CPHS Football Preview: Sandites host Bartlesville Friday in last home game

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The last time Sand Springs beat Bartlesville was in 2017 behind a school-record 507-yard rushing performance from Gatorade Player of the Year Payton Scott.

The Class 6A-II No. 8 ranked Charles Page High School varsity football team (4-4, 2-3) will host No. 11 Bartlesville (3-5, 2-3) Friday at 7:00 p.m. at Memorial Stadium in their last regular season home game. Prior to the game, the Church That Matters Tailgate Crew will be grilling up burgers, hot dogs, and chicken sandwiches outside the stadium as a fundraiser for Sandite Cross Country and Track and Field.

Per a new OSSAA ruling due to the number of district contests that have been canceled this season, the game won’t actually help or prevent either team from making the playoffs. If they want to play in the postseason, they get to regardless of record. But it will be crucial in playoff seeding as both teams try to give themselves the most favorable match-up possible when Week 11 rolls around.

Sand Springs currently ranks No. 4 in District 2 and Bartlesville is ranked No. 6. Both teams are 2-3, but Sand Springs’s losses all came to the top three teams in the district. Bartlesville has yet to play No. 2 seed Choctaw, and they suffered a 10-7 loss to No. 5 Ponca City, who Sand Springs beat 35-10. The Sandites also beat Sapulpa 21-17, and Bartlesville lost 48-21 to the Chieftains in non-district play.

The Sandites

Junior quarterback Ty Pennington is 88-of-183 passing this season for 1465 yards and ten touchdowns with only three interceptions. He is 203-414-2900-6 in his career with 23 passing touchdowns. He emerged as a running threat this season with 119 carries for 347 yards and nine more scores.

Junior running back Blake Jones has 73 carries for 338 yards and four touchdowns this season, and is 183-724 with five scores in his career.

Keaton Campbell has 34 catches for 469 yards and six touchdowns this season, and is 79-1162 with nine scores in his career. He also averages 7.4 yards per punt return and 12.5 yards per kick return. Jacob Blevins is 16-364 receiving this season with one score. Ryan Shoemaker is 13-158.

Jamon Sisco has 21 catches for 457 yards and three touchdowns, and also has 30 carries for 106 yards. He averages 22.7 yards per kick return, including a 93-yard score, and he has blocked three kicks. He has 36 catches for 695 yards and seven touchdowns in his career.

Zach Heinen is 16-of-16 on PATs this season and 35-of-36 in his career. He is 2-of-3 on field goals with a long of 28, and his only miss was from over 40 yards. Backup kicker Jonathan Daniels is 3-of-4 on PATs and 2-of-2 on field goals with a long of 26.

Sango Whitehorn has 70 tackles, 16 for loss, six sacks, and two blocked kicks. Landon Hendricks has 70 tackles, 16.5 for loss, four sacks, five fumble recoveries, and one forced fumble. Drake Fain has 67 tackles, 6.5 for loss, one sack, an interception, a forced fumble, and a fumble recovery.

Brooks Dudley has 59 tackles, 11 for loss, 1.5 sacks, an interception, and a forced fumble. Lane Webster has 32 tackles, 14 for loss, and two sacks. Brycen Peterman has been in on seven turnovers this year, forcing one fumble, recovering four, and making two interceptions.

The Sandites are averaging 294 yards per game against top-notch defenses, including three teams that are ranked No. 1 in their classifications. Their offense ranks ninth in Class 6A-II and their defense ranks 11th in points allowed.

The Bruins

Dual-threat senior quarterback Paxton Bradford is 52-119-720-8 passing this season with seven touchdowns and is 90-508 on the ground with four more scores.

Gage Keaton has 24 catches for 353 yards and four touchdowns. Caden Davis has two scores, and Braedon Winters has one.

The team has a large pool of capable rushers. Winters has four touchdowns, Caleb Perry and Davis have two apiece, and Colton Sutton has one.

Dylan McCoy is the top running back with 127 carries for 839 yards and five touchdowns. He is also perfect kicking this season with 26 PATs and four field goals, with a long of 33.

The defense ranks 13th in points allowed, but is third in defensive scoring, with two safeties, two fumble recoveries for touchdowns, and one pick six. Their offense ranks ninth, tied with Sand Springs.

The Series

Bartlesville schools lead the Sandites 40-25 all-time. The current high school, which unified two older schools under one program, leads the Sandites 20-15 since they first met in 1982. The two programs have met annually since 2000, and the schools are tied 10-10 in the 21st Century. The Sandites are 6-4 when hosting the Bruins in the past 20 years.

Last year the Bruins were 0-5 rolling into their game against a 2-3 Sandite program. Bartlesville picked up a 54-34 win and went on to finish the season 3-7 while the Sandites ended 2-8. Sand Springs led 14-13 after one quarter, but Bartlesville won the second quarter 21-0 and the teams tied in the second half.

Pennington passed for then-career-high yardage of 296 and scored his first-ever rushing touchdown in that game. Keaton Campbell had six catches for a career-best 139 yards, and Daren Hawkins made an 83-yard pick six.

Bartlesville also won the 2018 meeting, surging back from a 20-7 deficit to a 29-27 win to spoil the Sandite Homecoming. In 2017 the Sandites pummeled Bartlesville 55-13 behind a school-record 507-yard rushing performance from Payton Scott, who scored seven touchdowns in the game.

Class 6A-II Football Rankings - Week 10

Class 6A-II Sandite Pride Week 10 Football Rankings

1. Bixby (6-0) - Last week canceled vs. Muskogee.
2. Stillwater (6-0) - Last week forfeit by Northwest Classen.
3. Midwest City (6-1) - Last week 35-14 over Putnam City North.
4. Putnam City North (7-1)
5. Choctaw (5-3) - Last week 34-9 over Sand Springs.
6. Booker T. Washington (6-2) - Last week 34-7 over Ponca City.
7. Lawton (4-2) - Last week 57-6 over U.S. Grant.
8. Sand Springs (4-4)
9. Del City (1-5) - Last week 28-14 over Deer Creek.
10. Ponca City (3-4)
11. Bartlesville (3-5) - Last week 52-8 over Putnam City West.
12. Deer Creek (2-5)
13. Muskogee (0-6)
14. U.S. Grant (2-4)
15. Northwest Classen (1-3)
16. Putnam City West (0-6)

OSSAA 6A-II Football District Rankings

District 1
1. Stillwater (4-0)
2. Midwest City (4-0)
3. Putnam City North (5-0)
4. Del City (1-3)
5. Lawton (1-2)
6. Deer Creek (0-4)
7. U.S. Grant (1-2)
8. Northwest Classen

District 2
1. Bixby (3-0)
2. Choctaw (4-1)
3. Booker T. Washington (4-1)
4. Sand Springs (2-3)
5. Ponca City (2-3)
6. Bartlesville (2-3)
7. Muskogee (0-3)
8. Putnam City West (0-3)

OSSAA approves postseason playoff scenario for all teams, regardless of record

Thus far on the season, the Charles Page High School football team hasn’t faced any COVID-19-related cancelations or postponements, but that is an anomaly for teams in Class 6A-II. Of the 16 teams in the division, only three have made it thus far without a cancelation. Nearly 20% of the games this season have been canceled.

In District 1, U.S. Grant canceled games against Midwest City and Stillwater. Northwest Classen canceled games against Del City, Lawton, Deer Creek, Stillwater, and Putnam North - the last two of which were actually non-COVID related and will be recorded as forfeits. District 1 teams also suffered a combined four non-district cancelations to start the season.

In District 2, Putnam West canceled on Bixby and Muskogee, then Muskogee canceled on Bixby, Booker T. Washington, and Ponca City, as well as a rescheduled makeup game against Putnam West. There were three non-district cancelations among District 1 teams.

All of these cancelations have made a mess of the typical post-season qualifications. In football, only the top four teams in each eight-team district advance to the playoffs. But you can’t discern the top four if not every team has played each other.

Because of this, the OSSAA has approved a playoff system similar to basketball and volleyball, where everyone is now eligible for the playoffs. Instead of typical district standings, playoff seeding will be decided by a coaches’ ranking system.

The first rankings debuted this week, but were promptly taken down by the OSSAA after a large number of coaches failed to participate. Only three of the eight coaches in District 2 submitted rankings, and the undefeated defending State Champions from Bixby ended up third.

The second round of rankings went up on Wednesday, and the Sandites are No. 4 in their district, and ranked ahead of both teams that remain on their schedule.

A play-in round has been added to the schedule for Week 11, with cross-district matchups where the higher-ranked team hosts. All teams are eligible, but also have the option to opt out of the postseason. Quarterfinal games will be hosted by the higher-ranked teams, semifinals will be played on neutral sites, and the Championship will be played at the University of Central Oklahoma.

Once the playoffs begin, there will be no postponements for COVID until the Championship round. If a team cannot play due to COVID, they will be eliminated from the playoffs. The opponent that team defeated in the previous round will have the option to fill in. If COVID poses an issue in the State Championship round, OSSAA staff will make a decision on how to proceed.

The OSSAA has also allowed for schools who have not played a full ten games to schedule additional non-playoff games through December 5th, though this will likely not affect Sand Springs.

CPHS Football: Choctaw stings Sandites 34-9 with 28 unanswered points

The Class 6A-II No. 7 ranked Charles Page High School varsity football team (4-4, 2-3) held a 9-6 lead over No. 5 Choctaw (5-3, 4-1) after two quarters at Bill Jensen Field Friday night in Choctaw, but the Yellowjackets adjusted well at halftime and rattled off 28 unanswered points for a convincing 34-9 victory in front of a small crowd of cold, dedicated fans.

The Sandites needed less than two minutes to make their way onto the scoreboard. Landon Hendricks recovered a fumble on the Yellowjackets’ first play from scrimmage, and four plays later Zach Heinen kicked a career-long 36 yard field goal for the lead.

Choctaw’s next drive ended in a punt, and Sand Springs drove all the way to the Yellowjacket 21-yard line before Bolton Hawkins and DeSean Brown combined on a sack for the turnover on downs.

Sand Springs got a three-and-out, and once again drove the field with ease before a fourth-and-one Drake Fain run at the 14 ended in a fumble. This time the home team found pay dirt with a ten-play 89-yard march for the lead. Quarterback Steele Wasel leaped up and over the pile, extending the ball for the one-yard touchdown run. A Choctaw penalty gave Tommy Yousey a 25-yard PAT attempt that was partially deflected to keep the visitors within a field goal.

Fain made up for his fumble by recovering a bad pitch from Wasel, and returned it 38 yards before Aaron McAffrey made the touchdown-saving tackle. Ty Pennington punched in the two-yard score on the next play, but his PAT run was stopped. The teams traded punts and entered the locker room with Sand Springs up 9-6.

The second half was all Choctaw.

Wasel hooked up with La’Trell Ray for a 15-yard score on their first possession, then CJ Smith ran in a 37-yarder to make it 20-9. Smith nearly had a 68-yard score late in the quarter, but it was called back on a penalty.

Choctaw was knocking at the door to end the third quarter, but on the first play of the fourth Dylan Sallas made a goal-line interception for the Sandites. His offense wouldn’t capitalize, however, and Choctaw’s next drive ended in an 18-yard run by Wasel. Ray added a 16-yard scoring run with 5:04 to play for the final points of the game.

Pennington finished the game 4-of-16 passing for 61 yards and had 20 carries for 27 yards and a score. Wasel was 14-of-23 for 140 yards, one touchdown, and one interception, and had 11 carries for 56 yards and two scores. Ray had 12 carries for 142 yards and a score, and Smith had 11 carries for 117 yards and a score.

The Yellowjackets held Sand Springs to only three first downs and 23 yards in the second half, while racking up 304 yards of their own.

Sandite Football will return to action next Friday with their final home game of the year against No. 12 Bartlesville (3-5, 2-3), while Choctaw will travel to No. 16 Putnam City West (0-6, 0-3).

Choctaw 34 CPHS 9
First Downs: Choctaw 14, CPHS 7.
Fumbles/Lost: Choctaw 2/2, CPHS 2/1.
Penalties: Choctaw 12-125, CPHS 8-60.
C-A-Y-I: Choctaw 14-23-140-1, CPHS 4-16-61-0.
Rushing: Choctaw 36-312, CPHS 43-80.
Offense: Choctaw 59-452, CPHS 59-141.

CPHS Football Preview: Sandites travel to No. 5 Choctaw Friday

The Class 6A-II No. 7 ranked Charles Page High School football team (4-3, 2-2) will look to get back to its winning ways Friday night on the road, but they won’t have an easy opponent. No. 5 Choctaw (4-3, 3-1) has proven they can play with the best this season, but they have also let lesser-ranked teams hang far closer than they should have. Sand Springs will look for the upset at 7:00 p.m. at 14300 Northeast 10th Street in Choctaw.

Sand Springs started the season 4-1 but they lost their last two games convincingly. After a shocking 49-0 shut out at No. 6 Booker T. Washington (5-2) they stepped up against No. 1 Bixby (6-0) and only lost 51-20. Granted, it was 51-6 until garbage time, but the Sandites amassed 149 yards in second half action, compared to only 57 in the entire game against the Hornets. The defense also performed admirably, only allowing scores on six of fourteen possessions, forcing three punts and two turnovers on downs with one interception.

The Sandites won 21-17 against 5A No. 7 Sapulpa (5-2) in the season opener, a team that has scored 60+ points in three different games this season. They led 5A No. 1 Bishop Kelley (6-0) till the final minute of game before dropping a 28-24 heartbreaker. They dealt Arkansas 4A No. 1 Shiloh Christian (4-1) their only loss of the season 27-26, then won 35-10 against No. 10 Ponca City (3-3) and 45-14 against Muskogee (0-6).

Junior quarterback Ty Pennington has completed 84 of 165 pass attempts this season for 1407 yards and ten touchdowns with only three interceptions. He also has 100 carries for 316 yards and eight more touchdowns. Blake Jones is the top running back with 59 carries for 300 yards and four touchdowns.

Keaton Campbell is 33-458 receiving with six touchdowns and averages 11 yards per kick return and 7.4 yards per punt return, and he has a forced fumble. Jamon Sisco is 19-455 receiving with three touchdowns and is 23-96 rushing. He also averages 22 yards per kick return with one touchdown, and has three blocked kicks. Jacob Blevins is 16-364 receiving with one TD. Ryan Shoemaker is 12-113 receiving.

Zach Heinen is 16-of-16 kicking PATs and is 1-of-2 on field goals with a long of 28. He also handles punting duty with an average of 32.6 yards. Greg Reed averages 48.4 yards per kick off.

Sango Whitehorn has 63 tackles, 13 tackles for loss, five sacks, and two blocked kicks. Drake Fain has 63 tackles, 6.5 tackles for loss, one sack, one forced fumble, and a 41-yard interception return. Landon Hendricks has 61 tackles, 16.5 tackles for loss, four sacks, and four fumble recoveries. Brooks Dudley has 53 tackles, four tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks, an interception, and one forced fumble.

Bryson Chase has a blocked kick, a forced fumble, and a fumble recovery. Brycen Peterman has two interceptions, a forced fumble, and two fumble recoveries. Lane Webster has 32 tackles on the season with 14 for loss and two sacks. Daren Hawkins has a fumble recovery and Micah Calico has an interception.

Choctaw has been somewhat inconsistent this season due to injuries and COVID-19. They lost their season opener 46-18 to unranked Springdale (2-5) and only won 28-10 against unranked Van Buren (3-4), but played a close game against Arkansas 6A No. 1 Greenwood (7-0) and only lost 23-12. They got a huge 26-22 win against Booker T. Washington, then only won 20-14 against Ponca City, a team that Sand Springs beat handily. They held Bixby to a season-low scoring output and only lost 24-13, but then only won 26-10 against Muskogee, who the Sandites dominated.

The Yellowjackets are in their fourth year under Head Coach Jake Corbin, who is 22-17 since arriving. He holds a 30-29 record as a head coach with a 6-5 stint at Del City in 2016 and a 2-7 stint at Sapulpa in 2015. He is 1-1 against Sand Springs as a head coach. His Sapulpa team lost 44-10 in 2015, but his Yellowjackets won 21-20 in 2017.

The Sandite offense ranks seventh in the division and Choctaw is ninth. The Sandite defense is eleventh and Choctaw’s is sixth.

The two schools have only met six times, and Choctaw leads the series 4-2. Choctaw won the first meeting 21-14 in 1992, but Sand Springs won 31-18 the next year. Choctaw’s biggest win was 37-0 in 2000, and Sand Springs’s biggest win was 29-6 in 2001. The highest-scoring game in the series was a 45-41 Choctaw win 2016, and the closest game was a 21-20 Choctaw win in 2017. Choctaw has never beaten a Sandite team with a winning record, but they’ve also never lost to Sand Springs at home.

Football, Cross Country, Volleyball rankings, Softball State results

Class 6A-II Sandite Pride Week 8 Football Rankings

1. Bixby (6-0) - Last week 51-20 over Sand Springs.
2. Stillwater (5-0) - Last week 70-17 over Lawton.
3. Putnam City North (6-0) - Last week 10-6 over Del City.
4. Midwest City (5-1) - Last week 53-0 over Deer Creek.
5. Choctaw (4-3) - Last week 26-10 over Muskogee.
6. Booker T. Washington (5-2) - Last week 49-0 over Putnam City West.
7. Sand Springs (4-3)
8. Lawton (3-2)
9. Del City (0-5)
10. Ponca City (3-3) - Last week 10-7 over Bartlesville.
11. Deer Creek (2-4)
12. Bartlesville (2-5)
13. Muskogee (0-6)
14. U.S. Grant (2-3) - Last week 28-12 over Northwest Classen.
15. Northwest Classen (1-1)
16. Putnam City West (0-5)

OSSAA 6A-II Football District Standings

District 1
3-0 Stillwater (5-0)
3-0 Midwest City (5-1)
3-0 Putnam City North (6-0)
1-1 U.S. Grant (2-3)
0-3 Del City (0-5)
0-2 Lawton (3-2)
0-3 Deer Creek (2-4)
0-1 Northwest Classen (1-1)

District 2
3-0 Bixby (6-0)
3-1 Booker T. Washington (5-2)
3-1 Choctaw (4-3)
2-2 Sand Springs (4-3)
2-2 Ponca City (3-3)
1-3 Bartlesville (2-5)
0-2 Putnam City West (0-5)
0-3 Muskogee (0-6)

OSSAA 6A Boys Week 1 Cross Country Rankings

1. Mustang
2. Edmond Memorial
3. Edmond Deer Creek
4. Edmond North
5. Westmoore
6. Broken Arrow
7. Union
8. Owasso
9. Bartlesville
10. Norman
11. Choctaw
12. Edmond Santa Fe
13. Jenks
14. Yukon
15. Southmoore

OSSAA 6A Girls Week 1 Cross Country Rankings

1. Jenks
2. Owasso
3. Broken Arrow
4. Norman North
5. Yukon
6. Edmond Deer Creek
7. Edmond Santa Fe
7. Moore
9. Bartlesville
10. Edmond North
11. Choctaw
12. Edmond Memorial
13. Stillwater
14. Westmoore
15. Mustang
15. Putnam City West

OSSAA Class 6A Week 8 Volleyball Rankings (State Qualifiers Only)

1. Bishop Kelley (28-3)
2. Norman North (27-5)
3. Mustang (30-6)
4. Jenks (25-8)
5. Bishop McGuinness (28-4)
6 Edmond Deer Creek (21-6)
7. Edmond Santa Fe (22-7)
8. Edmond North (18-12)

Frontier Valley Conference FINAL Volleyball Standings

8-0 Jenks (23-8)
8-1 Broken Arrow (20-13)
5-3 Owasso (18-13)
5-4 Bixby (18-12)
4-5 Bartlesville (17-17)
5-3 Union (16-10)
3-5 Booker T. Washington (8-14)
2-7 Sand Springs (19-14)
1-7 Muskogee (9-18)
0-6 Sapulpa (16-14)

OSSAA 6A Fast Pitch Softball State Tournament Results

QF - Edmond Memorial 4-3 Stillwater
QF - Deer Creek 5-4 Mustang
QF - Owasso 12-1 Shawnee
QF - Southmoore 7-6 Jenks
SF - Owasso 4-1 Edmond Memorial
SF - Southmoore 2-1 Deer Creek
F - Southmoore 3-2 Owasso