Sandite Weekly Sports Roundup: Basketball Sweeps Roughers, Athletes Sign LOIs

Sandite basketball swept the Muskogee Roughers Friday night with the varsity boys winning 72-65 while the girls won 63-41.

The 6A-East No. 6 Lady Sandites (12-5, 5-3) never trailed against No. 14 Muskogee. It was still a close game at 39-31 entering the fourth but the Sandites steamrolled the Roughers 24-10 in the final stanza.

Hailey Jackson scored 24 points to lead all scorers, Taiona “Yanni” Morris added 13, Sakauri Wilson had 9, and three different Sandites scored 5 apiece.

“We’re starting to play better as a unit,” said head coach Josh Berry. “We have more people stepping up.”

Sand Springs will have to cover six games over the final two weeks after meetings with Bartlesville and Booker T. Washington were postponed due to weather. This is the second time the Washington game has been rescheduled.

“This is our second game in 17 days,” said Berry. “It’s a bit different from when we start the season out with eight games in like 14 days.”

“We’re rested and we’re ready to go. It’s nothing that we can control so we just try to get better.”

The No. 11 Sandite boys (9-8, 2-6) snapped a five-game conference skid and got back above .500 overall with a win over the No. 15 Roughers (3-13, 0-9).

The Sandites led 34-27 at halftime but a seven-point run put the Roughers up 45-44 entering the final stanza.

Jamarian Ficklin tied it for the final time at 52-52 but Kooper Kelly hit a pair of free throws and layed up on a steal to put his team ahead for the final three minutes of the game.

Kelly tied his career-high with 20 points to lead all scorers while Luke Hooper also had a career night with 15 points.

“Any conference win, especially on the road, is a good feeling,” said head coach Eric Savage.

“In the past we’ve kind of lost our composure. A couple of times this wear we gave up the lead and never got it back. We showed some growth tonight and were able to weather the storm and get back in control late in the fourth quarter.”

Sand Springs will travel to Bixby on Tuesday and Bartlesville on Thursday before hosting Sapulpa Friday night.

Signing Day

School may have been canceled, but the festivities couldn’t be stopped Wednesday morning at the Ed Dubie Field House. Sand Springs celebrated 10 student-athletes who signed letters of intent to continue their careers at the collegiate level.

Many of the players will get to enjoy Sand Springs connections on their new rosters.

Kyle Morrall, Jacob Blevins, and Drake Fain signed with Northwestern Oklahoma State University to play Division II football. There they will be reunited with former Sandite assistant coach Jason Medrano, who recently took over as Offensive Coordinator for the Rangers.

Brody Rutledge signed to play Division II football at Northeastern State University. There he will join former Sand Springs teammates Gabe Brown, Landon Hendricks, and Blake Jones.

Dominic Ornelas and Jabe Schlehuber signed to play junior college baseball together at Northern Oklahoma College in Enid.

Carson Sargent signed to play Division II soccer at Rogers State University, where she will join former teammates Ali Day and Karsen Lynch.

Payton Robbins signed to play NAIA volleyball at Friends University in Kansas, where she’ll be reunited with Sandites Tehya Johnson, Charley Fahland, and Kasidy Holland.

Madori Bland signed with the stunt team at Drury University, a Division II program in Missouri.

Coleman Hight signed to play NAIA golf at Southwestern College in Kansas.

Baseball

Freshman quarterback Easton Webb has been getting lots of attention as a football prospect, but on Friday he announced his commitment to Oklahoma State University as a baseball player before ever playing a varsity minute.

Sand Springs will kick off the preseason with a home scrimmage against Sapulpa on the 16th at 4:30 p.m.

Girls Powerlifting

The Sand Springs girls powerlifting team took second place at the All-American Lift-a-thon in Shawnee Saturday with two champions. The Sandites had 137 team points, just behind Choctaw with 141.

Madison Thompson won the 220 weight class, sweeping all three events. She benched 140, squatted 285, and deadlifted 295.

Jaden Jordan won at heavyweight, taking first in squat at 335 pounds, first in deadlift at 375, and third in bench at 155.

Melani Skelly placed third, Gracie Worthington placed fourth, and Bailey Doughty and Kiyah Dover placed fifth.

Sports Roundup: Layne Kirkendoll wins State Championship in High Jump

This story was originally written for the Sand Springs Leader.

Layne Kirkendoll came up an inch short of her 5-ft. 7-in. school-record high-jump mark Saturday afternoon in Ardmore, but she was still two inches higher than the rest of the crowd.

Five girls made it past the 5-ft. 4-in. mark, but only the Sandites’ senior leaper was able to clear the next notch up, securing her first State title and first high jump title in program history for the Sand Springs girls. 

The jump made Kirkendoll only the fifth Lady Sandite in school history to win a gold medal, and it was the 13th overall for the Lady Sandites.

Kirkendoll also placed fourth in the long jump with a mark of 18 ft. 3 in. 

Kelsi Hilton, Josie Myers, Gracie Gifford, and Jazmin Lopez placed 15th in the 4x800 relay with a time of 10:55.27.

Jestin Rawlins placed fifth in discus with a distance of 148 ft. 2 in. and Matthew Shelton placed 15th in shot put with a mark of 44 ft. 3 in.

Overall, the girls placed 15th and the boys were 22nd in their first season under head coach Gloria Avey - notable improvements over the prior season’s 19th place finish for the girls and zero points scored for the boys.

Cheyenne Walden’s 1600-meter State Meet record from 2017 was finally broken, as champion Payton Hinkle and runner-up Caden Dawson both broke her 4:57.07 mark.

Several Sandites participated in the Summit League Championship at Oral Roberts University this past week.

Aden Baughman ran the second leg of ORU’s 4x400 relay team that placed second and also placed ninth in the 800-meter run.

Joel Mackey ran the first leg of the 4x100 relay team that placed fourth and also placed 15th in the 100-meter dash and 10th in the 200.

Mitchell Mefford placed 12th in discus throw and 15th in hammer throw, Victoria Baker placed 21st in the 800-meter run, and Erika Baker placed 24th in the 5K run.

Wrestling

Charles Page High School alumnus Daton Fix won gold at the Pan American freestyle wrestling championship in Acapulco, Mexico on Monday, May 9th.

The Oklahoma State redshirt junior rolled to a 3-0 sweep of the 61 kg bracket for his second Senior continental championship. 

In the first round he scored an 11-0 technical fall against Puerto Rico’s Joseph Silva in 2:20, then he won 10-0 against Mexico’s Pedro Flores Salazar in 59 seconds. In the final round he took a 10-0 lead against Canada’s Logan Sloan before pinning him in 40 seconds.

Fix will return to the mat on June 3rd at the Final X competition in Stillwater where he will aim to retain his spot on the US World Team. 

Volleyball

CPHS senior Kasidy Holland signed to play collegiate volleyball at Friends University, an NAIA school in Wichita, Kansas, competing in the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference.

The team captain and outside hitter was a Frontier Valley All-Conference honorable mention this season and helped lead the team to their second and third winningest seasons in school history over the course of her career.

Holland will join teammates Teyha Johnson and Charley Fahland, who previously signed with Friends in February.

Softball

Three Charles Page High School alumnae won titles in their respective softball divisions on Saturday, May 14th.

Sydney Pennington scored the go-ahead run in an upset of No. 1 Oklahoma Saturday afternoon at USA Hall of Fame Stadium. The redshirt senior scored on a bases-loaded walk in the top of the eighth inning to propel Oklahoma State University to its first Big 12 Tournament Championship. 

Rogers State sophomore Kimi Presnell helped lift her team to an NCAA Division II Regional Championship Saturday in Claremore. 

The Hillcats had to battle back from the losers bracket after a Friday loss to Minnesota State, but won their first rematch 8-2 in a 15-inning showdown. 

Presnell hit an RBI double in the final inning and Rogers went on to win 4-0 in the “if” game.

Missouri State University redshirt sophomore Jacie Taber didn’t come out of the bullpen on Saturday, but her team won a 10-4 battle with Northern Iowa in the Missouri Valley Conference Championship. 

Jarrod Patterson resigns for assistant coaching position at Appalachian State University

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This story was originally written for the Sand Springs Leader.

For only the third time this century, Charles Page High School is looking for a wrestling coach. 

After four seasons as head coach, Jarrod Patterson has resigned to take a job as an assistant coach at Appalachian State University, an NCAA Division I program in Boone, North Carolina.

“It’s a tough place to leave because obviously there’s a lot of support and a lot of wrestling people here, and our family’s real close, but we just decided (to do this) while we’re still young,” said Patterson.

“I’ve been wanting to coach at the college level for the last couple of years so we decided if we’re not going to do it now, it won’t ever happen.”

Patterson took over the Sandite program in 2018 following the retirement of Kelly Smith. His teams went 29-19 in duals and won two district championships, placing 7th, 10th, 18th, and 13th at the State tournament with 23 qualifiers.

His stint at Sand Springs was his first as a head coach and he was previously an assistant at Brown University in Rhode Island.

“I coached for a year at Brown and really enjoyed it,” said Patterson. “Brown wasn’t a super good fit for me there. The location wasn’t great, being so far away from family and my girlfriend (now wife).”

The App State program has been trending upwards, and went 9-2 this season, placing second in the Southern Conference and 28th at the NCAA championship.

“I talked to some of my college buddies and a couple of them sent (the job listing) to me and told me about their coach, JohnMark, and said he was a good guy to work for,” said Patterson.

JohnMark Bentley has led the Mountaineers to a 51-5 conference record in the last eight seasons and has a 122-73-1 record over the last 13 years with six SoCon regular-season titles. He recently signed a contract extension through 2027.

According to Patterson, the school recently added three scholarship positions to the wrestling roster and is expected to add more in the coming years to help make the program even more competitive. 

“It’s a program that’s kind of on the rise right now, so I think it’s a good place to be.”

Patterson will finish out the school year at Sand Springs before the family moves to North Carolina on June 1st. His wife has also secured a new job in Boone. 

He informed his team before practice earlier this week that he wouldn’t be back next year.

“It’s a hard thing to do, to tell them that I’m not going to be the coach, but I also told them it was an opportunity for me. It was something I’ve been dreaming of, and we preach to the kids to chase their dreams.”

“I have a good relationship with a lot of the kids. We’re together first hour and second hour and they all come hang out in the wrestling room all day long. So I think having that relationship, they understand that it’s an opportunity for me.”

Patterson has nothing but good things to say about Sand Springs, despite leaving. 

“I’m in an awesome high school coaching position. I feel like I have all the resources I need, I have tons of support from parents and alumni. It’s just a great place to coach so leaving a position like this is kind of difficult.”

“It’s been great. I’ve had a lot of support. Obviously it’s not my hometown, but I’ve felt like within the last four years it’s kind of grown into my hometown.”

Patterson inherited the Sandites at an interesting time after the sudden retirement of 16-year head coach Kelly Smith, just a year removed from a State Championship. Smith, who now operates a Farmer’s Insurance agency in Sand Springs, has also stayed on as an assistant coach and his son is a junior on the team.

“Kelly Smith has been great. He’s helped me through that transition period,” said Patterson.

“(Earl) Shockley and TeDon (Fleischman) have been awesome with me. It’s hard to leave those guys as well. And obviously we’ve got some great junior high coaches. I had a good group of coaches to coach with and that made it hard to leave, as well.”

“I think the biggest challenge in the beginning was not having relationships with the kids, parents, and alumni. They don’t really know what to expect from me in the beginning. They don’t know my personality, how hard I work, or my goals.”

Patterson views his time in Sand Springs as a period of major personal growth.

“Those who were around me in the beginning know that I’m an introverted person by nature. Having a head coaching spot, I feel like it’s been really good for me as far as learning speaking skills, learning to fundraise, learning communication skills, doing a lot of behind-the-scenes stuff, working with kids. Kids have all different kinds of emotions, different personalities.”

“I got a lot of experience as far as working with kids individually, communication with parents, fans, kids as a whole. I feel like I’ve definitely grown in the last four years.”

“Coach Patterson has been an integral part of Sandite Wrestling,” said Sand Springs Athletic Director Rod Sitton.

“We will miss him absolutely. He has been given an opportunity that few will ever get and we wish him and his family all the best at Appalachian State.”

As for the next head coach at Sand Springs, they’ll have a great community to step into and benefit from. 

“I think we have an awesome group of coaches from youth to junior high to high school, that were on the same page,” said Patterson. 

“I think we’re in a position where somebody can step in and they’re in a good position to really just jump right in and hit the ground running. The kids work hard, they want to win, they’re disciplined. They’re all very respectful kids. It’s just a fun group of athletes and coaches to be around, and it’s a fun group of admin as well. I had a lot of support as far as that goes as well.”

Weekly Roundup: Armstead Gets All-State, Track Crowns Five Champions

This story was originally written for the Sand Springs Leader.

Baseball

Following its tournament championship at Peoria, Arizona, the Sandite baseball team (11-3, 2-2) pushed its winning streak to eight before taking a loss on Thursday at the Bartlesville Tournament. 

The Sandites started the week with a Monday district rainout at Ponca City (5-6, 2-2), but run-ruled the Wildcats on Tuesday, 12-2, in five innings.

Sand Springs talled ten hits, led by Carson Seabolt with a 3-of-3, four RBI performance at the plate. Keaton Campbell, Ty Pennington, and Miller Tavaglione all hit triples in the game. Jabe Schlehuber (3-0) tossed eleven strikeouts to remain undefeated on the mound.

On Thursday the Sandites met the Wildcats again in the first round of the Bartlesville tournament and used it as a makeup for the district rainout. 

This time they won 8-0 behind a four-hit, four strikeout performance from Seabolt (1-1) who pitched all seven innings. Nathan Gibson and Brody Rutledge both went 3-of-4 at the plate and the team tallied 14 hits.

The success streak came to an end in a six-inning 8-0 loss to Highway 97 rival Sapulpa (8-5). Sand Springs managed five hits while only surrendering seven, but left seven runners stranded on base and committed four errors.

They got back in the win column on Friday with a 6-1 win over Bartlesville (8-4) behind a seven-hit, two-strikeout performance from Kayden Campbell (2-0).

Dom Ornelas went 2-of-3 with a double and an RBI and Gabe Glenn was 2-of-4 with a double, a run, and two RBIs.

The Sandites will return to action Monday at Broken Arrow (9-5, 4-0) in district action, with home games against Broken Arrow on Tuesday, Midwest City on Friday, and Bishop Kelley on Saturday.

Friday will be Teacher Appreciation Night at the Sandite Baseball Complex, and all Sand Springs teachers will get free entry with their school ID.

Girls Basketball

Senior star Journey Armstead was selected to the Large East All-State basketball team by the OGBCA, and Sandites coach Josh Berry was selected to lead the team. The All-State game will be played June 4th at Mustang High School at 2:00 p.m.

Berry holds a 50-21 record after three years with the Lady Sandites and took them to the State semifinals this season. Armstead wrapped up her four-year starting career with 1,525 points and is still deciding on a college 

Boys Golf

The Sandites took third place at their home tournament Tuesday at the Canyons at Blackjack Ridge. 

Seth Benton shot an 85 for sixth place, followed by Drew Paden in seventh. Mason Ward shot 89, Zane Downey shot 95, and Cameron Villines shot 98 with an ace on hole nine.

Boys Soccer

The boys’ soccer team is still searching for its first win after falling 4-0 to Bixby on Tuesday. They picked up a program win on Friday however in the form of a successful first Boys Soccer Night at Memorial Stadium. The Sandites hosted dozens of local junior high club players who will be the future of the program in a night filled with games, activities, and giveaways.

Softball

The No. 16 ranked Sand Springs slow-pitch softball team is off to a 2-2 start on the season, losing 7-6 to No. 13 Union and 14-2 to No. 2 Broken Arrow, but picking up wins of 9-7 against Bartlesville and 17-5 against No. 10 Bixby.

The Sandites will return to action Tuesday at Berryhill at 5:00 p.m. before competing at the Haskell Tournament on Thursday.

Girls Tennis

The girls tennis team had a successful event at the Edison Tournament on Wednesday. Kira Shipley placed seventh in #1 Singles, Catilin Shipman and Daffaney Snyder placed sixth in #1 Doubles, and Abbie Dunn and Macie Willits placed seventh in #2 Doubles.

“These girls are all brand new to tennis and are playing opponents who have been playing for years and are juniors and/or seniors,” said head coach Dana Peacock. “Pretty proud of them!”

Track and Field 

The Sand Springs boys placed ninth and the girls took fifth at the Okmulgee Bulldog Invitational on Friday, winning five total events. 

Kelsi Hilton won the 1600-meter run in 6:23.25 and the 3200-meter run in 11:39.50. She also placed second in the 800 behind fellow Sandite Jazmin Lopez. Lopez won with a time of 2:32.64.

Sam English won the 1600 boys' run in 5:16.69 and Lucy Beckner won the girls’ long jump at 14 ft. 9 in.

Gracie Gifford placed third in the 3200, Briona Searcy placed third in the long jump, and Hannah George placed sixth in the 100-meter hurdles.

Dalton Wilcox placed second and Alex Lopez took fourth in the 800. Alex Turner placed second in the discus throw and Matthew Shelton placed third in the shot put. Michael Lopez placed fifth and Michael Johnson took sixth in the 1600. 

Noah Hanlon placed third in the 1600 and fifth in the 3200. Preston Kennedy placed fifth in both the high jump and the long jump. 

The boys relay teams placed second in the 4x800, fifth in the 4x100, and fifth in the 4x200. The girls relay teams placed third in the 4x200 and fifth in the 4x100.

Sandite alum and Oral Roberts University sophomore Aden Baughman took first place in two events at the ORU Invite. He won the 800-meter run with a time of 1:51.54 and the 400-meter dash in 48.56 seconds.

Ten Sandites Sign College Letters of Intent

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The Sand Springs athletic department celebrated ten student-athletes Wednesday morning at the Ed Dubie Field House, who have all signed letters of intent to compete at the collegiate level.

For the first time in school history, two Sandites signed to compete in collegiate shooting sports. Gunnar Casey and Sammy Naugle are both headed to Connors State College after building impressive careers with the FFA shooting team.

“We actually started the program back in 2008,” said coach Randy Evans. “Both of these boys have shot with me for the last four years. It’s the first set of kids we’ve ever actually sent to college to shoot.”

Casey was the 2019 SCTP State Skeet Champion, 2019 20-gauge Oklahoma State Skeet Champion, 2020 28-gauge Oklahoma State Skeet Champion, and was on the five-man HOA State Championship team in 2019. 

Naugle was on the 2021 2nd-place team at the Oklahoma Cattlemen's Sporting Clays Championship and placed second at the Dewey Invitational. 

“Our school board and our administration is extremely supportive of that whole program,” said Evans. “They realize the kids never actually have guns in school and when we practice there’s eight to ten adults around, so it’s a really safe and secure thing.”

“I actually started watching these kids when they came to my contests about four years ago,” said Connors State coach Sierra Walker. “They’ve been on my radar since eighth grade. They just have a really unique technique and style about them and they are really good.”

“Even in eighth grade they were making the hits and killing the targets, so I was really excited to get to have them come to Connors.”

The Sandite football team will have three players continuing their careers at the next level.

Quarterback Ty Pennington received a full ride scholarship to play football at Pittsburg State University in Kansas. 

“Pennington, you know, statistically is the greatest quarterback in Sand Springs history,” said Sand Springs coach Bobby Klinck. “I’m going to have to actually coach now that he’s gone. I’m very proud of him and what he’s accomplished.”

Pennington follows in the footsteps of his position coach Darrack Harger, who played for the Gorillas from 2012 to 2013. 

The three-year starter set single-season records of 2,831 passing yards, 27 passing touchdowns, and 39 total touchdowns while leading the Sandites to an 8-4 record and semifinal appearance in the OSSAA 6A-2 playoffs.

He also set career records of 6,455 passing yards, 54 passing touchdowns, and 79 total touchdowns.

“It checked all the recruiting boxes academically and athletically. I know I made the right decision,” said Pennington, who also had offers from Central Oklahoma, Missouri Southern, Washburn, Central Missouri, East Central, and a preferred walk-on opportunity at Oklahoma State.

“At first I thought about going to OSU, but once I started to figure out the kind of school Pitt State was, it was pretty obvious where I wanted to go,” said Pennington. 

Pitt State has won two national championships at the NCAA Division II level. The Gorillas went 8-3 last season in their second year under head coach Brian Wright 

Pennington was recently named to the All-State East team and will play in the All-State game on Friday, July 29th alongside defensive end Gabe Brown.

“It was a marathon, not a sprint for Gabe,” said Klinck. “He played a position that he wasn’t quite sure of and ended up being an All-Stater at it… He’s one of those guys that kept chopping wood and is very deserving of everything that he’s getting now.” 

Brown signed with Northeastern State University after a senior campaign that included 69 tackles, 11.5 tackles for loss, five sacks, and two fumble recoveries, including a 75-yard scoop and score.

NSU competes at the NCAA Division II level in the MIAA. The RiverHawks went 2-9 last season under third-year head coach JJ Eckert. Sandite Justis Myers is also on the roster at NSU. 

Outside linebacker Conner Light signed with Southwestern College, an NAIA school in Kansas that competes in the KCAC. 

Light tallied 74 tackles for the Sandites this season, along with 5.5 tackles for loss, three sacks, and two forced fumbles. He received All-District and Academic All-Conference Honorable Mentions.

“I couldn’t be more proud of that young man,” said Klinck. “He just maxed out his ability and ended up being a really good football player for us.”

“He’s one of those kids that you’re going to miss seeing. I’m very happy for him going off to school. He’ll be successful in whatever he does.”

The Moundbuilders are entering their eighth season under head coach Brad Griffin. They recently finished their most successful season since 1999 after posting a 9-2 mark and making it to the NAIA Championship Series. Light will join fellow Sandite JT Bristow, a sophomore tight end, at Southwestern.

“All three of those guys are great ambassadors for our football program,” said Klinck.

Shortstop Keaton Campbell signed to play baseball at Cowley County Community College in Arkansas City, Kansas. 

Campbell batted .299 last season with 23 runs, 30 RBI, a .465 slugging average, a .392 on-base percentage, with 10 double plays, and one save on the mound. 

In addition to his baseball accomplishments, he was also an All-District selection in football after making 55 receptions for 774 yards and 9 touchdowns this fall, and he received Academic All-Conference accolades for both baseball and football.

The Tigers compete in the NJCAA and have won four consecutive KJCCC East Division titles, finishing 47-10 last season with a fifth-place finish at the JUCO World Series. They are coached by Darren Burroughs. 

Karsen Lynch signed to play soccer at Rogers State University, an NCAA Division II program competing in the MIAA. The Hillcats went 9-8-1 last season and are about to enter a new era under recently appointed head coach Chris Jones.

Lynch is a four-year starter for the Sandites, who are about to start their first season under head coach Cisco Chavez. She also plays for the Side FC 92 semi-pro team, which placed third in its inaugural season in the UWS. Last season she made the Academic All-Conference team and was team offensive MVP.

She will be reunited with former Sandite goalie Alison Day, who is a freshman at RSU.

Cassidy Tiepelman signed to play soccer at Southwestern College. The Moundbuilders went 13-5-1 last season and were the KCAC tournament runners-up. Tiepelman will join fellow Sandite Teagan Smith under head coach Joe Schwartz. Tiepelman was Academic All-Conference last season.

Charley Fahland and Tehya Johnson both signed to play volleyball at Friends University, an NAIA school in Wichita that competes in the KCAC. The Falcons are coached by Martin Ayin and went 12-19 last season.

Fahland and Johnson helped the Sandites to a 14-20 record this season. Fahland was second on the team in aces with 36 and led the team with 353 digs. Johnson had 217 digs and a team-high 689 assists.

Johnson was named to the Frontier Valley All-Conference Second Team and Academic All-Conference. Fahland received an All-Conference honorable mention and both made the Sandite Invitational All-Tournament Team.

The Sandites have now signed 13 athletes from the Class of 2022. Raegan Rector and Avery Tanner previously signed to play college softball in November and John Keim signed to play baseball.

Ty Pennington commits to Pitt State

Charles Page High School senior quarterback Ty Pennington has committed to play for Pittsburg State University, an NCAA Division II school in Pittsburg, Kansas. The Gorillas went 8-3 this past season.

Pennington will follow in the footsteps of his position coach, Darrack Harger, who previously held two Sandite records that Pennington broke. Harger played for the Gorillas from 2012 to 2013.

Pennington shattered the Sand Springs football record books this season.

His 2831 passing yards this year beat Cody Hale’s 2012 record of 2416. His 27 passing touchdowns beat Hale’s record of 22, set in 2012 and matched in 2013. His 39 total touchdowns beat Payton Scott’s 2017 record of 34.

In career totals, Pennington’s 6455 passing yards beat Harger’s record of 4813 from 2009-2011, his 54 passing touchdowns beat Hale’s record of 44 from 2012-2013, and his 79 total touchdowns beat Scott’s record of 71 from 2015 to 2017.

Sandite football went 8-4 this year, falling 20-17 to Edmond Deer Creek in the Class 6A-II semifinals. The Sandites went 2-8 under Pennington his sophomore year and improved to 7-5 in 2020.

Pennington picked the Gorillas over offers from the University of Central Oklahoma, Missouri Southern University, Washburn University, the University of Central Missouri, and East Central University. He also had a preferred walk-on offer from Oklahoma State University.

The two-sport star will compete on the Sandite baseball team this spring.