Jeffus brothers lead Sandite Soccer to first win of season 2-1 over Bixby

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

The Charles Page High School Boys' Soccer Team (1-1) notched their first win of the season Thursday night at Memorial Stadium, topping the Bixby Spartans (0-2) 2-1 in a non-district match.

Brothers Logan and Luke Jeffus scored the two goals for the Sandites and goalkeeper Edgar Soberano notched several impressive saves throughout the game.

SEE RELATED: Bixby Lady Spartans rout Sand Springs 5-0 at home

Logan Jeffus, a senior, notched the first goal of the game giving the Sandites their first lead of the season just three minutes into the match. The Spartans retaliated in the 26th minute on a twenty-yard boot by Miles Miller that shot just over Soberano's outstretched fingers into the very top of the net. Miller took another shot with five minutes left in the half, but it sailed wide left and the teams went into halftime all tied up.

The Spartans were extra hostile in the second half, pushing hard for the lead, but instead it was freshman Luke Jeffus with a header in the 52nd minute for the advantage. Spartan keeper Eli Trenary narrowly averted another Sandite goal in the 59th minute with a pair of impressive saves in a heated exchange deep in the box.

Gabe Jeffus, the third brother, never got the chance to score, playing as a defender. But the entire backline played solid defense throughout, leaving the Spartans with very few shots, none of which were uncontested.

Soberano was also hard at work in the final minutes as Bixby brought more pressure than they'd shown all game. But after several minutes in their own box, the Sandites finally broke free in the 77th minute and headed downfield where Logan Jeffus fired off another close shot that was just barely tipped out by Trenary.

The Sandites played a game of keep-away from there and ran the clock down for the 2-1 victory.

Sand Springs will take a week off for Spring Break before returning on the 23rd with a non-district home game against Muskogee (1-0).

Bixby Lady Spartans rout Sand Springs 5-0 at home

By: Virgil Noah, Staff Writer

It was a rough night for the Charles Page High School Ladies' Soccer Team (0-2) as they ran into a Bixby High School squad (3-0) who was very sound on both ends of the pitch. The Lady Spartans scored early and often throughout the course of the game en route to a 5-0 victory. 

SEE RELATED: Jeffus brothers lead Sandite Soccer to first win of season 2-1 over Bixby

Junior defender Caroline Carson got Bixby on the board in the 8th minute with a header that trickled off the fingers of Lady Sandite goalkeeper Abigail Banks. Senior forward Kyndal Zicker countered for the Sand Springs but her shot on goal went straight to Bixby goalkeeper Maddie Dees. Zicker's shot was one of just three on the night for Charles Page as Bixby's stifling defense frustrated the Lady Sandite attack for the duration of the match. 

Banks and the defense kept the visitors off the board for almost the remainder of the first half, with Banks making several impressive saves, but with just 0:32 left in the first half Lacy White found the back of the net to give her side a two goal lead heading into the locker room.  

The second half saw more of the same, with Taylor Pease and Mary Swain both scoring goals off of shots to the far post hitting iron and bouncing in. Kaitlyn Asher rounded out the scoring with a goal in the 62nd minute.  

The Lady Sandites will return to action on the 23rd after a Spring Break hiatus when they host the Muskogee Lady Roughers (1-0).

No. 3 CPHS Girls Basketball dominates No. 13 Mustang 42-24 in State Quarterfinals

Isabella Regalado is one of three starting sophomores who will be anchoring the Lady Sandites in the years to come. (Photo: Scott Emigh).

CPHS 42 MHS 24

1Q CPHS 12-4
2Q CPHS 11-4
3Q CPHS 8-7
4Q CPHS 11-9

Free Throws: CPHS 4-of-9. MHS 10-of-15.
Field Goals: CPHS 18-of-48. MHS 7-of-31.
Fouls: CPHS 10. MHS 9.

Scoring: (CPHS) Kersgieter 16, Pennington 9, Johnson 8, McGee 3, Regalado 3, Mutiri 3. (MHS) Niehues 8, Haywood 7, Foreman 4, Metzinger 3, Brown 2.

(CPHS only)
Offensive Rebounds: Kersgieter 4, Pennington 1, Mutiri 1.
Defensive Rebounds: Pennington 6, McGee 5, Kersgieter 3, Mutiri 3, Regalado 1.
Steals: Johnson 3, McGee 3, Kersgieter 2, Pennington 1, Regalado 1.
Blocks: Mutiri 2.
Assists: Pennington 1, Johnson 1, Kersgieter 1.
Fouls: Mutiri 4, Regalado 2, Pennington 2, Johnson 1, McGee 1.

The No. 3 ranked Charles Page High School Girls' Basketball team (24-1) took on No. 13 Mustang (17-11) in the first round of the OSSAA 6A State Championship Thursday afternoon at Memorial High School and rolled to their tenth-straight victory by a final score of 42-24. They will advance to the State Semi-Finals Friday morning at the Oral Roberts Mabee Center where they will meet with No. 4 Deer Creek (25-2) at 9:00 a.m.

The Sandites made their first two attempts from three point range and missed both, but they found their usual niche in transition as sophomore Holly Kersgieter snagged a steal on the Broncos' first possession and turned it into a layup. Fellow sophomore Destiney Johnson struck next for the Sandites, then Kersgieter sank a three for the 7-0 lead.

Next it was time for the upperclassmen to shine as Ohio State Volleyball-commit Gloria Mutiri sank one from the charity stripe and Oklahoma State Softball-signed senior Sydney Pennington scored on a steal for the double digit lead. Johnson got back in the action with another steal and layup for the 12-0 lead and the Broncos used their second timeout.

Mustang finally got on the board with a steal and layup from Mia Brown, then Ellise Foreman added another basket to cut the lead to 12-4 shortly before the buzzer. The Broncos tried to go to work in the second period and scored four straight after an opening basket from McGee, but after a brief timeout, Sand Springs went right back to furthering their lead. Kersgieter scored four, Pennington added three, and Mutiri had two in the final minutes to take a 23-8 advantage into the locker room.

Mustang opened the second half with a pair of free throws from Abby Niehues but Sand Springs retaliated as Pennington hauled in a defensive rebound and sent it down court to Kersgieter for two. Sophomore Bella Regalado struck from three point range to put three sophomores in the scorebook. By the end of the third the Sandites had pushed their lead to 31-15.

Kersgieter, McGee, and Pennington went on a five point run to open the fourth, then the Broncos did the same to negate the damage. But Sand Springs wouldn't be stymied and Pennington and Johnson hit back to back layups for the 40-20 lead with 4:30 left to play. The offense fizzled out from there and the Sandites held on for a 42-24 victory.

Kersgieter led all scorers with 16 points as the only player in the game with double digits. Pennington posted nine and Johnson had eight. Neihuis led the Broncos with eight points.

The Lady Sandites' Friday morning opponent won their quarterfinal 49-42 over No. 6 Booker T. Washington (22-6), who the Sandites defeated 56-44 in the Area Championship. 

Sandite Baseball drops 5-1 district road game at Enid

Treyce Tolbert scored the lone RBI in a 5-1 loss to Enid Tuesday night. (Photo: Scott Emigh).

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

The Charles Page High School varsity baseball team (1-3 overall, 0-2 district) is off to a rocky start in the 2017 season, dropping their third-straight game Tuesday night at Enid High School (2-2, 2-2).

Following a Monday night 4-0 loss at home to the Plainsmen, Sand Springs traveled to Enid's home field for 5-1 district defeat that saw only one Sandite reach base before the seventh inning.

The Plainsmen jumped on the Sandites fast and early, retiring the side in order, then scoring three runs in the first inning. Ambrien Votiek drew a walk and advanced to second on a sacrifice by Mason Skrimager. Connor Gore sent Votiek to third with a groundball single, then Kros Bay brought him home with an RBI single to center field. Brett Russel was hit by pitch to load the bases, then both Gore and Bay scored on a single from Colby Jarnagin.

Treyce Tolbert got on base for the Sandites in the top of the second with an error by the shortstop, but was left stranded after Skrimager struck out Hunter Greathouse, Braden Cook, and Cale Savage.

Skrimager reached first on an error in the bottom of the third, then stole second before being caught going for third by catcher Kameron Adcock.

CJ Arndt added a fourth run for the Plainsmen in the fourth inning, reaching on a double and scoring on a single from Braden Pierce. Votiek walked in the fifth inning, stole second and third, then scored on a wild pitch for the fifth and final run.

Skrimager continued his impressive pitching in the top of the sixth, striking out the side in order, then the Plainsmen landed another hit on a groundball single from Russel. Arndt grounded into a double play from Greathouse at third to Ty Steelman at second, then to Savage at first to end the inning and give the Sandites one last shot.

Cal Watkins flied out into foul territory. Josh Taber sent a line drive into left field for a single, then took second on a wild pitch. Greathouse grounded out, but Taber took third on the throw, then scored on a single from Tolbert. It would be the lone run of the game for the Sandites as Cook grounded out to short on the next play.

Braden Askew (0-1) got the start and the loss on the mound with six hits, five runs, two strikeouts, and three walks. Mack Thompson relieved him in the final inning and gave up one hit.

Sand Springs will return to action this weekend at the Best of the West tournament in Phoenix, Arizona. They will play out-of-state teams Chaparral High School, Sunnyslope High School, Liberty High School, and Sunrise Mountain High School over the course of the Spring Break tournament.

Greathouse pitches ten strikeouts in loss to Enid Plainsmen

Senior shortstop Mack Thompson is the only Sandite to land a base hit in all three games this season. (Photo: Scott Emigh).

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

The Charles Page High School varsity baseball team (1-2 overall, 0-1 district) hosted the Enid Plainsmen (1-2, 1-0) in their district debut Monday evening, but stranded ten runners for their second-straight shutout loss.

Cowley County Community College-signed senior Hunter Greathouse (1-1) got the start and the loss on the mound, despite an excellent performance with ten strikeouts and only four hits with two walks. 

The Plainsmen were first to reach base with a single from Ambren Votiek, but Greathouse struck out two of the next three batters and caught a pop fly from the third to retire the side.

Mack Thompson was first to the plate for the home team and reached first on a ground ball to left field. He stole second and was joined by Treyce Tolbert who reached on error. Both runners tried for a steal with Greathouse at bat. Thompson was successful, but Tolbert was caught at second and Greathouse grounded out to strand Thompson.

The visitors made their way onto the scoreboard in the top of the second as Colby Jarnagin singled, stole second, then scored on an error at the plate. 

The Sandites loaded the bases in the bottom of the fourth and were in good position to at least tie the game after Greathouse singled, Ian Baker walked, and Braden Cook was hit by pitch with only one out on the board. Unfortunately, Braden Askew grounded to short for a double play.

The Plainsmen tacked on another pair of runs in the top of the fifth as CJ Arndt walked, made his way to third on an error by Ty Steelman, then came home on a bunt single by Votiek. Votiek came home on a throw after Mason Skrimager singled to right field.

Thompson sent a fly ball to left field in the bottom of the fifth for his second hit of the game, then took second on a sacrifice by Cal Watkins, but was caught trying to take third on an error. 

Brock Youngblood (0-1) relieved Greathouse on the mound to start the sixth and gave up a double to Gore and a single to Kros Bay. Brett Russel sacrificed to bring in Gore for the 4-0 lead and the final run of the game.

The Sandites had a few more opportunities to score as Josh Taber reached on an error in the sixth and Cook walked, but both were stranded. The seventh inning was a rehash of the sixth with Kyler Copeland walking and Tolbert reaching on an error, but once more they were unable to score and the Plainsmen took home their first win of the season. 

Braden Pierce received the win and Colton Troxell was credited with a save.

The two teams will return to action Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. in a rematch on the Plainsmen's home field.

Sandite Soccer falls 3-2 to Bartlesville in thriller shootout

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

The Charles Page High School Boys' Soccer team (0-1) may not have won their season opener against Bartlesville (1-0), but they gave the Bruins a run for their money.

Sand Springs is coming off a 3-12 season, compared to the Bruins' 10-5 performance last year, but the Sandites played with purpose to force overtime before falling in PKs.

The visiting team wasted no time in getting on the scoreboard with a goal from sophomore Brice Terronez less than two minutes into the game. With fourteen minutes left in the first half, Reese Hammon fired a pass to Quinton Palmer who hit paydirt for the 2-0 lead.

The second half belonged to the Sandites, who got on the scoreboard four minutes in with a goal from Alex Hernandez. Logan Jeffus added another point seven minutes later, and senior keeper Edgar Soberano pulled off a pair of impressive saves in the final minute to send the match to overtime PKs.

Freshman Luke Jeffus struck first in the shootout, giving the Sandites their first lead of the game. The Bruins missed their first shot, but the Sandites missed their second and Gabriel Ontiveros tied it up. Both teams made their third shots: Ignacio Garcia for the Sandites and Spencer White for the Bruins. Both teams also made their fourth shots: Gracen Taylor for Sand Springs, and Austin Stitt for Bartlesville. In the fifth round the Sandite missed his mark and Terronez recorded a brace for the Bruin victory.

In OSSAA play, the winner of the shootout adds one point to the regulation score, bringing the final total to 3-2.

The Sandites will return to action Friday with another non-district home game at 8:00 p.m., this time against Bixby (0-1). The Lady Sandite (0-1) match will precede the boys' at 6:00 p.m. Last year the Spartans topped the Sandites 2-0.