It’s Homecoming week in Sand Springs and this year the Sandites will be hosting Class 6A-II No. 11 ranked Muskogee (0-3) Friday at 7:00 p.m. Prior to the game will be a tailgate party, ceremonies, and a parade.
The parade will be held Thursday at 6:00 p.m. and will feature all the usual floats and marching band performances. The most notable change will be the lack of candy. Because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, parade participants will not be distributing candy or other goods, and those in attendance are asked to wear masks.
On Friday at 6:00 p.m. the Church That Matters Tailgate Crew will be grilling up burgers, hot dogs, and chicken outside the box office as a fundraiser for the Sandite Wrestling Team. CTM hosts a tailgate before every home game, and typically raises over $1,000 per event, with a different beneficiary each week.
Also before the game will be the introduction of the Homecoming Court and the crowning of the Homecoming Queen. Click here to view our photo gallery of the Homecoming Court.
No. 9 ranked Sand Springs (3-1) has won back-to-back games, including a 35-10 road effort against No. 13 Ponca City (1-2) last week in the district opener. They are coming off a 2-8 season, and are in their first year under Head Coach Bobby Klinck.
Muskogee is still looking for its first win of the season, and is 0-3 for the first time since 2015. They are coming off an 8-3 season and first-round playoff loss to Choctaw, which was their best record since 2016. They are 34-32 under seventh-year Head Coach Rafe Watkins.
The Roughers’ district-opener against Putnam City West was postponed last week due to a Putnam City School District policy preventing games against schools that reside in counties with COVID-19 numbers above 25 cases per 100,000 people.
Despite their record, the Roughers shouldn’t be underestimated. Their losses came to the No. 3 and No. 7 teams in Class 5A, and the No. 5 team in Arkansas 7A, and they have a coach who was known for winning several State Championships at the 5A level.
Sand Springs has the seventh-ranked offense and fifth-ranked defense in Class 6A-II, with the seventh-best margin of victory. Muskogee has the 15th-ranked offense and 13th-ranked defense, with the second-worst point differential.
Junior quarterback Ty Pennington is 58 of 107 passing for 1,012 yards and six touchdowns with only one interception this year. He also leads the team in rushing yards with 193 on 71 carries for six more touchdowns.
Keaton Campbell is 26-351 receiving with four touchdowns, Jamon Sisco is 13-351 for two touchdowns, and Jacob Blevins is 10-267. Sisco has returned three kicks for 121 yards this season, including a 93-yard touchdown against Ponca.
The run game has been a weak spot since Blake Jones suffered an injury in the season-opener, but he returned to action in the second quarter against Ponca and finished with 55 yards and a touchdown. He is 21-117 on the season with two scores.
Sango Whitehorn has a team-best 41 tackles, followed by Drake Fain with 38, and Landon Hendricks with 35. Whitehorn has four sacks and Hendricks has three.
Brycen Peterman has two interceptions while Micah Calico and Brooks Dudley have one apiece. Hendricks has four fumble recoveries. Peterman, Bryson Chase, Dominic Ornelas, and Daren Hawkins have one each. Campbell, Chase, and Peterman have all forced fumbles. Sisco has three blocked kicks, Whitehorn has blocked two, and Chase has blocked one.
Jonathan Daniels is 3/4 kicking PATs and 2/2 on field goals with a long of 26. Zach Heinen is 8/8 kicking PATs and is 0/1 on field goals, but his only attempt was from 46 yards. Greg Reed has been handling kickoffs and averages 53 yards per boot.
The Sandites have shown tremendous improvement over last season in almost all areas. Over their first four games they have scored 24 more points and allowed 29 fewer points. They have given up 182 fewer yards to penalties. The offense has racked up 324 more yards and the defense has secured four more takeaways. Special teams didn’t block a single kick at all last year, and they’ve already blocked six this year.
If Sand Springs gets the win they will be 4-1 for the first time since 2014, and Muskogee will be 0-4 for the first time since 2013.
The Roughers lead the series 23-6, including the last three meetings. They won 20 in a row from 1953 to 2010 before falling 7-3 in 2011 The Sandites won six in a row before the Roughers got back on top in 2017, which also happened to be the Sandites’ Homecoming. Sand Springs has hosted Muskogee twice on Homecoming, and lost both games.
Sandite football games remain open to the public with no decrease in capacity, yet. Masks are mandatory for all fans, however.
