Spartan Football Train Runs Over Sandites, 67-3

If anyone was expecting a close rematch of the 2015 State Finals in Friday night’s game between 6A-II No. 5 Sand Springs (1-1) and Bixby, they were sorely disappointed.

The top-ranked Spartans (3-0) easily rolled to their 52nd consecutive win, 67-3, in their home opener against their former 6A-II rivals.

Austin Havens was 12-of-15 passing for 158 yards and three touchdowns, and starter Connor Kirby was 3-of-4 for 135 yards and two touchdowns, with another score on the ground.

“We’ve got packages for each of those guys,” said Spartan coach Loren Montgomery. “So it just kind of depends on what the defense is giving us, how they’re lining up to the different personnel packages. We try to roll in a lot of people.”

The Spartans took a 25-0 lead in the first quarter and steamrolled to a 53-0 halftime lead to put to bed any thoughts of an upset.

“I was pleased, obviously, with the way we played defense, particularly in the first half,” said Spartan coach Loren Montgomery.

Bixby held the Sandites to only 56 yards and three first downs in the first half, while coming away with two interceptions.

“I felt like we were clean early in the first quarter and a half or so, protected the football pretty well, executed our stuff,” said Montgomery. “I would have liked to have seen us run the ball a little bit better, but I was proud. We had a lot of guys step up and make plays.”

Bixby racked up 186 yards on 34 carries from 11 different backs, led by Jett Turner with 4 carries for 53 yards.

After forcing a punt on the Sandites’ opening drive, the Spartans needed only two plays to get on the board with a 62-yard pass from Connor Kirby to Kordell Gouldsby. Kirby ran in the PAT for an 8-0 lead.

Sam McCormick picked off Marek Matheson at the Sandites’ 12-yard line, setting up a 31-yard field goal from Levi Hoffman.

A quick three-and-out for the Sandites led to a 71-yard scoring strike from Kirby to Luke Hasz, followed by an encore on the two-point conversion.

Tyson Williams got the Spartan defense on the board with a 35-yard pick six, but the Sandites managed to block Hoffman’s kick to make it 25-0 after the first quarter.

Bixby opened the second stanza with a 10-play, 67-yard march, capped by a 1-yard run from Kirby. Joshua Newkirk recovered Hoffman’s onside kick and Austin Havens found Hasz for a 9-yard score three plays later.

Havens added a 31-yard touchdown strike to McCormick and Hasz scored on a 17-yard reverse to end the half.

In the second half Christian Kaiser scored on a 12-yard shovel pass from Havens to make it 60-0.

Kyle Morrall recovered a muffed punt to set up a 28-yard field goal from Jonathan Daniels to avert the shutout, and the Spartans scored their final touchdown on a 37-yard run by Turner.

Matheson ended the night 5-of-10 passing for 30 yards and two picks and the Sandites turned to freshman Easton Webb midway through the second quarter.

Webb was 6-of-11 for 59 yards. Jacob Blevins led the receiving corps with 5 catches for 50 yards.

The Sandites were limited to only 23 rushing yards on 27 carries.

Luke Hasz was the star for the Spartans with three catches for 93 yards and had 13 yards rushing for three total TDs.

Despite Bixby’s total dominance, there were still some mistakes to clean up before the Spartans start district play September 23rd at No. 9 Norman North (2-0).

“We put the ball on the ground a little too much,” said Montgomery. “We need to work better on protecting the football. I thought we did a little bit better job of it tonight, and got a little sloppy at times.”

“We need to become more efficient and continue to grow and develop an identity as a football team.”

The Spartans also expect to get back Arkansas-commit Dylan Hasz in time for the trip to Norman, who was out with a minor injury.

“We were missing three starters tonight, so hopefully this bye week will give us a chance to get a little bit healthy and get some guys back out on the field,” said Montgomery.

Sand Springs will return home next Friday with a non-district game against No. 10 Ponca City (0-2).

Sandite Sports Weekly Roundup: Volleyball and Softball Suffer Tough Week

The 14th-ranked Charles Page High School volleyball team has lost five matches in a row, but it’s the way they lost their last match that has coach Skylar Jackson excited.

The Sandites (6-6) fell 3-0 to 4A No. 1 Regent Prep (17-3) Thursday night at the Ed Dubie Field House, but the last two sets were neck and neck.

After winning game one 25-16, the Rams prevailed by close margins of 26-24 and 27-25 for the sweep.

“We’ve really been struggling with this feeling of being second best,” said Jackson. “We’re in a tough class. 6A is tough, so the history has kind of been middle of the road. We’ve really had to work hard against the mentality of being second best.”

“In the last couple of matches it really showed; we really struggled with that. But today, even though we did lose, I think we stayed up much better than we have in our last couple of matches.”

The Sandites have gone through the gauntlet over the past two weeks, falling in 3-0 sweeps to No. 4 Owasso, No. 7 Bixby, and No. 2 Broken Arrow.

The Tigers (13-2, 4-0) dismantled Sand Springs 25-14, 25-7, and 25-8 on Tuesday, dropping the Sandites to 0-4 in Frontier Valley conference play.

Regent Prep started to run away with things in the first set, scoring most of their kills on tipped balls while the Sandites’ power hitters struggled with accuracy early on.

“We made one switch, I put Jayden Smith on the outside,” said Jackson. “But I think we served tougher and kept them out of system. They were unable to get their big hitter the ball as often, or as prime of a set, and that played in our favor.”

“We did adjust to the tip. Obviously they kind of go to that pretty often if they’re off in any sort of way, so we picked that up quite a bit.”

The adjustments worked well, taking the next two sets to extra rallies.

Sand Springs trailed by as much as 16-11 in game two before surging back to a 22-21 lead before University of Central Arkansas-commit Ella Drake scored back-to-back kills for the win.

In the final game the Sandites were down 21-13 before rattling off an eight-point streak, highlighted by some aggressive blocking from Payton Robbins and Averi Tippit.

The decisive point ended up being an ace from Ellen Jenkins that was nearly a service error, just barely rolling up over the net and dropping on the other side.

“I’m just proud of our girls for staying up even though we lost the first and the second,” said Jackson. “We were down a bunch in the third and still rallied, so I’m proud of them for staying up and not just giving it away.”

Robbins scored 8 kills to lead the Sandites and added 10 digs. Olivia DeWitt recorded a team-high 17 digs, Hannah McKelvey had 15 assists, and Layla Lenex had 5 blocks and 4 kills. Sophomore Josie Myers also impressed with 6 kills.

“I told them you always want to work hard because even if you lose, it’s so worth it.,” said Jackson. “If you give it your best and at the end of the day they still get the best of you, then that’s okay. You’re still going to be proud of what you did out there, so they continue to work hard for their teammates.”

Drake scored 17 kills and 2 aces for the Rams, while Meg Goodwin and Ellen Jenkins added 7 kills and 3 aces apiece.

Sand Springs will get a week to recover before traveling to Pryor (2-13) Thursday.

Softball

After Monday’s “Youth Night” game against Bixby was rained out, the Sandites brought the heat to district-leading Jenks (12-2, 7-0) on Tuesday’s Alumni Night game.

Sand Springs (8-8, 2-3) fell in a close 6-4 affair after battling back from a 6-1 second-inning deficit.

Ashyln Clark, Jaden Jordan, Kenzie King, and Addison Tuttle scored for the Sandites.

Addie Hughes (4-7) and Kelsi Hilton (4-1) combined for 12 hits and 9 strikeouts from the circle.

After the game, the Sandites celebrated their many former players who were in attendance.

Sand Springs will return to action Tuesday at home with a district-double header against the combined team of Tulsa Memorial and Booker T. Washington (0-12, 0-4) at 5:00 p.m. for Senior Night. They will also host Bartlesville (9-6, 3-2) on Thursday.

Football

The Sandite 8th graders won their season opener 20-6 at Muskogee while the freshmen posted a 32-0 shutout against the Roughers. Varsity football is taking a bye week to prepare for Bixby on the 9th.

Kenneth Page scores 5 TDs in 35-21 win over Sapulpa

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This story was originally written for the Tulsa World.

Junior running back Kenneth Page blasted his way into the history books Friday night with 205 yards and five touchdowns to lead Sand Springs past Sapulpa, 35-21, in the American Heritage Bank Highway 97 Rivalry. 

The game was played before a maximum capacity crowd of over 3,500 at George F. Collins Stadium, with a state-wide broadcast from Cox YurView, and the Sandites took their first lead in the series since 1943.

It’s been 100 years since the two teams first met, and the Sandites now lead the series 46-45-5.

“A lot’s going through my head right now,” said Page. “My line did their job. I’m thankful they did their job. Without them, I wouldn’t have that.”

Highway 97 Rivalry football games are defined by chaos, and the 96th installment didn’t disappoint with five fumbles, two interceptions, and lots of big momentum swings.

On the third play from scrimmage, the snap bounced off Sandite quarterback Marek Matheson’s hands and was immediately recovered by Isaac Shelton.

One play later and Colton Howard found Marco Smith for a 37-yard touchdown and an early lead. 

Sand Springs responded with a methodical 15-play, 75-yard drive to score on Page’s 2-yard plunge. 

Chieftain quarterback Colton Howard put his team back ahead on a 15-yard scramble after shaking off a near-sack to end the first quarter 14-7.

The home team would only get three opportunities to make a play in the second quarter after an 18-play, 89-yard Sandite drive ate more than 9 minutes off the clock, capped by another 2-yard dive from Page.

A sack from Cash Lucas gave Sand Springs a quick three-and-out and they threatened again but Noah Ferguson picked off Matheson to end the half.

Jabe Schlehuber picked off Howard to give his team a red-zone opportunity in the third quarter but the Chieftains forced a turnover on downs to keep it tied. 

Sapulpa’s next drive was unsuccessful, however, and the Sandites took their first lead on a 5-yard Page run, set up by a 51-yard run on the first play of the drive. 

Smith tied it up for the final time on a 15-yard run, but Page added scores of 15 yards and 54 yards in the final stanza. 

“He’s only scratched the surface of what he can do,” said Sandites head coach Bobby Klinck. “He’s got a lot to work on, but there’s a lot to work with. I was very proud of him.”

The Sandite defense came away with eight tackles for loss, led by senior linebacker Drake Fain with 12 tackles. 

“He’s the leader of our defense,” said Klinck. “Him and Dominic Ornelas. We’re counting on those guys and we’re only gonna get better.”

Matheson also impressed in the fourth quarter, shaking off his early interception and completing two incredible Mahomes-ish completions to Jacob Blevins, including a crucial fourth-down conversion that set up the go-ahead score.

Matheson finished the night 11-of-21 for 154 yards. Howard was 7-of-13 for 111 yards for the Chieftains.

Despite Page’s performance, the Sandites were far from a well-oiled machine. 

“We’ve got to get better,” said Klinck. “Just got to clean some stuff up. I think we’re gonna be a good football team, but we’ve got to get a lot better in a hurry in the next couple of weeks before our next opponent.”

The next opponent being 6A-1 No. 3 Bixby (1-0), who is riding a 50-game win streak. The Sandites will get a bye week before traveling to Bixby Friday, September 9th. 

Sandites show promise in 24-7 preseason loss at Jenks

This story was originally written for the Sand Springs Leader.

It would be easy to try and justify the Sandites’ 24-7 preseason loss to the defending 6A-1 State Champions from Jenks.

After all, the Trojan program has twice the enrollment of Sand Springs, a wealthier community, and a blue blood tradition that includes 18 gold balls. 

But third-year Charles Page High School coach Bobby Klinck doesn’t make excuses for his team and he doesn’t let them make excuses for themselves. 

“I was a little disappointed in the way we came out,” said Klinck. 

“Obviously it’s Jenks. They over-physicalled us a little bit, but what we’ve been trying to instill in these guys is a belief in themselves that no matter who we’re playing, you have an opportunity.”

Klinck doesn’t shy away from giants, hence why the Sandites eagerly scheduled Jenks in the preseason and 6A-1 No. 3 Bixby in the second game of the year. 

“We’re never going to back down and I want our guys to know what that looks like and feels like,” said Klinck.

“We’ve just got to keep grinding, keep pushing. We’re going to keep getting better. I’m never satisfied, but we’re gonna keep getting better.”

The Sandites enter next week’s season opener ranked fifth in Class 6A-2 at 5A No. 9 Sapulpa in the 96th installment of Highway 97 Rivalry. 

It still remains to be seen who will be under center for Sand Springs. 

The obvious front runner is Kiefer move-in Marek Matheson. The 6’2”, 225-pound senior showed confidence and promise as he led his new team on their first four series. 

Matheson was 2-of-4 passing for 15 yards and was sacked twice while the team primarily leaned on Kenneth Page’s 9 carries for 26 yards.

On the final drive of the game, they turned to freshman Easton Webb, who methodically led a 12-play, 65-yard scoring drive against a Trojan unit that had swapped out many of the starters. 

Webb was 6-of-9 for 43 yards and connected on a 14-yard touchdown to Brody Rutledge to avert the shutout. 

“(Matheson)’s been getting the majority of the reps with the ones, but just like anything, whoever’s the week one starter doesn’t mean they’ll be the starter the next week. That’s for every position. It’s a constant, competitive deal every week.”

Jenks’ quarterback Ike Owens was 7-of-10 passing for 98 yards and one score while Jaiden Carroll carried the ball nine times for 79 yards and two touchdowns. 

“We’ve got to become better tacklers, be more physical, and come better mentally prepared,” said Klinck. 

The Trojans scored on each of their drives in the two-quarter game that didn’t allow punt returns or rushing the kicker, and each team started their possessions at the 35-yard line in lieu of a kickoff. 

Jonathan Daniels averaged 38 yards per punt for the Sandites while Drake Fain, Carder Hoffman, Dallas Elifrits, and Dominic Ornelas led the defense. 

The Sandites played a clean game with no penalties or fumbles. 

“I think Kenneth (Page) did a better job running the ball and you know we’ve got two of the best receivers,” said Klinck, referencing Rutledge and Jacob Blevins.

“If we can give our quarterbacks time to get the ball off, we’ve got opportunities in jump ball situations. They’re going to make great catches for us this year.”

Sand Springs is coming off an 8-4 campaign and will see some new faces in district action. The Sandites’ district replaced Bixby, Ponca City, and Choctaw with Stillwater, U.S. Grant, and Tahlequah, while retaining Booker T. Washington, Muskogee, Bartlesville, and Putnam City West. 

The first home game of the year will be September 16th in a non-district battle against Ponca at 7:00 p.m.

State Farm Agent Eric Davidson Donates $10,000 to Sandite Youth Football

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This story was originally written for the Sand Springs Leader.

Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there to support the Sand Springs football community. 

State Farm agent Eric Davidson presented a $10,000 check to the Sand Springs Youth Football Association Friday morning at Memorial Stadium as part of the company’s community grant program. 

Davidson was one of 100 agents across the country who was recognized for his community involvement and selected to submit a grant for a community program of his choosing. 

“We really take a look at what’s taking place in the community, the agent’s involvement with the community, and the program that the grant is focused on,” said State Farm representative John Burnett.

“SSYFA is overwhelmed by this gracious donation towards our youth football program,” said Director Dustin Little. “We want to thank Eric Davidson for his constant support of youth sports in our community, at all levels, both as a coach and through his philanthropy.”

“Eric has coached for us since 2014, both with basketball and football, and we’ve enjoyed watching his two sons grow and develop through the years.”

To Davidson, the program is less about the sport and more about the life lessons it teaches. 

“There’s so many kids out there that need guidance,” said Davidson. “They need direction, and coaching is one of the best ways to be involved in that.”

“To me there’s not a whole lot better than being able to coach some kids and hopefully leave them better off than when you started.”

The funds will be used to provide 87 sets of shoulder pads and 19 new helmets for the organization, which has 226 players from grades 1-7. The SSYFA also has a cheer program, bringing its total enrollment to over 400.

“We agreed to use this donation for a specific purpose and that’s to ensure the safety of our Sand Springs kids in playing the sport they love,” said Little.

“We try to replenish our equipment every year. We’re one of only a few clubs left that still provide the equipment for the kids.”

“With our demographics, it would be very challenging to tell parents they have to go out and buy this equipment.”

The organization only charges parents $200-250 per season, depending on when they register. It’s not uncommon to spend more than that on shoulder pads and helmets alone.

Having a feeder program like the SSYFA has been crucial to the success of Sandite football, says varsity head coach Bobby Klinck.

“It’s the lifeblood of any high school program. It’s really the front door to what I consider one of the best sports, if not the best sport, to play. So it’s vital.”

“It’s been great ever since I got here,” said Klinck, who is entering his third season at the helm.

“That was a goal of mine, to make sure that there’s a relationship and there’s an open door policy between the high school varsity staff and the SSYFA. It’s been a really great relationship so far.”

He also praised organizations like State Farm for supporting both the youth and prep programs.

“Football can be a major cog in raising young men and teaching them life lessons,” said Klinck. “So it’s a huge deal, and this community has been nothing but giving. Anything I’ve ever asked for, they’ve found a way to get it done. In my opinion, this is one of the best communities I’ve ever been a part of.”

Davidson’s oldest son, Brighton, will be a freshman on Klinck’s team this year, and his youngest, Kingston, will be in 7th grade. 

“From a life lessons standpoint, it’s kind of hard to put into words,” said Davidson. 

“Watching them grow into young men, not only learning things on the field but even more importantly off the field from a character standpoint, from ethics, morals, and how to work hard. There’s consequences and rewards in life and your decisions that you make determine how those are handled.”

“So being able to interject that into the kids as they grow and learn, it’s been a truly rewarding experience. That’s why I chose to partner with Dustin and do this.”

American Heritage Bank to sponsor 2022 Highway 97 Rivalry footbal lgame

This story was originally written for the Sand Springs Leader.

One hundred years into one of Oklahoma’s most heated high school football rivalries, Sand Springs and Sapulpa are finally getting the respect their annual game deserves.

Players, coaches, and administrative officials from both schools came together Thursday afternoon at Sapulpa’s American Heritage Bank to announce a new partnership between the bank and the two school districts for the 2022 meeting.

“We missed a couple of years along the way, but this coming season will be the 96th edition of the rivalry,” said Sapulpa Athletic Director Michael Rose. “We’re going to see who comes out to take the lead.”

The American Heritage Bank Highway 97 Rivalry game will kick off August 26th at 7:00 p.m. at Sapulpa’s George F. Collins Stadium and will be broadcast state-wide on Cox Yurview.

“We’re very excited about this,” said Rose. “We’re thankful for American Heritage Bank and their partnership.”

“Having someone back us like American Heritage Bank is awesome. It shows the importance of the rivalry. It shows the history of the rivalry. It just shows how big it really is, being the third-longest standing rivalry in the state of Oklahoma. I think it was due.”

“American Heritage Bank is a longtime sponsor of both of our programs,” said Sand Springs Athletic Director Rod Sitton.

“We came up with the idea about a year ago to start putting this together, and we approached them to see if they would be interested in naming rights. We talked to (American Heritage Marketing Director) Tami Fleak and they just jumped on it.”

The naming rights sponsorship is currently only a one-year deal, but Sitton says he hopes that the partnership will continue in the future.

The Sapulpa-based bank purchased a brand new traveling trophy for the rivalry, only two years after the first-ever trophy was introduced. Sand Springs will be keeping the previous trophy after winning a 53-26 meeting last year, but Sapulpa players were quick to quip that they would be taking home the new trophy.

The bank will also be making donations to both athletic programs prior to the season-opening zero-week game next month. 

“This is one of our marquee games of the season,” said third-year Sandite coach Bobby Klinck. “It’s a big game for our community and it’s a big game for our players.”

“It’s a great way to tie our two communities together,” said second-year Sapulpa coach Tim Holt Jr. 

“We all know what this rivalry is all about, and it’s something that both sides talk about all the time. So we’d like to embrace that and tie the two communities together the best that we can.”

The history of the game dates back to a warm September evening in 1922 when Sapulpa football coach Virgil Jones led his Chieftains to a 36-0 shutout win, but he couldn’t have known then what a historic occasion it would come to be.

Sapulpa and Sand Springs have met every year since 1930 and Sapulpa has led the rivalry since 1945. Sand Springs, however, has won seven of the last eight, including both games under coach Klinck.

Both teams are looking to capitalize on a season-opening win as they look to build on last season’s success. The Sandites went 8-4 last year in Class 6A-II, while Sapulpa went 6-5 in 5A.

The trash talk began before the conference had even officially begun, as Klinck quipped at Holt that the “classier” Sandites had arrived in blue jeans and boots instead of athletic shorts, like the Chieftain players. 

Members of the bank wore shirts representing the two teams and one media member in attendance cracked jokes about the Sandite mascot. For the record, it’s a Minuteman, not a sand flea. 

Sand Springs senior linebacker Drake Fain predicted a final score of 62-7, which will almost certainly put some fire in the veins of any Sapulpa players who read this story. 

“We’ve hated that town and they’ve hated us,” said Fain. “That’s just how it is.”

“My dad told me that Sapulpa is the worst town and school in the state. I believe it and I will forever say that.”

Of course, all the smack talk is good natured, and the two communities are closer than either side will admit.

“This is a game that both sides want to win extremely badly just because we’re so close together, and the kids know each other and the coaches know each other,” said Holt. 

“Coach Klinck and I have coached together (at Broken Arrow). We’ve known each other for a lot of years and we want it to be a great football game and great for both communities at the same time.”

“Everybody loves football and the brand of football in northeast Oklahoma is unbelievable and it really helps put both teams on the map as far as exposure for the kids and all that stuff, playing on TV. It’s something that we always look forward to.”

Of course, there will be plenty of pressure on Holt to make up for last year’s loss. It’s a longstanding tradition in both communities to tell new coaches, “it doesn’t matter if you don’t win a single other game, you have to win Highway 97 Rivalry.”

As for American Heritage, the bank couldn’t be happier to be involved.

“It was a no-brainer for us to go ahead and pull together our resources inside the bank and work with these teams,” said Fleak. 

“You can see from my shirt where my loyalties lie, but there’s a lot of great people in both communities and we just want to support these kids.”

Her shirt was Chieftain blue, by the way. Now the bank will have its own in-house rivalry to contend with as they try to figure out who gets to sit in the suite during the game.