Sandite All-Stars: Your leaders in offense

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By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

It's been a tremendous season for the Sandites. While they're technically 5-4, on the field they're 7-2, not even including the Guthrie game that we were leading 18-7 when it was called off due to lightning. Two of our losses come from forfeitures (due to an ineligible player) that were actually wins of 61-8 and 33-7. So while the books say otherwise--we all know that realistically Sand Springs is 8-2, which (were it official) would make it our best record since 1997.

Not to mention we beat Booker T in total yardage of 232-217 and we're the only team to score first on them all season. We're also one of only two teams to lead them at any point all season. We also dealt Bixby their first shut out in seven years.

So who are the incredible players that have made all this impossible?

The following stats include both forfeitures and the Guthrie game. Whether officially recognized or not, they did happen.

Passing

The leader in passing is first-year starting junior quarterback Hunter Greathouse who has completed 71 of 140 for 1271 yards and 13 touchdowns, averaging 9 yards per pass attempt and 18 per completion. His season long is 70 yards against Guthrie, but has connected for huge throws in every game he's been in, including 63-yarders against Booker T and Bixby, and a 60 against Claremore. His best game this season was against Sapulpa when he threw 10-18-0-204 for 3 touchdowns. He is currently third in 6A-II.

  • Multi-purpose junior Kasey Bales also has a 37 yard pass against Enid and is 1 for 2 this season.
  • Freshman QB Caden Pennington connected on 1 of 2 passes at Hale for 8 yards. 
  • Senior holder Jacob Taber has had to throw a couple of passes this season due to bad snaps and is 1 of 2 for 5 yards.

Receiving

Senior Trace Fleischman is the go-to-guy on receptions with 26 catches for 593 yards and 4 touchdowns. His longest reception of the season was 70 yards against Guthrie. He is the #4 receiver in class 6A-II.

Kasey Bales is the only Sandite with both passing and receiving yards this season. He has 17 catches for 265 yards and 3 touchdowns. His longest reception of the season was 63 yards against Bixby.

Sand Springs has several other talented receivers.

  • Lane Lettich 10-165 and 2 touchdowns, long 44.
  • Ty Fain 7-107 and 1 touchdown, long 37.
  • Payton Scott 2-74 and 1 touchdown, long 59.
  • Josh Taber 4-50 and 1 touchdown (on his first play of the season), long 27.
  • Jake Ward 4-34, long 13.
  • Dalton Honneycut 2-26, long 13.

Rushing

Senior Lane Lettich is the clear leader on the ground for Sand Springs. He currently has 172 carries for 813 yards, averaging 4.73. He has 13 touchdowns and a long of 29 yards against Muskogee. His best game of the season was against Sapulpa where he carried 23 times for 133 yards and two touchdowns, though he had three touchdowns against Hale as well as Claremore. Lettich is #7 in 6A-II at rushing.

Trailing Lettich is sophomore Payton Scott who will likely be the starting tailback next season. He sits at 93 carries for 705 yards and 7 touchdowns with a long of 45 against Ponca City. He averages 7.58 yards-per-carry and his season-best was a breakthrough 17-200 and 2 touchdowns against Ponca. Scott is #9 in 6A-II at rushing. 

Lawton is the only other team with two players in the top-10 for rushing yards. 

Other Sandites with rushing yards are

  • Trace Fleischman 16-86, long 31.
  • Ben Norte 14-79, long 36.
  • Hunter Greathouse 50-25 and 2 touchdowns, long 23.
  • Tony Chinchilla 2-21 and 1 touchdown, long 11.
  • Kasey Bales 3-9, long 16.
  • Jaxon Starling 1-1.

#3 Sand Springs (5-4, 5-2) will enter the playoffs for the fourth-consecutive season tonight at #8 Stillwater (5-5, 3-3) and is the favorite to win. Sand Springs's offense averages 3.5 touchdowns per game.

Week 11 Rankings and Playoff Predictions

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By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

The quarterfinals are upon us and with the top four teams all being from the same district, the predictions are all pretty easy. 

Bracket 1

#1 Booker T Washington (9-0, 7-0) District 1

#9 Choctaw (5-5, 2-4) District 2

Get ready for a swarm, because it's Hornets vs Yellowjackets and everybody's a loser in that situation. My hatred for flying pests aside, Booker T shouldn't find Choctaw to be anything more than a pesky gnat. Between Dakari Willis and Justice Hill, Booker T won't be a one-sting-wonder in this game. 

The pick: BTW 52, Choctaw 17.

Location: Booker T, Friday @ 7:00

#3 Charles Page (5-4, 5-2) District 1

#8 Stillwater (5-5, 3-3) District 2

The Pioneers might have a home field advantage, but considering Sand Springs hold numerous records in Pioneer Stadium, I don't think the Sandites are sweating it. Stillwater managed to complete only one pass in their last game against Eisenhower, and considering Sand Springs held Bixby to negative rushing yards in their last game, I'd say Stilly's in for a beat down. Keep your eyes on Cole Dixon in this game if you can keep up with him.

The pick: CPHS 27, Stillwater 3.

Location: Stillwater, Friday @ 7:00

Bracket 2

#4 Bixby (6-4, 4-3) District 1

#5 Lawton (8-1, 6-0) District 2

If there's a single game I'm unsure about, it's this one. Lawton has the better record and a third-straight undefeated district championship, but they still haven't taken on any tough competitors to weigh them against. Lawton's only opponent worth its salt is MacArthur, who beat them. Then again, Bixby's been falling further and further behind the team we thought they were going into the season. All the potential is still there, but they're not living up to it. If the Spartans manage to wake up in this game, they still have everything it takes to make another run at the title. But if I had to pick an upset, this would be it. 

The pick: Bixby 35, Lawton 28.

Location: Lawton, Saturday @ 2:00

#2 Bartlesville (9-1, 6-1) District 1

#6 Midwest City (6-3, 4-2) District 2

Theoretically, this should be a blow out. But the bombers are resilient and gave Sand Springs a lot of grief in the playoffs last year. Still, it should be Colton Penrod dropping bombs this weekend.

The pick: Bartlesville 42, MWC 35. 

Location: Bartlesville, Friday @ 7:30

My Record

  • Week 1: 10-2 (.833)
  • Week 2: 12-2 (.857)
  • Week 3: 6-3 (.666)
  • Week 4: 6-2 (.750)
  • Week 5: 5-3 (.625)
  • Week 6: 8-0 (1.00)
  • Week 7: 8-0 (1.00)
  • Week 8: 7-1 (.875)
  • Week 9: 6-2 (.750)
  • Week 10: 6-1 (.857)
  • Overall: 74-16 (.822)

*All round one playoff games will be free to past and present service members in honor of Veterans Day. From the bottoms of our hearts, we thank you for your service. 

Week 10 Roundup

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By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

The last week of regular-season football was no less exciting than the rest of the season, and the rankings haven't changed much going into the playoffs.

#1 Booker T Washington (9-0, 7-0) District 1

#7 Muskogee (3-7, 3-4) District 1

The Roughers never really had much of a chance to stop the Hornets from a perfect season--not after Bixby, Bartlesville, and Sand Springs failed to. But they certainly played with heart. Without lead running back Molijah Gilbert, the Roughers resorted to an aerial offense and senior quarterback Quintahj Cherry managed to surpass the 2000 yard mark for the season. It was nowhere near enough to overcome OSU-commit Justice Hill, however. The soon-to-be Cowboy ran up 135 yards and 3 touchdowns on just 9 carries before retiring to the bench after the first half. 

The pick: BTW 56, Muskogee 14

Results: BTW 46, Muskogee 21

#2 Bartlesville (9-1, 6-1) District 1

#15 Claremore (2-8, 0-7) District 1

The Zebras actually managed to lead the Bruins, briefly. Then Colton Penrod dropped touchdown bombs of 65, 65, and 55 on his way to a 237 yard finish. The run game was strong as well as Jarron Hilger picked up 124 rushing yards and scored on the first Bruin drive. 

The pick: Bville 48, Claremore 13

Results: Bville 56, Claremore 22

#3 Charles Page (5-4, 5-2) District 1

#4 Bixby (6-4, 4-3) District 1

Sand Springs got their payback against the Spartans for last season. Bixby was dealt their first shutout in seven years and was held to negative rushing yards by the top defense in the state which ran up 5 sacks and 11 tackles for loss. 

The pick: CPHS 41, Bixby 35

Results: CPHS 20, Bixby 0

#5 Lawton (8-1, 6-0) District 2

#9 Choctaw (5-5, 2-4) District 2

The Wolverines were without their leading defensive player, and it showed, but they were still able to hold off the Yellowjackets for their third consecutive undefeated district championship. 

The pick: Lawton 48, Choctaw 24

Results: Lawton 33, Choctaw 25

#6 Midwest City (6-3, 4-2) District 2

Midwest City elected not to play a fourth non-district game and took a week off before the playoffs.

#8 Stillwater (5-5, 3-3) District 2

#12 Eisenhower (1-9, 1-5) District 2

The Eagles didn't fail to impress, but they did fail to bump the Pioneers down from the #2 seed. It was a battle royale at Pioneer Stadium as Ike tied things up 21-21 late in the fourth quarter, but quarterback Jace Brownlee ran in a 61 yard touchdown on the ensuing drive to take the final lead. 

The pick: Stilly 35, Ike 21.

Results: Stilly 33, Ike 27.

#10 Ponca City (3-6, 2-5) District 1

#11 Sapulpa (2-7, 1-6) District 1

The Chieftains had a rough start this year, but managed to work their way up a few spots due to some solid late-season performances. This loss came down to the first ever field goal miss of Sapulpa kicker Paige McCracken, but considering what Sapulpa had to overcome from last year, they should all be proud.

The pick: Ponca 35, Sapulpa 21

Results: Ponca 30, Sapulpa 28.

#13 Putnam City West (4-6, 2-4) District 2

#14 Enid (2-8, 2-4) District 2

The Patriots' post-season dreams came to an end, but they still won three more games than anyone thought they would. It looks like the losing-streak for PCW may finally be reaching its end, so District 2 better keep a wary eye going into next season. Enid narrowly pulled off the upset to avoid the bottom ranking in the division.

The pick: PCW 47, Enid 35

Results: Enid 49, PCW 42

My Record

  • Week 1: 10-2 (.833)
  • Week 2: 12-2 (.857)
  • Week 3: 6-3 (.666)
  • Week 4: 6-2 (.750)
  • Week 5: 5-3 (.625)
  • Week 6: 8-0 (1.00)
  • Week 7: 8-0 (1.00)
  • Week 8: 7-1 (.875)
  • Week 9: 6-2 (.750)
  • Week 10: 6-1 (.857)
  • Overall: 74-16 (.822)

Sandites are now on their longest playoff streak ever

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By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

The Sand Springs varsity football team has had some great years, but they've always been fairly spaced out. 

The program started in 1919 under head coach Ivan Grover and went 6-2-1 in its first year. It's now in its 97th year and since then it's seen the playoffs 17 years and amassed a 13-20 post-season record and won its lone State Championship in 1966.

Since 2000, Sand Springs has seen the playoffs four years and won its first playoff game since 1997 last year at Midwest City.

A 5-2 district record this year has clinched Sand Springs a playoff berth for the fourth consecutive year, the fifth year since head coach Dustin Kinard took over the program in 2007. 

The program has seen a lot of improvements during Kinard's tenure. His first year on the job was also the first season at the newly remodeled Memorial Stadium. In 2008 he led his team to their first winning record and first playoff appearance since 1997. 

There were a few rough years after that; Sand Springs went 8-22 from 2009-2011, but since then it's been one of the better programs in the state. 

2012 saw the team's first 6-0 start since 1997, and in 2014 the Sandites beat the Midwest City Bombers by a single point in an frigid overtime win to advance to the semi-finals.

Overall, Kinard has a 45-49 record at Sand Springs, but it should turn into a winning record within a season or two if things continue the way they have been. In his 9th season, Kinard is currently the second-longest tenured coach in Sandite history, behind LD Baines who coached from 1983-1996.

The last few seasons have seen lots of notable achievements and 2015 was no different. This season marked the Sandites' fourth-consecutive winning record and fourth-consecutive playoffs appearance. Sand Springs handed Bixby their first shutout in seven years.

The biggest loss for the Sandites this season was by 17 points. The last time Sand Springs made it through a season without a loss larger than 21 points was in 1997. A 53 point win over Hale (that was later forfeited) gave Sand Springs their third consecutive season with a 50+ point win. So far Sand Springs has only allowed 111 points this season, the team's best defensive record since 1997.

A 4-0 record at home also gave Sand Springs their first perfect season at home since 1997. 

There's never been a better time to be a Sandite!

Join the Minutemen this Friday as they travel to #7 Stillwater (5-5). Kick off is at 7:00 PM at Pioneer Stadium.

 

*this article has been corrected at 8:34 AM Monday 11/9/15. It previously reflected the Stillwater game as scheduled for Saturday.  

*OSSAA has changed kickoff from 7:30 PM Friday to 7:00 PM. Article has been corrected to reflect this change.

Sandites shut out Spartans 20-0 on path to playoffs

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By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

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The #3 Charles Page (5-4, 5-2) varsity football team had a huge night, handing the #4 Bixby Spartans (6-4, 4-3) their first shutout in seven years in a dominating 20-0 showdown at Memorial Stadium Friday night.

The team as a whole put up one of their best performances of the season, but several players in particular stole the show. Junior quarterback Hunter Greathouse was 5-8-0-109 in the first half that included a 63-yard touchdown pass to Kasey Bales.

Jaxon Starling, Jacob Taber, and Delvin Jordan tied for a team-high six tackles each. Starling had four tackles-for-loss totaling 41 yards, including 3 sacks. Jordan had three tackles-for-loss totaling 12 yards, including one 12-yard sack, as well as a fumble recovery. Taber had one tackle-for-loss.

The whole Sandite defense was incredible. Parker Taylor also picked up a fumble recovery and Cruz Desjarlais had three pass break-ups.

The game was clear Sandite domination from the get-go. The second play of the first Spartan drive resulted in a fumble recovered by the Sandites less than thirty seconds into the game.

The home team used a mere seven plays to move the ball 70 yards, ending in a 30 yard touchdown run by Payton Scott. Kasey Bales missed the first PAT of the night, but Sand Springs had taken an early 6-0 lead with 8:28 left in the first quarter.

Bixby never even reached Sand Springs territory before having the punt the ball away, and Sand Springs wasted no time in finding the endzone once again. Greathouse connected to Bales on a screen and the versatile receiver went 63 yards for the touchdown, then kicked his own point-after for a 13-0 lead with 2:39 in the quarter.

The following Bixby drive was pushed back for a loss of seven yards thanks to a two-yard tackle-for-loss by Jordan and a five-yard sack by Gage Fain, and the Spartans were once again forced to punt.

Lane Lettich took the handoff at the Sandite 41 and got behind the incredible Sand Springs O-line as they knifed through the would-be Spartan phalanx for a gain of six yards. Payton Scott found a hole on the next play and the home team was sitting pretty at 3rd and 1 at the 50 as the first quarter came to a close.

Ten plays later, Greathouse found his way into the endzone on a 1-yard quarterback sneak for his second touchdown of the night. Bales put up the extra point, and Sand Springs had a 20-0 lead with 7:39 left in the half. Now Sand Springs had to defend that lead for another 31 minutes.

Not much happened in the remainder of the first half, but the Spartans found their rallying cry at half-time and came out with all pistons firing for the third quarter.

It was the secondary’s time to shine as they prevented a fourth-down conversion attempt in their redzone early in the quarter, then got no rest as they were up against a Spartan possession that lasted more than four minutes and came down to the wire.

Bixby was first and goal at the Sandite 6 when Taber picked up a nice 4-yard TFL, then Jordan recovered a fumble to give the D a brief rest.

It wouldn’t last long, however. Four plays later, the Spartans were back at it with a 39-yard pass from Tucker Pawley to Conner Walker that put them right back at the Sandite 7. A pass attempt fell incomplete, then #33 Cole Dixon collided with #33 Nic Roller and proved himself the tougher of the two with a tackle-for-loss as the third period expired.

Next, Delvin Jordan sacked Tanner Griffin for a loss of 9, then Starling put the quarterback right back on the ground for a loss of 5 to hand the ball back over to the offense.

The remainder of the fourth quarter was a back and forth game of tug-a-war and once again Bixby threatened with 1st and 10 at the 11 with under a minute to play, but the game was finally wrapped up as Roller fumbled near the goal-line and Taylor recovered it to give the Sandites final-possession.   

Despite the loss, several Bixby players put up impressive efforts. Griffin connected on 10 of 14 for 144 yards in the fourth quarter alone, for 218 overall.

Nic Roller is the #5 rusher in 6A with 1394 yards this season and 4425 career. Sand Springs held him to a meager 47 yards on 20 carries. The only other time this season he’s been held to such a low out-put was against Ponca when he only carried one time for twenty yards due to an injury.

This was the 24th meeting of the two teams, and Sand Springs was bloodthirsty after the Spartans beat them twice last season. This was only the second shutout of the series, the last time being 19-0 in 1997, also by Sand Springs. The series is split now with both teams sitting at 12 wins.

This win gave Sand Springs their first undefeated season at home in over a decade and their fourth consecutive winning record.

Next week Sand Springs will travel to #9 Stillwater (5-5, 4-2) for their fourth-consecutive playoff appearance. Sand Springs has a 10-28-1 record against the Pioneers. 

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Spartans at Sandites: Only 23 games in 93 years, but lots of bad blood

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By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

The first time the Sandites met the Spartans was in 1922 under head coach A.R. Bateman. It was the final game of the season and Sand Springs went into the game with a 2-5-2 record. Bixby won 19-14.

Sand Springs got their payback in 1926, once again in the final game of the season, with a 30-12 win to finish the season with a 5-2-2 record.

The Sandites took the series lead in the final game of 1927 with a 20-6 win to finish the season 4-4-2.

The two teams didn’t meet again till 1978 in a preseason scrimmage that the Sandites won.

In 1980 under first-year head coach Gary Quimby, Sand Springs traveled to Bixby and brought home a 10-7 victory in the second game of the season. Eric Haines was the quarterback and the team went on to finish with a 5-5 record. That year also saw an overtime upset of #1 ranked Union in week 3 and 18-0 shutout of Sapulpa at the Chieftain homecoming in week 4.

The following year, however, the Spartans beat Sand Springs on their home turf with a 14-12 win, then in '82 beat us 32-6. The 1982 team was coached by Chris Thurmond.

In 1983 Bixby beat Sand Springs 21-4, the first year of Sandite coaching legend LD Baines and took a 4-3 series lead.

By 1984 Baines had turned the program around and quarterback Shawn Morand led the Sandites to a 5-3 home win, then a 14-3 road win in '85.

The series took a seven-year hiatus before resuming at Memorial Stadium in 1992 where Bixby won 20-17 in overtime to even the series back out at 5-5.

In 1993 Delvin Jordan, Sr. was the quarterback and Sand Springs won 26-20 on the road. Jordan was named offensive player of the week by the Tulsa World. That year the Sandites went 7-4 and saw the season end in a 24-7 loss to Jenks in the playoffs.

Sand Springs managed only four wins in 1994, but still managed to smoke the Spartans 33-7 for a 7-5 series lead.

In 1995 Current Girls Head Basketball Coach Dustin Morrow was the quarterback as the Sandites went 6-4 in the regular season, but lost 17-10 to Bixby.

1996 and 1997 were magic years for Sand Springs and both saw substantial wins over the Spartans. 140 pound Keith Hooks was QB and the season started with a 28-7 win in 96 and the first shutout of the series 19-0 in 1997. Sand Springs made the playoffs both of those years and in 1997 went undefeated till the state semifinals where they finished the season with a 12-1 record.

In 1998 Archie Loehr took over the program from Baines and the Sandites went 5-5, starting the season with a 30-6 win against the Spartans.

In 1999 Sand Springs had a 10-6 lead, but their streak would come to an end with a 23-7 home loss.

Dustin Kinard became the Head Coach in 2007.

The rivalry took a hiatus until 2010 when Bixby handed the Sandites a 48-35 home loss to cap a disappointing 1-9 season.

In 2011 the program began to see some turnaround. Bixby defeated the Sandites 43-23 and the team ended with a 3-7 record, but five of those loses were by a touchdown or less.

By 2012, Sand Springs had reestablished itself as a force to be reckoned with. Cody Hale was a record-setting quarterback that year as our boys had their first 6-0 season start since 1997 that included a 21-7 week two victory over Bixby. It was also the last time the Sandites would defeat the Spartans.

In 2013 Bixby won 35-21 and Sand Springs finished with 6-5 record. Hale threw for 207 yards in that game.

In 2014 Class 6A was split into two divisions with each having their own playoffs and championship. The inequality between the top and bottom of 6A was greater than the inequality between 5A and A, and schools such as Broken Arrow had freshman classes larger than the entirety of Charles Page.

Last year, Sand Springs went 8-4 and won their first playoff game since 1997 in a 29-28 overtime win at Midwest City. In the final game of the regular season, Sand Springs barely lost 34-31 at Bixby, but were handily defeated 41-14 in the semifinals due to a string of injuries that left the starting quarterback, runningback, and kicker all unable to play. The starting nose-tackle was out for non-injury related reasons and the leading tackler had to fill in at QB leaving both sides of the ball drastically weakened. The Spartans would go on to win the inaugural 6A-II State Title over Lawton.

Bixby took the lead in the series and it now stands at 12-11 going into tonight’s game.

This season Sand Springs technically stands at 4-4, 4-2, though it should really be 7-2 overall. Two of those games were wins on the field that were forfeited due to an ineligible player, and one game against Guthrie was cancelled shortly before half time due to lightning. Sand Springs was leading that game 18-7 when it was called off. The only true losses for the Sandites were 24-7 at #2 Bartlesville and 17-14 at #1 Booker T Washington.

Bixby stands at 6-3, 4-2 and has losses to Jenks, Bartlesville, and Booker T.