Sandite Soccer Sweeps Tulsa NOAH, Ava Watts Scores Hat Trick

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After a promising preseason, the Charles Page High School soccer teams officially launched the 2023 regular season with a pair of wins against Tulsa NOAH Friday night at Memorial Stadium.

The Lady Sandites jumped out to an early lead and never looked back in a 6-2 triumph, while the boys battled to a 1-1 draw in regulation and secured the victory in a 4-2 overtime shootout.

The two teams are coming off very different paths from last season. The girls are looking to live up to and even surpass last year’s historic 12-5 campaign. The boys, meanwhile, are excited to have snapped a 13-match losing streak after going winless last season.

Ava Watts will be looked to as the Lady Sandites’ powerhouse scorer after totaling 16 goals in her sophomore campaign. She opened the season on the right foot with a hat trick against the Jaguars, her second of the week after scoring three goals in Tuesday’s Glenpool scrimmage as well.

“I’m really excited, really happy,” said head coach Cisco Chavez. “Ava’s going to do huge things for our program and the program that she decides to play for in the future. But she’s really standing out this year and picking up the goals.”

Last year’s scoring leader Lainey Stanfill will, unfortunately, miss the season after a recent ACL surgery. The sophomore totalled 23 goals last year but is expected to be sidelined till August.

“I’m a little nervous right now; we picked up some more injuries,” said Chavez. “We definitely got hit by the injury bug this preseason.”

“We’re trying to get others some more minutes, trying to figure out formations and things like that, and we have a few people missing the next few games. It’s going to be challenging this year with all the injuries that we have, but we’re still excited.”

The Lady Sandites out-shot NOAH 19 to 10 and dominated the first half with a 2-0 lead on Watts’s first two goals.

The Jaguar offense came alive in the second half but the Sandites had plenty of answers.

Watts made it a hat trick in the 47th minute before Yophiyyah Fish connected on a free kick to make it 3-1. Just 33 seconds later, Avery Miller broke loose a quick score in transition.

Alyssa Cunningham put her team up 5-1 just 20 seconds later and Lauren Foster scored the Sandites’ final goal in the 52nd minute. NOAH’s Kinzie Doss had the final point but the teams went scoreless for the final 21 minutes.

The boys’ match was a defensive battle as the Sandites recorded 13 shots on goal, but Jaguar goalie Elijah Hafer made 12 saves.

“Super proud of these guys,” said head coach Brent Lollis. “They did endure a lot last season and they’ve worked really hard in the offseason and preseason.”

“This is essentially the same team. We had some seniors, but a lot of the guys that were on the field tonight are the ones that went through those experiences last year. They’ve all worked their tails off and every single one of them is better and they’re kind of getting the reward for a year and a half of hard work.”

The Sandites went undefeated in the preseason with three wins and one draw, beating Glenpool 3-0 on Tuesday. Brian Boyles, Elgin Hernandez, and Dawson Puckett scored one goal apiece in the final scrimmage.

Boyles had the lone goal against NOAH just five minutes into the match before Fisher Self tied it up two minutes into the second half.

“(Boyles) is our leading scorer so far this season and I think he also probably leads with assists,” said Lollis.

“He’s a key player, he’s a great player. He’s got a lot of soccer ahead of him. That was a great strike for that goal. He had some adversity last year and we didn’t have him all year. He’s been one of the leaders on the team and it’s great to have him back.”

After a scoreless 38 minutes to end regulation, the Sandites prevailed on a pair of overtime saves from Sammy Mendoza and successful penalty kicks from Nic Roberts, Zac Ritter, Nathaniel McClaren, and Boyles.

NOAH had answers for the Sandites’ first two kicks and saved Elias Villanueva’s try, putting the pressure on Mendoza. The sophomore came through to keep the score at 2-2, then put his team on top with another save after McClaren’s successful shot. Boyles secured the match to pay back last year’s 4-2 loss.

“With this team, the secret is going to be staying healthy and staying hungry. If they do that, the sky’s the limit for them.”

Both teams will return to action Tuesday at Muskogee before traveling to Metro Christian on Thursday.

Sandite Weekly Sports Roundup: Two Sandites Medal at State Wrestling Tournament

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The Sand Springs boys’ wrestling team took tenth place at the OSSAA 6A State Tournament with two placers in their best finish since 2020.

Mitchell Smith took fourth place at 150 pounds to end his career as a four-time State qualifier and two time placer with a 108-35 record.

Mason Harris took fourth place at heavyweight and finished his junior year with a team-best 40-9 record.

The Sandites went 3-3 in the wrestle-in round and 3-3 in the quarterfinals with Jayden Pait, Jaxon Trotter, and Ethan White earning their way into the main bracket.

Smith, Harris, and Kase Skaggs all advanced to the semifinals before taking their first losses. Skaggs and Trotter were both eliminated one win short of the podium.

Sand Springs will graduate Smith and White but will return 12 starters and seven state qualifiers next season.

Soccer

The CPHS boys soccer team improved to 2-0-1 in preseason action while the girls fell to 2-1-0.

The boys won 3-0 against Collinsville on Tuesday with goals from Elias Villanueva, Zac Ritter, and Elgin Hernandez, with Brian Boyles recording an assist. They battled to a 1-1 draw against Sapulpa with Eli Bise scoring the lone goal.

The girls fell 2-1 against Collinsville, with Alyssa Cunningham scoring the lone goal on an assist from Ava Watts. On Thursday they defeated Sapulpa 4-1 with two goals from Watts and one goal apiece from Avery Miller and Ashley Feigenbaum.

The Sandites have one more scrimmage scheduled Tuesday against Glenpool before opening the regular season Friday with home matches against Tulsa NOAH at 6:00 p.m.

Bowling

The CPHS girls bowling team of Tabby Hicks, Olivia Alexander, Zoe Butler, and Kyeara Owens finished as Regional Runners-Up on February 18th in Sapulpa, advancing to the State Tournament Saturday in Enid.

At State they sat in second place after eight games of qualifying, but were eliminated in the first round of bracket play.

“I’m so proud of this team,” said coach Shawn Judy. “Three out of the four girls on the team, this is the first year they have competed in high school bowling. I believe we overachieved every expectation that anybody put on us.”

Baseball

Sandite baseball improved to 5-1-1 in preseason games, losing 6-7 at Owasso on Monday before winning 9-6 Tuesday against Bartlesville and 13-0 Thursday against Glenpool. On Saturday they beat Edmond Santa Fe 2-0 and tied Noble 3-3.

The Sandites will travel to Pryor on Monday and will host Union on Tuesday to conclude the preseason.

The regular season will kick off Thursday at 11:00 a.m. against Greenwood, AR with a home game Friday at 6:00 p.m. against Shawnee. Sand Springs will travel to Yukon Saturday at noon.

Sandites Go Undefeated at Memorial Invitational

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For the fifth time in the seven year history of the festival, the Sand Springs boys basketball team (4-2) went undefeated at the Tulsa Memorial Veterans Arena Invitational over the weekend.

Following a 77-72 loss to No. 10 Bixby on Tuesday, the Sandites rolled to wins of 72-29 against the Oklahoma City Knights (3-11) Thursday, 55-42 against Tulsa NOAH (5-5) Friday, and 48-35 against Greenwood, Arkansas (2-7) Saturday.

“It feels good man. We needed those wins after a tough loss to Bixby,” said sophomore forward Blake Johnson.

Johnson scored 40 points on the week, with a career-best 15 against OKC and 12 against Greenwood.

“We’re trying to put weight on him but he’s really got a good basketball IQ,” said head coach Eric Savage.

“He sees the floor well, he moves without the ball. He’s a pretty versatile player because we can use him as a passer or an extra dribbler. He’s got some size and length to him inside where he can score inside, so I think his future is really bright.”

Johnson was particularly effective in the paint on Saturday, playing aggressively in key moments to shift momentum in the Sandites’ favor.

After trailing for the most of the second quarter, the Bulldogs rode a five-point swing to take the lead in the final minutes of the half, but Johnson ensured his team would come out on top.

The sophomore muscled his way through double coverage to go up 21-20, traded buckets with Brady Mackey, then capped off the half with his third consecutive score to make it 25-22.

Sand Springs wouldn’t trail again, opening the third quarter on a 14-point run.

“I’m trying to get them to play a tougher mentality,” said Savage. “I think the only way you get that is to play aggressive basketball and I think we’ve done that this week.”

“Even the Bixby game, we didn’t shy away from them.”

The Sandites had Bixby on upset alert for most of the night, but Notre Dame signee Parker Freidrichsen’s 40 points helped the Spartans secure the conference win.

Another big player for the Sandites was senior guard Michael Foster.

“Foster bounced back after not shooting the ball well the first two days,” said Savage.

Foster shot a career-high 18 points on Tuesday against the Spartans, then bookended the week with a game-best 16 points against Greenwood.

Sophomore Kooper Kelly scored a career-best 13 to lead the Sandites against NOAH, followed by Alijah Roper with 12. Roper also had a career-best 19 against Bixby.

The girls team (7-2) hung with No. 2 Bixby through a halftime tie before ultimately falling 84-50. Hailey Jackson scored 16 points with 9 rebounds in the loss, and Sakauri Wilson and Calla Fuseshko both scored 10.

Both teams will return to action January 5th. The girls will compete at the Putnam City Invitational while the boys will play at the East Central Classic in Ada.

Scoring Summaries

12/17/2022 - CPHS 48, Greenwood 35
CPHS;12;13;14;9;--;48
Greenwood;10;12;5;8;--;35

CPHS: Foster 16, Johnson 12, Allen 7, Kelly 6, Roper 3, Michell 2, Hooper 2.
Greenwood: Holt 9, Karnes 6, Chick 6, Kennon 5, Robins 5, Mackey 2, Bollman 2.

12/16/2022 - CPHS 55, NOAH 42
CPHS;12;12;14;17;--;55
NOAH;11;10;9;12;--42

CPHS: Kelly 13, Roper 12, Johnson 9, Holland 7, Allen 4, Hayes 4, Hooper 2, Shope 2, Foster 2.
NOAH: Wagner 10, Hislop 10, B. Bell 8, D. Bell 6, Garner 3, Brockett 3, Ross 2.

12/15/2022 - CPHS 72, OKC 29
CPHS;15;25;13;19;--;72
OKC;12;9;2;4;--;29

CPHS: Johnson 15, Kelly 10, Holland 9, Fueshko 9, Hayes 9, Hooper 4, Allen 4, Roper 3, Shope 3, Michell 2, Foster 2, Marshall 2.
OKC: Coombs 17, Ledet 6, Skelly 4, Chiarello 2.

12/13/2022 - Bixby 84, CPHS 50 (Girls)
Bixby;17;16;23;28;--84
CPHS;14;19;9;8;--50

Bixby: G. Wernli 24, Nielsen 17, Baldwin 16, K. Wernli 12, Musick 7, Wilson 4, Daniel 2, Beltran 2.
CPHS: Jackson 16, Wilson 10, Fueshko 10, Martin 7, Morris 5, Taylor 2.

12/3/2022 - Bixby 77, CPHS 72 (Boys)
Bixby;17;27;13;20;--77
CPHS;19;15;21;17;--72

Bixby: P. Friedrichsen 40, Driver 15, L. Friedrichsen 10, McCormick 6, Holley 4.
CPHS: Roper 19, Foster 18, Michell 9, Allen 8, Kelly 7, Holland 7, Johnson 4.

Sandites Throttle OKC Knights 72-29 at Memorial Invitational

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Happy Birthday Kade Holland. The senior starter scored 9 points with 4 rebounds in a 72-29 win against the Oklahoma City Knights (3-9) Thursday night.

The last time Sand Springs played an Oklahoma City homeschool team, they suffered a 68-48 upset, but this year’s Sandites wouldn’t be caught sleeping,

After giving No. 10 Bixby a scare on Tuesday, the Sandites (2-2) showed up at Memorial High School with extra motivation Thursday night in the first round of the Veterans Arena Invitational.

“I thought we had big strides against Bixby at home on Tuesday night,” said head coach Eric Savage.

“Hopefully, I thought coming into here, is we carry some of that momentum and try to keep gaining experience and develop a little more depth.”

“Obviously we’d like to have a couple of more wins in there, but we’re getting better,” said Savage.

Thirteen Sandites saw game time and all but one made their way into the scorebook.

Sophomore Blake Johnson had a career night with 15 points and 9 boards before fouling out midway through the fourth quarter.

“Blake has had a good week,” said Savage. “He had a good JV game Tuesday night too (scoring 19 points).”

“We thought playing JV would help some of these younger guys get some confidence and he’s turned it up another level this week so that’s good to see.”

Caden Coombs gave the Knights a brief lead with 2:01 left in the first quarter but the Sandites went on an 8-point run and never trailed again.

Jax Marshall fed an assist inside to Sam Hayes on the next possession to make it 12-11 then stole the ball and scored the go-ahead free throws on a foul from Isaiah Zoschke.

Sand Springs ran away with it in the second quarter, taking a 40-23 lead with 10 players in the scorebook by halftime.

“We’re working hard and we’re showing improvement,” said Savage. “(It’s a) really young team experience wise and age wise.”

The Sandites only returned one starter from last year’s unit and only started two seniors against the Knights.

“We’ve got a lot of guys who it’s their first time seeing significant varsity action and they’re going to go through some growing pains,” said Savage.

The second half was a 32-6 rout with the Knights only scoring on free throws.

Kooper Kelly scored 10 for the Sandites, followed by Zane Fueshko and Holland with 9 apiece. Coombs led all scorers with 17.

Sand Springs will return to action Friday at 7:30 p.m. against Tulsa NOAH (5-4). The Knights will play 5A No. 16 Collinsville (2-3) at 6:00.

Memorial 54, NOAH 31

The NOAH Jaguars made a game of it but ultimately succumbed to 5A No. 2 Memorial (4-1) Thursday night at the Chargers’ home tournament.

After hanging tight for three quarters, the Jaguars were outscored 20-8 in the final stanza of a 54-31 loss.

Jarreth Ingram set the tone early, scoring 7 of his game-best 15 points in the first quarter and the Jaguars never once led.

Montae Collins ended the opening period with a steal and a buzzer-beating floater to go up 16-4 but the Jaguars cut it to 25-15 by halftime.

Ben Radford got hot in the fourth quarter with 7 of his 9 points and the Chargers bullied their way to the win.

Collins ended with 13 for the Chargers and Seth Pratt added 10. Sullivan Wagner scored 14 for NOAH.

Memorial will play Greenwood, Arkansas (1-5) Friday at 4:30 p.m.

Scoring Summaries

CPHS 72, OKC 29
CPHS;15;25;13;19;--;72
OKC;12;9;2;4;--;29

CPHS: Johnson 15, Kelly 10, Holland 9, Fueshko 9, Hayes 9, Hooper 4, Allen 4, Roper 3, Shope 3, Michell 2, Foster 2, Marshall 2.
OKC: Coombs 17, Ledet 6, Skelly 4, Chiarello 2.

Memorial 54 NOAH 31
Memorial;16;9;9;20;--;54
NOAH;4;11;8;8;--;31

Memorial: Ingram 15, Collins 13, Pratt 11, Radford 9, Cotton 6.
NOAH: Wagner 14, Bell 7, Ross 4, Garner 3, Bockett 2, Hislop 1.

Clark scores 21, Sandites knock off NOAH 66-48

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The first time the Sand Springs boys’ basketball team played NOAH  it had to make a 16-point comeback to win its season opener. But two weeks later the No. 20 ranked Sandites (2-0) never trailed by more than six points and picked up a 66-48 win Friday night at the Ed Dubie Field House.

In a close first quarter that saw five lead changes, the Jaguars (3-3) began to pull away with nine-straight points down the stretch, but a putback from Cale Askew made it 15-11 at the buzzer.

The second quarter was all Sandites.

Jason Clark scored on a steal and assist from Askew, then Kooper Kelly and Clark hit back-to-back threes and the home team never trailed again. Kade Holland’s two-point jump shot made it 32-20 at the half.

Sand Springs continued to pull away in the third quarter and the scoring was evenly spread with seven Sandites hitting paydirt. 

The home team went up 52-35 to start the final stanza and never slowed down, leading by as much as 66-44 before the Jaguars ended the game on a 4-0 run from the charity stripe. 

Clark led all scorers with 21 points, four rebounds, and four assists, followed by JD Dickson with 13 points and Kelly with ten points. 

Sand Springs will kick off Frontier Valley Conference action Tuesday with a home game against No. 6 Owasso (0-0). The No. 12 Lady Sandites will open their season at 6:30 p.m. against the unranked Lady Rams (0-0) followed by the boys game. 

Scoring: (CPHS) Clark 21, Dickson 13, Kelly 10, Askew 7, Holland 5, Oakley 4, Foster 3, Brockman 2, Jones 1. (NOAH) Ian Hislop 13, Wagner 12, Connor Hislop 10, Edwards 4, Bell 4, Garner 3, Goldman 2.

Jason Clark and Ethan Oakley lead Sandites to come-from-behind 68-55 win over NOAH

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Ethan Oakley wasn’t planning on playing basketball his senior year, but two weeks prior to the season tip-off he asked his team if they would take him back. The Sandites welcomed his return, and it paid off in the season opener Thursday night at SpiritLife Church. 

Oakley double-doubled with 11 points and 16 rebounds from the bench, while Jason Clark scored 19 points in Charles Page High School’s 68-55 win over Tulsa NOAH (1-2). 

“I put it up to the senior players whether they wanted to allow him back or not,” said ninth-year head coach Eric Savage. “I think they know what he can mean to this team. He demonstrated some of that tonight, so we’re glad to have him back for sure.”

The Sandites had to survive an early upset bid after falling behind 16 points in the first quarter. Clark took four fouls in the first quarter alone and spent half of the game on the bench, while his team of mostly first-year varsity players had to claw their way back into it.

“We’ve got a lot of guys who have been on varsity, but not a lot who have gotten a lot of minutes,” said Savage. “Jason Clark and Ethan Oakley have logged the most minutes the past few years as underclassmen but the rest of the guys haven’t.”

“They’re going to have to learn those roles a little bit. I think they were a little overhyped in the first half, but settled in in the second half, started rebounding better and executed better on the offensive end. We finally got Jason Clark going a little bit, and each of those seniors kind of stepped up and made plays there in the second half when we needed them to.”

Down 22-6, sophomore Alijah Roper hit a three-pointer to close out the first quarter and spark a Sandite resurgence. 

JD Dickson, a senior move-in from Jenks, tied the game up at 27-27 after scoring through a foul from Will Edwards and sinking the free throw, but the Jaguars found their feet again and rolled to a 39-28 halftime lead.

The second half was all Sandites as the visitors outscored their foes 20-10 in the third quarter and 20-8 in the fourth. Clark gave them their first lead with a layup at 44-43, but the Jags still led 57-52 early in the fourth. 

Then fouls caught up to the home team, which lost Sullivan Wagner, Jack Garner, and Connor Hislop. Dickson scored 16 points in his first game as a Sandite before fouling out, but the Sandites had the deeper bench and closed the game on a 19-point run. 

Cale Askew also had a big night for Sand Springs with 10 points and 8 rebounds.

This year's Sandites will look a bit different than the star-studded teams of the past. After graduating four of last year’s starting five, the team will turn to a much younger bench.

“I think it’s going to be a collective effort (this year),” said Savage. “I think this year’s team is a little bit different. We’re not going to just be able to rely on one guy and hope that he can carry us through, so we’re going to have to definitely play together and rely on each other.”

“I think Kooper Kelley, a freshman, is going to get better and better as the year goes. That was a huge three he hit there late in the fourth quarter after struggling. He’s got the ability, just had first game varsity jitters I think. He’ll grow up as the season goes, but we’re definitely expecting big things from him.”

“We’re going to have to develop a little depth off the bench. Kade Holland, we’re looking for him to be able to come in as well as Blake Johnson to come in and provide some significant minutes for us.”

This season will be a unique one for Coach Savage for another reason, in addition to the lack of star power. It’ll also be the first time since 2014 that he hasn’t had one of his sons on the team.

Colt Savage was a four-year starter from 2015 to 2018 and ranks as the number-two all-time leading scorer at Sand Springs. Cale Savage and Cason Savage were also multi-year starters and leading contributors to the school’s deep playoff success the last eight years.

“It’s a different feel for sure,” said Savage. “I definitely miss having them out there. They were kind of the second coach on the floor when I had one of them in the game. They knew what I wanted and knew what I expected, so somebody else is going to have to take on those roles.”

Sand Springs will need a new star or two to rise up if they want to keep alive one of the longest eras of success in school history. The Sandites have made it to the Area playoffs seven of the last eight years, including two Regional Championships from 2019 to 2020. 

“It’s going to be a tough year,” said Savage. “ We’re going to be hopefully competitive in every game, but the conference is really good. I think every team in the conference has at least one college player, if not more, that’s been offered or already committed. We don’t have that type of player this year, so for us to be able to compete with that, we don’t have much room for error. We’re going to have to be very disciplined and rely on each other.”

Sand Springs basketball will return to action Friday, December 3rd in a home rematch against NOAH.

CPHS 68 NOAH 57
1Q: NOAH 22-9.
2Q: CPHS 19-17.
3Q: CPHS 20-10.
4Q: CPHS 20-8.
Free Throws: CPHS 19-of-31, NOAH 8-of-13.
Field Goals: CPHS 21-of-58, NOAH 21-of-59.
Offensive Rebounds: CPHS 21, NOAH 8.
Defensive Rebounds: CPHS 25, NOAH 17.
Total Rebounds: CPHS 46, NOAH 25.
Steals: CPHS 10, NOAH 9.
Blocks: CPHS 2, NOAH 2.
Fouls: CPHS 20, NOAH 25.

Scoring: (CPHS) Clark 19, Dickson 16, Oakley 11, Askew 10, Kelly 5, Brockman 4, Roper 3. (NOAH) Bell 14, Wagner 12, I. Hislop 8, Hill 7, Edwards 6, Garner 5, C. Hislop 5.