Sandite of the Week Payton Scott surpasses 5,000 career rushing yards

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Charles Page High School senior running back Payton Scott set the all-time school rushing record Friday night with a 507-yard seven-touchdown performance against Bartlesville (1-7, 1-4), but the performance was just the latest rung on the never-ending ladder of his incredible career. 

Scott's week nine performance brought his season stats to 2,160 rushing yards and 28 touchdowns on 285 carries, and his career stats to 5,090 yards and 58 scores on 788 carries. That's not even including his receiving career which stands at 31 catches for 449 yards and three touchdowns. Tack on nine kick returns for 203 yards and the deceptively small athlete averages 6.93 yards every time he touches the ball.

Standing at a mere 5'5" 180 pounds, to the untrained eye he might not look like much of a threat. However, the 152-pound defending State Champion wrestler is 100% muscle and 100% motivation, combining for the strength of two men. Not just any two men, but two men straight out of the Olympics. 

Scott's abilities have only continued to improve as time goes on and this season alone he averages 7.58 yards per carry, a notable improvement over his already impressive 5.5 yards per carry last season. The always dependable athlete has accounted for 73% of the Sandites' total offensive yardage this year, handling 71% of the carries and 59% of the total plays. He holds the top-two single-game performances in town history.

One thing is for sure, the Sandites (5-4, 3-2) will need every inch of his abilities to defeat the three-time defending State Champions from Bixby (5-4, 4-1) this coming Friday. Kickoff is at 7:00 p.m. and pending the final week of district action, it could be the last time he and 24 other senior Sandites play under the Memorial Stadium lights. 

Click here to view previous Sandite of the Week recipients. 

Anyone with significant ties to Sand Springs is eligible for Sandite of the Week nomination. Past recipients have included City officials, athletes, actors, school officials, and more. 

Click here to nominate a Sandite. 

CPHS Basketball: Holly Kersgieter commits to University of Kansas Jayhawks

Holly Kersgieter enters the court prior to the 2016 Area Championship game. (Photo: Morgan Miller).

Charles Page High School junior basketball standout Holly Kersgieter has committed to play collegiate ball for the University of Kansas. 

Kersgieter was a starting player on the Lady Sandite Frontier Valley Conference Championship team that went 24-2 last season before being eliminated in the 6A State Semifinals. She was named the FVC Defensive Player of the Year and made the All-Conference Second Team.

Despite sharing the ball with three other Division One recruits, Kersgieter amassed 271 points on the season, or 10.42 per game. She was the second-highest scorer behind Oklahoma State University-bound softballer Sydney Pennington. She had the team-high in nine different games with a single-game best of 19 points. She was third in total rebounds, first in steals, second in blocks, and second in assists. She shot 81.25% at the charity stripe, 41.46% from outside the arc, and 50.29% on total field goals. 

The University of Kansas went 8-22 overall last season for last place in the Big 12 Conference. They are coached by Brandon Schneider who is 14-47 after three years heading the program. The Jayhawks play at Allen Fieldhouse in Lawrence, Kansas. 

Kersgieter received offers from:

• University of Texas at Arlington, Sun Belt Conference, 22-9 last season.
• Oklahoma State University, Big 12 Conference, 17-15 last season.
• Missouri State University, Missouri Valley Conference, 16-15 last season.
• Austin Peay State University, Ohio Valley Conference, 14-16 last season.
• Texas Tech University, Big 12 Conference, 14-17 last season.
• University of Missouri-Kansas City, Western Athletic Conference, 10-19 last season.
• University of Tulsa, American Athletic Conference, 10-21 last season.

Kersgieter also played volleyball last year and tallied 181 kills, 299 digs, and 35 aces over 104 sets, helping her team to a 24-14 record. She sat out the 2017 season to focus on basketball. 

Sandite Cross Country places 12th at State Championship

The Charles Page High School boys' Cross Country team made their way to Edmond for their first-ever State Championship appearance Saturday and took twelfth place ahead of teams like Union and Westmoore.

The Sandites were led by junior Aden Baughman in 41st place with a time of 17:05.27. Junior Jaelyn Jackson finished in 57th place in 17:19.47 immediately followed a half-second later by senior Ian Baustert in 17:19.97. Junior Jacob Smith placed 78th in 17:38.39, senior Landin Green placed 87th in 17:54.07, junior Nelson Yazzie placed 96th in 18:12.39, and junior Danny Murray placed 110th in 18:45.01. 

Individual Sandites have made the trip to State before, but never as a unit. Baughman made the trip last year and finished in 17:36.7 for 44th place. He also took 69th as a freshman in 17:53.5. 

Bartlesville won the title handily with a 36-point margin over Edmond Memorial. The Sandites finished with 271 points, 21 ahead of Union, and 207 behind the Champs. The Frontier Valley Conference was well represented with a fourth place finish from Owasso and an eleventh place finish by Jenks with 249 points.

Edmond Memorial senior Jed Helker took the individual title with a time of 15:46.91, more than seven seconds ahead of Bartlesville senior Nathan Lauritsen. The Bruins also had the third-place finisher in senior James Martinez. 112 boys competed. 

Last year's Runners-Up, Norman, won the girls' division with an eighteen-point margin over the defending Champions from Bartlesville. Senior Lady Bruin Rilee Rigdon won the individual title in 18:15.81 with a sixteen-second margin over Mustang's Emma Downing. Rigdon succeeds the Sandites' Cheyenne Walden, who won the title four-straight years before graduating this spring. 

CPHS Football: Payton Scott runs for school-record 507 yards in 55-13 victory over Bartlesville

CPHS senior running back Payton Scott set a school record with 507 rushing yards and 7 touchdowns in the 55-13 win over Bartlesville. (Photo: Morgan Miller).

The No. 8 ranked Charles Page High School football team (5-4, 3-2) needed just one more win to make the playoffs, and they found it with style in a 55-13 performance against No. 13 Bartlesville (1-7, 1-4). 5'5" senior running back Payton Scott had already set the school's single-game rushing record with 352 yards in a week-four bout with Sapulpa. He completely shattered his own record against Bartlesville with 47 carries for 507 yards and seven touchdowns. 

CPHS 55 BHS 13

1Q CPHS 14-0
2Q CPHS 21-13
3Q CPHS 20-0
4Q All 0-0

Passing: BHS 22-36-227-1, CPHS 1-1-11-0.
Rushing: CPHS 61-555, BHS 25-77.
Plays-Offense: CPHS 62-566, BHS 61-304.
First Downs: CPHS 21, BHS 14.
Penalties: CPHS 3-26, BHS 3-25.
Fumbles/Lost: CPHS 1/0, BHS 2/1.

The Sandites got off to a great start thanks to their powerful run game and a fumble recovery from Luke Bratcher. Both teams exchanged punts on their opening possessions, then the Sandites went to work. Scott carried eight times for 74 yards, aided by a facemask penalty, and scored the opening points on a five-yard run. Jaden Weiser kicked the point-after and the Sandites were up 7-0.

Bartlesville would have to wait another 53 seconds before bringing out their offense. Kaiden Cox’s kick was muffed by Will Walton and recovered by Bratcher for another Sandite possession. This time they needed only three plays to score. Ben Nortey took it eighteen yards for a first down and eight more yards for the touchdown, his second of the season.

The Bruins marched as far as the Sandite 40 before Gage Fain wrapped up Deandre Young at the line of scrimmage for a turnover on downs two plays into the second quarter. Scott came back to the field for three more plays and 55 yards, scoring on a 23-yard run for the 21-0 advantage.

Bartlesville made their way onto the scoreboard on their next possession with a 48-yard pass from Noah Sunday to John Cone, but the Sandites responded with yet another Scott-dominated drive, scoring on a 22-yard run thanks to a big block from Dash Fleischman.

Bartlesville looked threatening to start their next drive, kicking things off with a 22-yard pass to Young, but Kris Edwards and Jerry Lyons teamed up for a thirteen-yard sack to push them right back into their territory. Fain drilled Cone on a short screen and Joel Mackey broke up a deep ball to force a punt.

Once again the Sandites were insatiable as the two running backs traded off runs to combine for a 75-yard drive capped by a 32-yard touchdown carry from Scott through a hole created by Cameron Lierly and Nicolas Hancock. 

The Sandite Defense did their best to stave off the Bruins’ next possession but the visitors ate up the last 3:20 and scored an eleven-yard pass to Bradley Crawford as time expired. After a bad snap forced a two-point pass attempt, Bratcher picked it off in the endzone to end the half 35-13.

The second half didn’t start off any better for the Bruins, who threw an interception to Hyatt Cartwright on the third play of the opening drive. Scott made the most of it, driving 70 yards in eight plays for a five-yard touchdown run and 42-13 lead. 

Bartlesville was held to a quick three-and-out and Scott broke his previous record on an eight-yard run. Three carries later and he scored his sixth touchdown on a nine-yard carry. 

Another unsuccessful drive from the Bruins and Scott went right back to work with a 67-yard drive in five carries to end the third quarter with the final points of the game and 195 yards in that stanza alone. 

Even the Sandite JV was too much for the Bruins and time ran out with Bartlesville held at the Sandite sixteen yard line. 

The Sandites will next host No. 4 Bixby (5-4, 4-1) who was shut out 21-0 by No. 1 Booker T. Washington (8-1, 5-0), clinching the District Two Championship for the Hornets. The three-time defending State Champions will roll into Sand Springs Friday at 7:00 p.m. 

Sand Springs Individual Statistics

Passing: Pennington 1-1-11-0.
Receiving: Scott 1-11.
Rushing: Scott 47-507, 7TD. Nortey 5-53, 1TD. Jones 2-1. Wilkerson 1-0. Pennington 6-(-6). 
PAT: Weiser 7/8.
Punt-Avg: Smith 3-33. 
Kick-Avg: Cox 8-27. Weiser 1-30.
Kick Return: Denton 2-31. 
Tackles: Bratcher 7, Lyons 5, Fain 5, Haley 3, Cramer 3, Brown 3, Rutledge 2, Fleischman 2, Moyer 2, Wakefield 2, Edwards 2, Anderson 2, Denton 2, Courville 1, Mock 1, Wright 1, Mackey 1, Finch 1, Smith 1, Davis 1.
For Loss: Fain 3-11, Edwards 2-14, Lyons 1-13, Denton 1-2.
Sacks: Lyons 1-13, Edwards 1-13, Fain 1-8.
Interceptions: Cartwright 1. 
Breakups: Bratcher 2, Cramer 1, Denton 1, Mackey 1, Askew 1. 
Fumble Recoveries: Bratcher 1.

Bartlesville Individual Statistics

Passing: Sunday 22-36-227-1, 2TD.
Receiving: Cone 11-122, 1TD. Crawford 4-35, 1TD. Young 2-27. Jones 2-18. Gulledge 1-11. Clowdus 1-10. Mantooth 1-4. 
Rushing: Young 7-35, Clowdus 8-29, Brady 7-25, Sunday 3-(-12).
PAT: Hopkins 1/1.
Punt-Avg. Unknown#82 5-33. 
Kick-Avg: Unknown#82 1-52.
Kick Return: Clowdus 4-8, Cone 1-6, Walton 1-0.
Sacks: Gilette 1-7.

Sandite Fishing sees success at Grand Lake tournaments

Three Charles Page High School fishing teams spent the weekend at Grand Lake competing in back-to-back tournaments. 

On Saturday morning Reese David and Mack Taylor took 39th place in the Fishing League Worldwide (FLW) Oklahoma Open with a two-pound, three-ounce bass. Braden Millican and Ty Steelman weren't far behind in 45th place with a one-pound, fourteen-ounce catch. 

Sunday was the Quantum NextGen Open and the Taylor-David combo brought in four fish weighing 7.66 pounds for ninth place. MIllican and Steelman caught a pair of bass for 5.12 pounds and nineteenth place. Caden Pennington and John Miller caught a 1.49-pound fish for 48th place. 

The high school fishing teams do not receive funding from the school, are sponsored by private contribution, and coached by volunteer boat captains. 

Sandite of the Week Hayden Cramer leads Sandite defense in total tackles

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Charles Page High School junior Hayden Cramer was selected as our Sandite of the Week for his consistent outstanding performance on the Sandite defense this season. The 5'10" 200-pound linebacker has led his team in total tackles in seven of eight games this season and has 76 for the season.

In the first game of the season the Sandites were trounced 59-21 by nationally-ranked No. 45 Pulaski Academy (8-0). Cramer led the team with eight tackles and two pass breakups. 

In week two the Sandites were upset 21-20 No. 9 Choctaw (4-4). Cramer recorded eight tackles, one for a loss of three yards. He also had a six-yard interception return and one pass breakup.

In week three the Sandites notched their first win 28-14 over No. 12 Putnam City West (1-7), led by Cramer with eleven tackles. In week four they recorded a 31-16 rivalry win over No. 15 Sapulpa (1-7, 1-4) led by Cramer with nine tackles and one tackle for a loss of three yards. 

Week five was another double-digit effort from Cramer, who recorded ten tackles in a 26-21 victory at 6A-1 Yukon (4-4). In week six he recorded seven tackles, including a twelve-yard sack, in a 41-7 beatdown of No. 14 Ponca City (1-7, 1-4). 

Two weeks ago the Sandites fell off their winning streak in a 40-34 shootout against No. 6 Muskogee (3-4, 2-2) despite a season-best thirteen-tackle performance from Cramer that included one tackle for loss and a fumble recovery. Last week the Sandites were shut out 40-0 by No. 1 Booker T. Washington (7-1) and Cramer recorded ten tackles, one for loss, and one pass breakup. 

The Sandites are currently ranked No. 8 in Class 6A-II with a 4-4 record overall and a 2-2 district record. They are fourth in district standings with two games left. The three teams behind Sand Springs are Bartlesville (1-6, 1-3), Sapulpa, and Ponca.

Only No. 13 Bartlesville has the potential to knock Sand Springs out of the post-season, and they will get their chance this Friday at Memorial Stadium at 7:00 p.m. If the Sandites win against the Bruins they'll clinch a playoff game. If they lose to Bartlesville they'll have to upset No. 4 Bixby (5-3, 4-0) in the regular-season finale to secure their spot.