigsby Wins Mid America Nationals, Sandites Beat Claremore in Dual

The No. 9 ranked Charles Page High School boys’ wrestling team improved to 3-0 on the season Tuesday evening with a 40-24 win over 5A No. 6 Claremore (3-2) at Clyde Boyd Middle School.

The Sandites trailed through the first six matches before Jesse Moore (3-0) pinned Alex Miller at 144 pounds to tie it up at 15-15.

Claremore jumped out to a 6-0 lead with a forfeit at 106. Ayreson Reiss (3-0) got the Sandites on the board with a 6-1 decision over Paul Perez, but the visitors won the next three matches.

Kale Shultz won 5-3 in overtime against Caden Rodriguez and returning State qualifier Mason Gillispie won 12-5 against Hunter Spencer. Both Sandites were making their varsity debuts.

Jaxon Grigsby (7-3) suffered a 6-3 decision at the hands of returning State qualifier Maddox Jackson for the Zebras’ biggest lead at 15-3.

Kasen McAffrey made his freshman debut with a pin of Mikey Robertson to kick off the rally at 138.

Preston Reyna (8-2) followed up Moore’s pin with a 14-5 major decision against Kaiden Soaz and the Sandites held the lead from then on.

Isaac Sensintaffar (5-2) pinned Jackson Roach in 1:52 to make it 25-15, but Brody Ensten (6-3) was pinned by returning State placer Cooper Zigafues to keep things close.

Finally, Jaxon Trotter (9-2) pinned Silas Taylor in 57 seconds and Peyton Callis (9-2) pinned Micah Duncan in five seconds to clinch the dual victory.

Claremore won one last match in a 3-1 decision by returning State qualifier Cameron Braswell against Ali McCoy (5-5) but Mason Harris (9-1) capped the night off with a 2-0 defeat of Josh Feliciano.

Next up on the Sandites’ schedule is a Highway 97 Rivalry match at 5A No. 14 Sapulpa (0-1) Thursday at 6:00 p.m.

Sand Springs wrestled its first tournament over the weekend and Zander Grigsby (9-0) led the Sandites to a seventh place finish at the Mid America Nationals in Enid.

Grigsby pinned his first pool opponent, then won a 9-0 major decision against returning State qualifier Walker Johnson of Harrah.

In the championship bracket he pinned his first opponent before eking out a 3-0 decision against Marlow State Champion Cade Gilbert.

In the semifinals he won an 11-0 major decision against Texas State Champion Tanner Casaubon and in the finals he won a 5-1 decision against Guthrie State qualifier Bryson Hall.

Grigsby outscored his opponents 42-2 over the tournament.

Harris was runner-up at heavyweight, pinning his first four opponents in the first period. He won a 2-0 decision over Guthrie State qualifier Nic Herendeen and a 1-0 decision against Piedmont State qualifier Jesse Knapp before falling to Kansas State Champion Brett Carroll.

Kase Skaggs (9-1) took fifth place at 120 pounds with wins over three State qualifiers. His only loss came to two-time Texas State Champion Isaak Arevalo in the quarterfinals and he bounced back with three straight decisions. In the placement round he won 4-3 against USAWKS State Champion Talon Verbeck.

Callis placed fifth at 190, only losing two matches to a pair of State qualifiers. In the placement round he won a 7-3 decision against Texas State placer Ryan Rainey from Arlington-Martin.

Trotter placed ninth at 175, pinning his first five opponents before falling 10-3 and 4-3 to a pair of State finalists. He bounced back with a 18-1 technical fall against Salina State qualifier Jyce Glass and a 35-second pin of Collinsville’s Sean Ross.

Matthew Moore (7-4) placed 10th at 132 with a 5-4 record. He won his first three matches before falling to a pair of State finalists. He won two matches in the Championship bracket, losing only to returning State qualifiers.

Jayden Pait (6-0) placed 12th at 138, winning his first four matches before medical forfeiting the rest of the tournament. He pinned his first two opponents before winning a pair of decisions against two State qualifiers.

Hudson Sheppard (5-2) placed 12th at 175, easily winning his pool before falling 7-2 to Harrah’s Zylan Johnson. He won his next match 7-3 against Texas State qualifier Boede Gibson but medical forfeited his remaining matches.

McCoy placed 15th at 215 pounds with three pins. In the placement round he pinned Jay’s Bryce McGhee in 1:40.

Jaxon Grigsby placed 17th at 126, going 5-2 with four pins, beating Marlow’s Harris Brennan 8-0 in the placement match. Both of his losses came to returning State qualifiers during pool play, relegating him to the consolation bracket where he dominated the field, outscoring his opponents 34-1.

Reyna placed 17th at 144, losing his first two matches before bouncing back with a technical fall and five consecutive wins to top the consolation bracket. Over his final five matches he outscored his opponents 38-0 with three pins, including a 26-second victory in the finals.

Sensintaffar placed 17th at 150, losing his first two matches before winning his next four, including three pins with a 36-second finals victory.

Ensten placed 17th at 157, going 1-2 in pool play before winning out in the consolation bracket with three total pins in the tournament.

Jaden Allen (4-4) placed 22nd at 190 with four pins.

The Sandites finished in seventh place with 320 points despite voiding the 106 and 113 weight classes.

As a non-scoring wrestler, Colt Hood took 13th place at 120 with a 4-3 record and four pins, winning his placement match by fall against Watonga’s Dakota Cox. Two of his three losses came to defending State Champions.

Sandite Basketball Tips Off Tuesday at Home Against Edmond Memorial

The Charles Page High School varsity basketball teams will tip off the season Tuesday night at the Ed Dubie Field House in a district double-header against Edmond Memorial.

The varsity girls will play at 6:30 p.m. while the boys will play at 8:00 p.m.

The girls are in their fifth year under head coach Josh Berry, who holds a 68-30 record at Sand Springs and a 166-143 record overall.

The Lady Sandites went 18-9 overall last season and 9-5 in the final year of Frontier Valley Conference play. They ended their season in the Area consolation finals, one round short of the State tournament.

The girls graduated Fayth Walker and All-State selection Hailey Jackson, but return Sakauri Wilson, Taiona Morris, and Kiaryn Taylor, who are all receiving attention from college recruiters. Abigaile Martin, Calla Fueshko, and Patience Pearce are all impactful returners.

The Sandites also picked up a big-time transfer in Hope Bump, a junior star at Claremore who was an All-Conference second-team selection in the Metro Lakes who averaged 18 points and 9 boards last season.

The boys went 10-14 overall and 3-11 in FVC play under head coach Eric Savage, who holds a 123-121 record after ten seasons at Sand Springs and a 428-214 record overall.

The boys graduated Michael Foster, Jax Marshall, Kade Holland, Sam Hayes, and Luke Hooper, but will still return a talented lineup anchored by Alijah Roper, Kooper Kelly, Blake Johnson, and Khalil Allen.

Junior transfer Deke Thompson will be a high-profile addition from Jenks as an All-Conference Honorable Mention last season. Marcus Mitchell, Zane Fueshko, and Colin Shope all return a wealth of experience from last season.

The OSSAA shifted to district play this season, meaning the Sandites will say goodbye to old rivals like Sapulpa, Broken Arrow, Bixby, Muskogee, Booker T. Washington, and Jenks. Shockingly, the Highway 97 Rivalry is not on the schedule this season.

Edmond Memorial will be the first district opponent for the Sandites in the new era. The Bulldog boys went 12-11 last season while the girls were 22-5.

The Lady Sandites’ last meeting with the Bulldogs was a 50-46 victory in the Area consolation playoffs in 2021. If the boys have ever played Edmond Memorial, it was before Sandite Pride’s records.