Three Sandites take gold in Broken Arrow

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

The Sand Springs junior high wrestling team traveled to Broken Arrow this weekend to compete in the 19th annual Joe Zamora/Skyler Holman Open. Carter Young, Irwin Portillo, and Tyler Ash each took first place and eight other wrestlers placed fourth or higher. 

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6th/7th 80A: Carter Young, 1st Place

• defeated Zach Prince (Miami) 15-0 tech fall
• defeated Casey Goss (Broken Arrow) 1:41 fall
• defeated Cooper Evans (Bristow) 16-1 tech fall

6th/7th 80B: Kaden "KJ" Clark, 2nd place

• defeated Hayden Rogers (Bartlesville) 0:40 fall
• defeated Kolton Berry (Fort Gibson) 1:03 fall
• lost to James Hunter (Muskogee) 3:50 fall

6th/7th 89B: Cody Spaan, 3rd Place

• lost to Walker Hill (Broken Arrow) 1-0 decision
• defeated Johan Abercrombie (Broken Arrow) 0:50 fall
• defeated Beau Hansen (Cascia Hall) 0:34 fall
• defeated Tanner Cousatte (Pryor) 12-0 major decision

6th/7th 98B: Seth Carson, DNP

• lost to Blake Salt (Oologah) 1:28 fall
• lost to Dalton Allen (Broken Arrow) 5-3 decision

6th/7th 132: Santana Naugle, 2nd Place

• defeated Logan Blood (Bartlesville) 0:57 fall
• lost to Trey Kitchel (Bartlesville) 0:18 fall

6th/7th 162: Tegen Campbell, 2nd Place

• defeated Jorey Hollenback (Jay) 10-1 major decision
• lost to Garrett Graham (Sallisaw) 7-2 decision

Junior High 98A: Hunter Carter, DNP

• lost to David Boucher (Bartlesville) 1:36 fall
• defeated Blake Stone (Claremore) 2:58 fall
• defeated Ethan Strain (Locust Grove) 6-2 decision
• lost to David Boucher (Bartlesville) 10-1 major decision

Junior High 98B: Russell McCaskey, DNP

• lost to Kolby Encinas (Pryor) 0:55 fall
• lost to DJ Anderson (Cascia Hall) forfeit

Junior High 106A: Hunter Hilger, DNP

• lost to Payton Messenger (Broken Arrow) 0:20 fall
• lost to Jesse Collinsworth (Coweta) 0:55 fall

Junior High 106B: Chris Jones, DNP

• lost to Chandler Wing (Fort Gibson) 0:45 fall
• lost to Dathan Leach (Salina) 6-0 decision

Junior High 106B: Kyler Clark, DNP

• lost to Hunter Scott (Broken Arrow) 8-1 decision
• defeated Drew Miller (Broken Arrow) 13-0 major decision
• defeated Chandler Wing (Fort Gibson) 12-5 decision
• lost to Hunter Scott (Broken Arrow) 11-6 decision

Junior High 113A: Irwin Portillo, 1st Place

• defeated Stephen Alcorn (Broken Arrow) 2:51 fall
• defeated Garrett Weis (Jenks) 18-3 tech fall
• defeated Caleb Tanner-Cook (Cardinal Wrestling Club) 3:59 fall

Junior High 113A: Colton Roberts, 4th Place

• lost to Austin Whitaker (Salina) 1:39 fall
• defeated Isaac Castleberry (Broken Arrow) 1:39 fall
• defeated Foster Thaxton (Owasso) 10-2 major decision
• defeated Garrett Weis (Jenks) 0:27 fall
• lost to Bryce Mattida (Broken Arrow) 1:45 fall

Junior High 113B: Jared Jenkins, DNP

• lost to Braydon Miller (Broken Arrow) 0:48 fall
• lost to Simon Young (Sapulpa) 6-0 decision

Junior High 113B: Jacob Reed, DNP

• lost to Trenton West (Broken Arrow) 0:59 fall
• lost to Jace Getz (Grove) 10-2 major decision

Junior High 120A: Tyler Ash, 1st Place

• defeated Alex Andazola (Broken Arrow) 0:43 fall
• defeated Enrique Hernandez (Owasso) 0:31 fall
• defeated Christian Webb (Muskogee) 1:12 fall
• defeated Ty Rozell (Broken Arrow) 9-0 major decision

Junior High 120A: Caleb Phillips, 3rd Place

• defeated Matthew Skinner (McAlester) 5-3 decision
• lost to Ty Rozell (Broken Arrow) 5-0 decision
• defeated Austin Britt (Broken Arrow) 0:43 fall
• defeated Christian Webb (Muskogee) 1:51 fall

Junior High 120B: Thomas Naugle, DNP

• defeated Cameron Prieto (Jay) 11-4 decision
• lost to Randy Mills (Muskogee) 1:31 fall
• lost to Braden Cook (Broken Arrow) 1:47 fall

Junior High 120B: Preston Medlin, DNP

• lost to Jordan Berryman (Muskogee) 10-3 decision
• lost to Cameron Prieto (Jay) 8-0 major decision

Junior High 132A: Braden Dahl, DNP

• lost to Richee Lee (Owasso) 1:26 fall
• lost to Blake Hulland (Owasso) 7-2 decision

Junior High 132B: Hunter Lawrence, DNP

• lost to Zach Conrad (Owasso) 15-0 tech fall
• lost to Nathaniel Holt (Jay) 2-1 decision

Junior High 140B: David Cooper, 2nd Place

• defeated Brandon Skaggs (Muskogee) 1:25 fall
• defeated Wyatt Moyers (Broken Arrow) 0:51 fall
• defeated Marchell Friday (Broken Arrow) 0:37 fall
• lost to Zach Coy (Jay) 3:25 fall

Junior High 150: Riley Magee, DNP

• defeated Logan Sams (Claremore) 2:31 fall
• lost to Skyler Murphy (Bristow) 1:46 fall
• defeated Dalton Rogers (Owasso) 1:26 fall
• lost to Diego Maturino (Broken Arrow) 1:41 fall

Junior High 162B: Justin Smith, DNP

• lost to Paxton Jenkins (Bixby) 0:44 fall
• lost to Noah Lettich (Broken Arrow) 11-4 decision

Sandite of the Week

• By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief
• Photo: Debi Ropp

In lieu of recognizing a single Sandite of the Week, we would like to recognize the entirety of the Sandite Offensive Line this week for their outstanding efforts this entire season, and the Stillwater game in particular.

Friday Night the Sand Springs football team traveled to Pioneer Stadium for their fourth-consecutive playoff appearance. Not only was it a win, but it was the biggest post-season win in 64 years since a 54-0 shutout of Poteau in 1951.

Lane Lettich and Payton Scott both rushed for over 100 yards each, and Hunter Greathouse had time and coverage to connect on all 11 of his passes for 181 yards. All of that is made possible by the outstanding offensive line. "They put in all the work, and that's where the play starts." says Greathouse. 

The Offensive line has put up some impressive stats this season, allowing less than three tackles-for-loss per game. The run game has seen an average of 4.9 yards-per-carry, and Sand Springs converted 84% of first down-attempts against Stillwater--their highest rate since week 3 against Guthrie. The team averages less than 20 lost yards per game, less than 3 fouls per game, and is 61% on fourth-down conversion. 

The usual starting lineup is 

• Left Tackle: Andrew Biggs, senior
• Left Guard: Zac Blake, sophomore
• Center: Danny Ropp, junior
• Right Guard: Harold Dodson, senior
• Right Tackle: Lincoln Adams, junior
• Tight End: Jake Ward, senior

Other OL players include

• Michael Carper, junior
• Elijah Titone, senior
• Robert Hunter, senior
• Ethan Hooper, sophomore
• Blake Wadley, senior
• Cristian Rodriguez, sophomore
• Kobe Chen, sophomore
• Seth Blackburn, sophomore
• Dell Prince, sophomore

Jay Fleischman, a three year starting safety at OSU, is the special teams and OLB coach for Charles Page. 

The Sand Springs Sandites (6-4) will take on Booker T Washington (10-0) this Friday at George F. Collins Stadium in Sapulpa in the State Semi-Final playoff.

Sandites vs Hornets: Get to know your semi-finalists

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

There's only three games left in the race for the 2015 State Championship, and all three are rematches between District 1 rivals. 

#1 Booker T Washington (10-0, 7-0) District Champions

#3 Charles Page (6-4, 5-2) *2 Forfeitures

The week 9 opponents will get their rematch at Sapulpa's George F. Collins Stadium. The last time the two teams met was a rainy run-game with barely a hundred passing yards combined between the two teams.

Since then the Sandites squashed Stillwater 49-14 thanks to a marvelous run game that saw both Lane Lettich and Payton Scott rack up over 100 yards each, complemented by QB Hunter Greathouse's perfect night passing for 181 yards.

Meanwhile, the Hornets did nearly as much damage to Choctaw in a 47-17 rout that saw Justice Hill run up 191 yards, complemented by Dakari Willis's 11-13-134 in the air. 

While the stadium is technically neutral territory, it can be noted that Sand Springs has a long history of battling it out on the Cheiftain turf due to their long-standing rivalry with Sapulpa. 

While the hornets have a 10-win streak going into the game, the Sandites' win at Stillwater was only the second time since 1997 that they've won in the post season, and with all their starting lineup in tact, the Minutemen will be out to prove that they have what it takes to be a major contender for the first time in the current century. 

The two teams have met only 12 times till now; the Hornets lead the series 8-4.

The first time the teams met was during a mediocre 1986 season in which the Sandites went only 2-8. However, the 42-21 loss was the most points anyone had scored on the Hornets all season. 

The next meeting in 1987 saw a narrow 15-12 Sandite win on their way to the semi finals.

The Hornets walked away with the next three wins before Sand Springs managed to edge them out 15-14 in 1991 to clinch a playoff berth. 

The next year, the Hornets put the biggest beat down of the series on Sand Springs in a 48-7 rout. The most Sand Springs has ever beaten the Hornets by was 21-7 in 2012.

The highest scoring game of the series came in 2006 when the Hornets handled the Sandites 62-28.

For the current class of seniors, the series is an even split. 2012 saw a 21-7 Sandite upset at SE Williams Stadium, followed by a 42-38 home shoot out that the Sandites came out on top of. 

The Hornets walked away with the next two, however, spoiling a Sandite Halloween Senior Night in 2014 in a come-from-behind 42-35 victory, then kicking a tie-breaking field goal this year with 14 seconds left.

This will be the first time the two teams have met twice in one season. 

The pick: CPHS 35, BTW 24

Playoff roundup and Week 12 rankings

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

If there was any doubt that District 1 teams were the only real contenders for the title, it's been laid to rest after solid beatdowns in the first round of the playoffs this weekend. 

#1 Booker T Washington (10-0, 7-0) District 1 Champions

#9 Choctaw (5-6, 2-5) District 2

No surprise here, OSU-commit Justice Hill exploded for 189 yards and five touchdowns in a home quarterfinal performance. The yellowjackets never really had much of a chance against the #1 rungame in the state. 

The pick: BTW 52, Choctaw 17.

Results: BTW 47, Choctaw 17. 

#3 Charles Page (6-4, 5-2) District 1

#8 Stillwater (5-6, 3-3) District 2

It was more-or-less granted that Sand Springs would win, but the real surprise here is just how badly they beat the Pioneers. It wasn't so much the Pioneer's faults--they actually completed more passes than in their last game and had a standard night. It was the Sandites who showed up better than ever and completely out-athleted the home team. The Sandite secondary held the Pioneers to zero first downs in the first quarter and only five per-quarter to follow, not to mention 10 tackles-for-loss and a blocked kick that resulted in a safety. Hunter Greathouse had his first perfect night passing, completing all 11 of his throws for 181 yards and 2 touchdowns. Lane Lettich and Payton Scott combined for 234 yards and 4 touchdowns on the ground.

The pick: CPHS 27, Stillwater 3

Results: CPHS 49, Stillwater 14. 

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

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

The only game that was expected to be close this week was anything but close. The Spartans have had a rough time these last few weeks, getting hammered by Booker T, barely squeezing past Muskogee in overtime, and being shut out by Sand Springs. They put a stop to that streak Saturday at Lawton, handing the wolverines their first loss of the season by a large margin. Bixby completed 20 first downs and held Lawton to a staggering low 4 while doubling the wolverines' total yardage.

The pick: Bixby 35, Lawton 28

Results: Bixby 36, Lawton 6.

#2 Bartlesville (10-1, 6-1) District 1

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

Midwest City made probably the biggest effort at upsetting it's District 1 opponent, and were it not for a 1-yard line fumble to end a 79 yard drive, it may have been a lot closer. As it were, the Bombers failed to stop Colton Penrod's aerial assault that ended up tallying 279 yards and 4 touchdowns.

The pick: Bartlesville 42, MWC 35

Results: Bville 35, MWC 14.

The rest of the rankings

• #7 Muskogee
• #10 Ponca City
• #11 Sapulpa
• #12 Eisenhower
• #13 Putnam City West
• #14 Enid
• #15 Claremore

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)
• Week 11: 4-0 (1.00) 
• Overall: 78-16 (.829)

Sandite All-Stars: Your leaders in Defense

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.

It's well known that Sand Springs has the best secondary in the state, but just how good are they? This season, our defense has 60 tackles for loss totaling 282 yards and 11 interceptions for 223 yards!

Our opponents only average 72 rushing yards and 113 passing yards per game for an average of 11 points!

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.

Total Tackles

Senior Cole Dixon leads the team with 70 tackles, followed closely by junior Delvin Jordan with 60, and senior Jacob Taber with 59.

Here's where the rest of the team sits:

• Jaxon Starling, 33
• Parker Taylor, 31
• Jason Cooper, 27
• Nathan Simonton, 25
• Cruz Desjarlais, 25
• Brett Freeman, 21
• Gage Fain, 20
• Treyce Tolbert, 18
• Malachi Walton, 11
• Dalton Morgan, 11
• Kris Edwards, 6
• Danny Ropp, 5
• Cody Motes, 3
• Josh Taber, 3
• Kameron Carpenter, 2
• Tyler Delozier, 2
• Hunter Willis, 1
• Jacob Fortune, 1
• Gino Lopez, 1
• Austin McNatt, 1
• Tyler Brown, 1
• Jerry Lyons, 1
• Jake Ward, 1
• Chase Burris, 1
• Miron Krotzer, 1
• Lydon Lundy, 1
• Jeffrey Whinery, 1
• Ben Norte, 1

Tackles For Loss/Sacks

Senior Jaxon Starling leads the team with 16 tackles-for-loss in 8 games totaling 97 yards. He had a season-high 5 TFLs against Enid for 18 yards, but drove back Bixby 41 yards with 4. 7 of those were sacks totaling 71 yards.

Other Sandites with tackles for loss are:

• Cole Dixon 13-49 (2-10 sacks)
• Delvin Jordan 10-45 (7-31)
• Jacob Taber 8-33 (1-1)
• Gage Fain 5-12 (1-5)
• Brett Freeman 2-15 (1-12)
• Kris Edwards 2-10 (2-10)
• Nathan Simonton 1-10 (1-10)
• Treyce Tolbert 1-6 (1-6)
• Cruz Desjarlais 1-3
• Dalton Morgan 1-2 (1-2)

Pass Defense

Jason Cooper leads the Sandite secondary on interceptions with 4 catches and 28 return yards, as well as 3 breakups. 

• Cole Dixon, 2 interceptions for 11 yards and 1 touchdown, as well as 2 breakups
• Treyce Tolbert, 2-42
• Tyler Delozier, 1-52, 1 BU
• Kameron Carpenter, 1-65
• Austin McNatt, 1-25 
• Cruz Desjarlais, 6 BU
• Paker Taylor, 5 BU
• Malachi Walton, 2 BU
• Brett Freeman, 1 BU
• Delvin Jordan, 1 BU

Fumbles

Delvin Jordan has been the most effective Sandite when it comes to fumbles, recovering 3 for 23 yards and 1 touchdown.

• Cole Dixon has 1 forced fumble, and 1 recovery for 1 yard
• Treyce Tolbert has 1 forced, and 1 recovery
• Jason Cooper has 1 forced
• Gage Fain has 1 recovery for 8 yards
• Brett Freeman has 1 recovery for 7 yards
• Nathan Simonton has 1 recovery for 5 yards
• Dalton Morgan has 1 recovery for 3 yards
• Parker Taylor has 1 recovery

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#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. 

Sandite All-Stars: Your leaders in Special Teams

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.

Kicking

Sand Springs has tried out three kickers at this spot but it seems like junior Kasey Bales is the one who stuck. Bales has kicked off 18 times this season, averaging 39.3 yards. He's had 1 touchback, 4 inside the 20, and 5 that were 50+. 

Senior Jacob Fortune has done the brunt of the kicking this season, but hasn't appeared in the last two games. He sits at 23 kicks for an average of 47.8. He's had 1 touchback, 8 inside the 20, and 14 that were 50+.

Cade Loomen hasn't been seen since week 4, but in that time kicked off 17 times for an average of 52.18 with 2 touchbacks, 2 inside the 20, and 14 that were 50+.

Punting

Bales is the primary Sandite punter this season, and has 23 punts for an average of 25 yards. His long is 57 against Bixby. He has 3 touchbacks, 4 in the 20, and 3 that were 50+

Fortune kicked one punt against Hale for 45 yards..

PATs and Field Goals

Bales leads the team in total PATS, connecting for 25 of 29. He's kicked the only two field goals of the season, one from 29 yards and one from 36 yards. He also nailed a season-best 38-yard goal against Booker T, but it was negated due to an illegal procedure. Sand Springs had only 10 men on the field. 

Loomen is a perfect 7-for-7 on PATs.

Kick Returns

Senior Trace Fleischman is the leader with 6 returns for 212 yards. He averages 35 and has longs of 57 against both Guthrie and Muskogee. 

Bales is close behind with 9 returns for 193 yards and a best of 31 against Bartlesville.

Punt Returns

Senior Parker Taylor leads on punt returns with 4 for 128 and a long of 62 against Hale for a touchdown. 

Sophomore Bryson Denton has 1 return against Hale for 40 yards and a touchdown. 

Bales has 1 return for 3 yards.

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#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.