Sand Springs Soccer Complex renamed in honor of late Roger S. Bush

With the completion of the Case Community Park remodel, the former Inez Kirk Soccer Complex received a face-lift, a few additions, and a new name to go with them.

While Inez Kirk was a beloved City Manager in Sand Springs, she had no direct ties to the soccer subculture of the town. Her name will now be attached to a more fitting monument in the City Garden Park across the street from the Sand Springs Municipal Building. 

The soccer facilities will be renamed as the Roger S. Bush Soccer Complex in honor of one of the founding members of the Sand Springs Soccer Club. Bush passed away in September of 2016 at the age of 69.

"This request by the Club was granted in memorial honor of one of the Board members that helped bring this club into existence," said SSSC President Jeremy Herrington.

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"Roger S. Bush's influence and legacy continues on today through his children: Roger P. Bush, West Side Alliance Director of Coaching and Head Women's Coach at Oral Roberts University; Catherine (Bush) Grona, SSSC/WSA Youth Development Director; Ryan Bush, WSA Assistant Director of Coaching and Head Men's Coach at Oral Roberts University; and Cherlyn (Bush) Cunningham. The Bush family's soccer legacy has now entered its third generation, and we felt it only fitting that this complex be named in his honor; a name that means something special to our Soccer Community and our Sand Springs Community."

The Soccer facilities received new fields and a paved parking lot as part of Case Community Park's $6 million renovation. Brand new state-of-the-art playgrounds have also been installed next to the Soccer Complex concession stand. 

The park has remained open throughout its remodel, but will celebrate the official re-opening with an all-day festival Saturday, September 9th. 

CPHS Football: Sandites fall 59-21 to defending Arkansas State Champions

Senior running back Payton Scott goes airborne in a run against Pulaski Academy. (Photo: Morgan Miller).

The Charles Page High School varsity football team (0-1) started off the season with a hefty, but unsurprising loss to the defending 5A State Champions from Arkansas. With three gold balls and only three losses in the past five years, Pulaski Academy steamrolled the Sandites with a 31-7 first quarter that was impossible to recover from.

Pulaski 59 CPHS 21.
1Q Pulaski 31-7.
2Q Pulaski 7-0.
3Q Pulaski 14-7.
4Q 7-7 All.

Passing: Pulaski 36-50-433-0, CPHS 3-14-11-1.
Rushing: CPHS 31-186, Pulaski 28-145.
Plays-Offense: Pulaski 78-578, CPHS 45-197.
First Downs: Pulaski 26, CPHS 6.
Penalties: Pulaski 5-35, CPHS 2-11.

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Last year the Sandites traveled to Pulaski’s home field in Little Rock, Arkansas and were dealt a 56-21 loss. They fared little better on their home turf. The teams played a nearly identical game to the previous year. Pulaski never punted, always going for the fourth-down attempt, and utilized onside kicks for most of the game until they had build a substantial lead. 

Pulaski scored on their first possession, driving 88 yards in nine plays to score on an 18-yard touchdown pass from senior quarterback Layne Hatcher to Brett Lynch. He sent another strike to Hudson Henry for an 8-0 lead. 

Sand Springs survived the first onside kick as Bryson Denton fielded the ball at the Sandite 49, giving the home team great field position for their first drive. Unfortunately, they weren't able to capitalize on it. After star senior running back Payton Scott was hit for a loss of two, junior quarterback Caden Pennington had his first pass of the night picked off by Brooks Walton. 

Just thirty seconds later, the Bruins had marched 48 yards in three plays as Hatcher took the ball to the house on a six-yard run. Lynch ran in the conversion and the visitors were up 16-0 just four minutes into the game.

The Sandites struck back on their next possession, entirely in the hands of Scott who carried seven times for 22 yards after Braden Millican recovered the onside kick at mid-field and returned it to the Bruins' 22. Senior lineman Zac Blake and sophomore Nicolas Hancock opened big holes in the Bruin defense to clear the way to the endzone. 

Pulaski was just as lethal on their next two drives. First they marched 74 yards in ten plays to score on a 36-yard pass to Lynch, capped by a two-point run from Isiah Woods. Then they recovered their own kick at the Sandite 23 and scored four plays later with a ten-yard strike to Tra Johnson. This time Hatcher settled for kicking his own PAT for a 31-7 first-quarter advantage.

Sand Springs finally got a turnover on downs early in the second quarter thanks to a pass break-up by Joel Mackey, but just a minute later they were punting the ball away after netting only three yards in as many plays.

Pulaski ate up five minutes on the clock as they traveled 87 yards thirteen plays. With a first-and-goal situation at the three-yard line, Luke Bratcher came up big with a three-yard sack, but two passes attempts later and Hatcher hit Henry for six yards and six points. Hatcher followed up with the kick for a 38-7 lead.

Both teams got one more try before going into halftime. 

Sand Springs got the ball to start the third quarter and came up shy once again. The Bruins took it 53 yards and sent it to the house on a 21-yard pass to Henry with another Hatcher PAT. By this point in last year's game, Arkansas rules initiated a running clock mercy-rule for the Sandites. In Oklahoma the Sandites wouldn't have that luxury.

Sand Springs picked up two first-downs on their next drive before mustering out at midfield. Pulaski returned the ball 43 yards with an eight-yard pass to John White and another PAT with 1:40 in the third for the 52-7 lead.

Pulaski celebrated their 45-point lead by sending in the second string, and Sand Springs responded with an 81-yard run by Ben Nortey. The Sandite defense was equally potent against the Bruin B-team, sacking Braden Bratcher on back-to-back plays for a turnover at the Bruin 27-yard line. On the first play of the new possession, Scott took it to the house thanks to a big block from Miron Krotzer to cut the score to 52-21.

Not liking the turn of events, Pulaski sent their starters back out and ran another successful drive, capped by an eight-yard run from Jayden Kelley and kick from Clay James for the final score of 59-21.

Both teams took another shot at the endzone, with Sand Springs coming up short at the 29 with a fumble and turnover on downs. Pulaski returned it to the Sand Springs 34 before the clock ran out.

Sophomore soccer standout Jaden Weiser was perfect in his kicking debut, sending all three point-after attempts straight through the uprights. Cameron Smith took up punting duties for the first time, averaging 40 yards on three kicks. 

Pennington completed three of fourteen passes for eleven yards, while Hatcher took to the air like a bird, completing 34 of 48 passes for 420 yards. Scott handled the brunt of the offense, carrying 23 times for 93 yards and two touchdowns, but Norte led overall with six carries for 97 yards and one touchdown. Jerry Lyons was the man of the night on defense with seven tackles, three for loss, and two sacks. 

Sand Springs will return to action with another home game next Friday against Choctaw (1-0), who trumped Sapulpa (0-2) 27-21 this week. Last year the Yellowjackets won a 45-41 shootout on their home turf against the Sandites, but Sand Springs went on to finish the season 7-5 with a playoff semifinals appearance, while Choctaw broke even at 5-5.

Sand Springs Individual Statistics

Passing: Pennington 3-14-11-1.
Rushing: Norte 6-97. Scott 23-92. Pennington 2-(-3).
Receiving: Millican 1-6. King 1-3. Bratcher 1-2.
Punting: Smith 3-120.
Kicking: Weiser 4-179.
Tackles: Cramer 8. Lyons 7. Edwards 6. Haley 5. Fleischman 4. Askew 4. Mackey 4. Fain 4. Bratcher 3. Tarver 3. Denton 2. Cartwright 2. Moyer 1. Mock 1. Finch 1. Britton 1. Evans 1. 
Tackles for loss: Lyons 3-13. Edwards 1-13. Fleischman 1-12. Fain 1-3.
Sacks: Lyons 2-12. Edwards 1-13. Fleischman 1-12. Bratcher 1-3.
Breakups: Cramer 2. Bratcher 1. Mackey 1. Haley 1. 
Kickoff Returns: Millican 1-28. Scott 1-20.

Pulaski Individual Statistics

Passing: Hatcher 34-48-420-0. Bratcher 2-2-13-0.
Rushing: Kolb 6-55. Kelley 5-36. Anderson 4-27. Johnson 1-20. L. Jones 1-12. Lynch 1-8. Bratcher 4-5. Wise 1-1. Hatcher 5-(-19). 
Receiving: Lynch 8-126. Johnson 8-88. Henry 6-72. Biagioni 3-53. White 6-53. Cumming 1-12. M. Jones 2-10. Cobb 1-10. Wise 1-9.
Kicking: Hatcher 9-266.
Kickoff Returns: White 3-37.

CPHS Softball: Lady Sandites sweep Highway 97 Rivalry series with 12-4 road win

The Charles Page High School Fast-Pitch Softball team (9-2) improved to 5-0 in district play Thursday evening with a resounding 12-4 win over Sapulpa (3-10, 2-5) on their arch-rivals' home field. The Sandites are tied with Broken Arrow as the only two undefeated teams in the district, and they are 2-0 against Sapulpa after defeating their foes 12-1 last week. 

Sand Springs didn't quite repeat their run-rule victory from the week before, but the game was never in any doubt after the visiting Sandites drilled four runs in the top of the first.

Three singles saw Elizabeth Luttrell score Kimi Presnell and Sabrina Usher, then Luttrell and Madelyn Blair came in on a single from Jensen Arnold. Luttrell tacked on a fifth run in the top of the third with a solo home run on the second pitch of the inning. 

The fourth inning brought further damage to the home team as Presnell received a walk, stole second and third, then scored on a hit from Makenna Skaggs. Blair also walked, Luttrell singled, and both scored on a single from Felicity Horn for the 8-0 advantage.

Sapulpa finally got on the scoreboard in the bottom of the fourth with one single and a pair of walks to load the bases. Jacie Taber (7-0 season, 20-7 career) struck out one, walked in one run, then sent a groundball to first to strand loaded bases. 

In the fifth inning Arnold hit a double and was relieved by courtesy runner Rachel Jones, who promptly scored on a single from Taber. Kinsey Skaggs relieved Taber and scored on a hit from Sabrina Usher to make it 10-1. Taber batted in another run in the sixth to score Cameron Clemons. 

Sapulpa notched their second run of the game in the bottom of the sixth by hitting three singles, the last of which brought in Ally Zanca. The Sandites got their final run from Makenna Skaggs who reached on one error and scored on another. 

The Chieftains tried to stage a comeback in the bottom of the seventh. Azelea Fogleman was hit by pitch and Kali Husman doubled. Both scored, but those would be the last runs of the game as Zanca flied out to left field and Sand Springs secured the win. 

The Lady Sandites will return to action next Thursday with a district road game against Stillwater (4-5, 2-2).

Lady Sandite Volleyball hammers No. 7 Coweta 3-0

The No. 15 ranked Charles Page High School varsity volleyball team (6-10) hosted 5A No. 7 Coweta (13-3) Thursday evening at the Ed Dubie Field House and dealt the Tigers their most devastating loss of the season in a 3-0 sweep.

CPHS 3 Coweta 0
Set One: 25-9 CPHS
Set Two: 25-17 CPHS
Set Three: 25-19 CPHS

Kills: CPHS 36, Coweta 23.
Blocks: CPHS 2, Coweta 0.
Aces: CPHS 6, Coweta 2.
Service Errors: CPHS 10, Coweta 5.

(CPHS Only) 
Kills: Mutiri 21, Cypert 5, Youngblood 5, Burris 4, Johnson 1.
Assists: Burris 25, Mong 2, Mutiri 1, Bradshaw 1.
Aces: Youngblood 3, Campfield 2, Madison Ward 1.
Solo Blocks: Mutiri 1.
Block Assists: Burris 1, Neely 1.
Digs: Taylor 3, Burris 2, Madison Ward 2, Mutiri 2, MaKenzie Ward 1, Campfield 1.
 

The first set was one of the fastest of the season as the Sandites used a massive ten-straight scoring streak to take an 18-2 advantage before letting the visitors back in the game. Were it not for a single service error, the streak would have been fifteen. The Tigers recorded only three kills in the 25-9 defeat, their second-worse loss, and the Sandites' biggest win of the season.

The second set was far more competitive, but still a handy victory for the home team. Sand Springs never ran away with it, scoring their longest streak at only three-straight, but they took the final lead at 5-4 and never looked back. Their biggest lead came with their final point, an ace from Madison Ward for the 25-17 victory.

By game three the Sandites were running the bench and every available player got to see action. The Sandites took the final lead at 4-3 and won four-straight capped by a kill from Makenna Cypert. Cloe Campfield scored an ace at 10-5, Raylynn Mong assisted Gloria Mutiri with a kill on her first rally of the game to make it 19-12, then Coweta staged a come-back attempt. 

The visitors scored five-straight points to cut it to 21-18 before Kailie Johnson scored a kill with an assist from Mong. Coweta Head Coach Tony Ramos demonstrated quality sportsmanship when the line judge ruled Johnson's hit as out of bounds. The visiting coach sacrificed his team's momentum to inform the referee that the hit was in bounds, awarding the point to Sand Springs. The Tigers notched one more kill and the home team closed out with an ace from Devree Youngblood to secure the victory.

Mutiri, who recently de-committed from Ohio State University, led the team per usual with her third-highest output of the season. The senior scored 21 kills and one block. Cypert and Youngblood each scored five kills, followed by Madison Burris with four and Johnson with one. Burris led the team with 25 assists. Youngblood notched three aces, followed by Campfield with two and Madison Ward with one.

The Lady Sandites will return to action Tuesday, September 5th with a home match against No. 8 Union (8-4). The Redskins previously defeated Sand Springs 3-1 in the third match of the season, and 3-0 at their home tournament. 

CPHS Softball: Taber strikes out 11 in 6-0 shut out of Jenks

The Charles Page High School varsity softball team (8-2 overall, 4-0 district) bounced back from a 6-4 loss to 2A No. 1 Dale (14-0) with a 6-0 shutout of Jenks (7-6) Tuesday afternoon at the Sandite Sports Complex, outhitting their foes 11-5 with eleven strikeouts from University of Northern Iowa-commit Jacie Taber (6-0 season, 19-7 career). 

The Lady Trojans put two on base in the first inning with a walk and a single, but stranded both after Taber struck out two. The Lady Sandites got on the scoreboard in the bottom of the inning as Sabrina Usher reached on a fielder's choice and scored on hit from Madelyn Blair. Elizabeth Luttrell brought home Blair with a single for the 2-0 advantage.

The girls had a big third inning with singles from Kimi Presnell, Makenna Skaggs, and Usher, the latter of whom scored Presnell. Skaggs and Usher both came in on a double from Blair, who was left stranded. 

The Sandites gave up a single in the top of the fourth, but Blair sent a ground ball to Presnell at second, who passed it to Luttrell at first for a double play. Taber struck out the third batter.

Jenks threatened in the sixth, loading the bases with a single and a pair of free bases, but Taber made up for the walks with three-straight strikeouts to save the inning. Felicity Horn scored on an error in the bottom of the inning for the final score of 6-0. 

On Friday the girls traveled to Stillwater for a festival. They took on the top-ranked undefeated team in class 2A and fell 6-4, bringing an end to their six-straight win streak, and had their second game rained out. 

Blair (2-2, 15-4) got the loss on the mound, giving up nine hits and three walks with two strikeouts against the defending 2A Fast-Pitch State Runners-Up and 4A Slow-Pitch State Champions.

Dale scored four runs in the top of the fourth with a grand slam from Skyle Thompson and added two more in the next inning. 

In the bottom of the sixth the Sandites staged a rally attempt with four straight singles. Taber scored Horn, Blair scored Skaggs and Taber, then Presnell doubled to bring in Usher. Madison Lee hit a double in the bottom of the seventh, but was left stranded on third as Dale secured the win.

The Lady Sandites will return to action Thursday on the road with a Highway 97 Rivalry district match-up against Sapulpa (3-9, 2-4) who they previously defeated 12-1 last week.

CPHS Volleyball: Mutiri scores 23 kills in 3-2 loss against No. 5 Bishop Kelley

BK 3 CPHS 2
Set One: 25-20 CPHS
Set Two: 25-22 CPHS
Set Three: 26-24 BK
Set Four: 25-19 BK
Set Five: 15-10 BK

Kills: BK 50, CPHS 42.
Blocks: CPHS 8, BK 4.
Aces: CPHS 9, BK 8.
Service Errors: CPHS 14, BK 13.

(CPHS only)
Kills: Mutiri 23, Youngblood 7, Burris 5, Cypert 3, Bradshaw 2, Campfield 1, Neely 1.
Assists: Burris 33, Bradshaw 2, Campfield 1. 
Aces: MaKenzie Ward 3, Youngblood 2, Campfield 2, Burris 1, Madison Ward 1. 
Solo Blocks: Mutiri 3, Neely 2.
Block Assists: Neely 2, Cypert 2, Youngblood 1, Mutiri 1.
Digs: Mutiri 3, Campfield 3, Wise 3, Taylor 3, Madison Ward 2, Youngblood 1. 

The No. 15 ranked Charles Page High School volleyball team (5-10) hosted Frontier Valley Conference foe 5A No. 5 Bishop Kelley (5-4) Tuesday evening at the Ed Dubie Field House. The Kelley Comets defeated Sand Springs 3-0 (15-25, 12-25, 20-25) two weeks prior at the Union Tournament. This time it looked like Sand Springs would get some payback, but after falling in a 2-0 deficit, the Comets surged back for the win.

Sophomore Devree Youngblood scored the first point of the match with an ace, then turned the ball over with a service error. The teams traded punches from there till the visitors took the first substantial lead at 7-3 after winning four straight rallies. The teams exchanged errors, then it was the Sandites' time to shine with five straight points to take the lead at 9-8. Youngblood scored twice, Gloria Mutiri and Kenzie Bradshaw scored once apiece, and Madison Burris got the assists for all four.

Not to be outdone, the Comets retaliated with six points in a row, then Sand Springs tied it up at 14-14 with kills from Youngblood and Chelsea Neely, plus a pair of aces from MaKenzie Ward. The close affair tied twice more before Sand Springs took the lead once and for all. The Comets threatened at 21-20, but the home team won the next four rallies for the win.

The second game started much like the first, but this time it was Sand Springs who jumped out to the early lead with six straight rallies to make it 9-3. Kelley scored five in a row to make it 12-9, but Sand Springs did the same for a 17-9 advantage. Cloe Campfield scored a kill and Neely added a solo block for the biggest lead of the game at 20-11.

The Comets began to close the gap late in the game, winning four in a row to cut the deficit to 24-22. After a brief timeout, the Sandites secured the win with a tipped ball from Burris.

The third set was the most competitive of the four. The score tied eleven times and the lead changed eight times before the Comets closed out with three-straight for the 26-24 win. Kelley took a 23-22 lead before Mutiri scored a kill to tie it and Youngblood aced for the lead. Neely looked to have clinched the set with a solo block before the call was reversed in favor of the visitors. Mariana Hightower and Parker Ross scored a pair of kills for the Comets' first set win.

Sand Springs played from the hole for most of the game four. They went on a six-point run for a brief 11-9 lead, but Kelley came right back with four of their own. Mutiri tied it at 13-13, but Kelley took the lead back once and for all with a kill from Hightower. The visitors went on a five-point run towards the end, Sand Springs won three of their own, then Kelley finished it up at 25-19 to tie the match.

The Comets jumped out to a quick lead in the final stanza with two kills from Ross, a kill from Katherine Barlow, and back to back aces from Sadie Baumann. Mutiri broke things up with a kill, but Kelley went right back to work with three more. After a brief timeout the Sandites scored three in a row with a kill and block from Mutiri and an ace from Burris, but they were unable to close the gap the rest of the way. Ultimately the visitors prevailed 15-10 to return to a winning record. 

The Lady Sandites will return to action Thursday with a home match against 5A No. 7 Coweta (13-2).