CPHS Football Preview: Bixby at Sand Springs, home playoff game on the line

Payton Scott (34) posts a block for 2016 quarterback Hunter Greathouse (5) in a Semifinal Playoff game against Bixby. Scott ran for 86 yards and a touchdown in the 35-21 loss while Greathouse passed for 125 yards and two touchdowns. (Photo: Morgan Miller). 

The No. 8 ranked Charles Page High School football team (5-4, 3-2) will host the three-time defending State Champions from No. 5 Bixby (5-4, 4-1) in their regular season finale Friday night at Memorial Stadium. Both teams have already clinched playoff appearances, but their seeding is very much undecided.

The Spartans and Sandites are second and fourth, respectively, in their district. With a loss, the Sandites will take on the District One Champions, likely No. 2 Midwest City (8-1, 6-0). With a win and a Ponca City upset of Muskogee, the Sandites will be the District Runners-Up and get to host a playoff game. If both Sand Springs and Muskogee win their games, it will come down to point differential and the Sandites will be guaranteed third place. If the Sandites beat Bixby by more than ten points, they can take second.

Both teams have the same record overall, but the Spartans have pulled off one more district win than the Sandites. Sand Springs went 2-2 in non-district play to the Spartans' 1-3, but the Spartans played a tougher schedule. 

Bixby defeated 6A-I Jenks (5-4) 35-18, but the Trojans weren't quite themselves at the time, starting the year 0-4 for the first time since 1968. Since then they have rattled off five-straight victories in dominant fashion. From there the Spartans fell 47-28 to Bentonville (7-2), 37-35 to No. 6 Putnam City (6-3) and 34-22 to 6A-I Westmoore (7-2). All competitive losses to quality programs. 

Sand Springs dropped their season opener 59-21 to Pulaski Academy (9-0), then gave up a 21-20 come-from-behind loss to No. 9 Choctaw (5-4) after leading for the entire game. They rebounded with a 28-14 win over No. 12 Putnam City West (1-8). The Sandites won a district bout with Sapulpa then won 26-21 over 6A-I Yukon (4-5).

Looking at mutual opponents:

• No. 14 Sapulpa (1-8, 1-5). Sand Springs beat their biggest rivals 31-16. Bixby pummeled the Chieftains 48-10. It's tough to compare scores in a rivalry game. 
• No. 15 Ponca City (1-8, 1-4). Sand Springs wrecked the Wildcats 41-7, but once again Bixby had the better performance with a 68-7 beat down.
• No. 7 Muskogee (4-4, 3-2). Bixby handily defeated the Roughers 38-23 while the Sandites fell 40-34. It's worth noting that the Sandites came back from a 30-13 deficit to a 34-30 lead before giving up a 96-yard kick return. Even then, they picked up a first down at the Muskogee thirteen-yard line before time ran out. 
• No. 1 Booker T. Washington (8-1, 5-0). Both teams were shut out by the top-ranked Hornets. Sand Springs fell 40-0, Bixby fell 21-0. 
• No. 13 Bartlesville (1-7, 1-4). The Spartans had one of their worst games of the season two weeks ago, only defeating the Bruins 37-21. The Sandites had their biggest win of the year last Friday and murdered Bartlesville 55-13. 

If both teams play their best performances of the season, the Spartans will likely be the victors. But in a year plagued by turnovers and poor execution, they could easily be upended by the Sandites who have played a relatively clean season. 

Bixby leads the series 15-12 and 8-2 in the last seven years. The Spartans won the first meeting in 1922 when Sand Springs High School was coached by A.R. Bateman. The Sandites won back-to-back from 1926-1927 and the teams didn't meet again until the 1980s when they split the series 3-3. The Sandites won the 1990s series 5-3, but the most recent saga has been rather one-sided on the part of the Spartan program. 

The Spartans are led by CPHS graduate Loren Montgomery, who was an All-State offensive lineman under Head Coach L.D. Bains. Montgomery joined Bixby in 2010 and has a coaching record of 56-34 in his eighth season. He is 8-2 against his Alma Mater and has led his team to three consecutive State Championships since the 6A split. Sandite coach Dustin Kinard is 60-58 in his eleventh year leading the program. This will be their sixth-straight year making the playoffs, which is a town record.

Bixby Average Box

Scored: 35
First Downs: 21
Fumbles/Lost: 2/1
Penalties: 7-58
Passing: 13-24-200-1
Rushing: 38-191
Plays-Offense: 62-391

Allowed: 24
First Downs: 18
Fumbles/Lost: 2/1
Penalties: 7-56
Passing: 17-29-237-1
Rushing: 30-117
Plays-Offense: 59-354

CPHS Average Box

Scored: 29
First Downs: 14
Fumbles/Lost: 1/1
Penalties: 3-28
Passing: 5-10-68-0
Rushing: 45-283
Plays-Offense: 55-350

Allowed: 26
First Downs: 16
Fumbles/Lost: 2/1
Penalties: 6-49
Passing: 15-25-184-1
Rushing: 35-188
Plays-Offense: 60-371

Sand Springs vs. Bixby History

2016: Bixby 35-21 (State Semifinals)
2016: Bixby 35-19 (A)
2015: Bixby 38-28 (State Championship)
2015: CPHS 20-0 (H)
2014: Bixby 41-14 (State Semifinals)
2014: Bixby 34-31 (A)
2013: Bixby 35-21 (A)
2012: CPHS 21-7 (H)
2011: Bixby 43-23 (A)
2010: Bixby 48-35 (H)

1999: Bixby 23-7 (H)
1998: CPHS 30-6
1997: CPHS 19-0
1996: CPHS 28-7
1995: Bixby 17-10
1994: CPHS 33-7
1993: CPHS 26-20
1992: Bixby 20-17 OT

1985: CPHS 14-3
1984: CPHS 5-3
1983: Bixby 21-4
1982: Bixby 28-7
1981: Bixby 14-12
1980: CPHS 10-7

1927: CPHS 20-6
1926: CPHS 30-12

1922: Bixby 19-14

Sand Springs Season Statistic Leaders

Passing

44-92-565-4 Pennington, 5TD
1-2-45-0 Foster, 1TD

Receiving

9-144 Scott, 1TD
8-129 McCallie, 1TD
11-88 Millican
2-61 Hawkins
2-47 Fleischman, 1TD

Rushing

285-2160 Scott, 28TD
26-239 Nortey, 2TD
59-58 Pennington, 1TD
13-31 Jones
5-27 Edwards

Point-After Kicks

30/34 Weiser

Field Goals

1/2 Weiser, Long 25

Punting-Avg

31-31 Smith
1-48 Pennington

Kicking-Avg

26-35 Weiser
19-40 Cox
1-51 Smith

Punt Return

Kick Return

9-172 Denton
3-91 Scott
5-62 Bratcher
4-38 Millican
1-14 Mackey

Tackles

79 Cramer
48 Fleischman
43 Edwards
36 Fain
30 Lyons

For Loss

10-31 Finch
9-26 Fain
7-35 Edwards
6-32 Lyons
5-23 Cramer

Sacks

4-30 Lyons
3-31 Edwards
3-15 Fain
3-11 Finch
1-12 Fleischman
1-12 Cramer

Interceptions

4-31 Askew
1-6 Cramer
1 Cartwright
1 Lyons

Breakups

5 Cramer
4 Bratcher
4 Mackey
3 Denton
2 Lyons

Fumble Recoveries

3-2 Edwards
2 Askew
1-24 Mackey
1 Bratcher
1 Cramer

Forced Fumbles

1 K. Adcock
1 Cartwright
1 Denton
1 Finch
1 Lyons
1 Mackey

CPHS Softball: Sandites finish season 23-8, Kimi Presnell bats .522

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The Charles Page High School varsity softball team saw their fall fast-pitch season come to a close this month with a 23-8 record and their third-straight Regional Championship, falling 4-1 to Choctaw in the State Semifinals.

After a game-two 4-3 loss to Claremore in a season-opening festival, the Lady Sandites rattled off six-straight wins before falling to the top-ranked team in Class 2A. They won another nine in a row, including a first place finish at the Bixby Tournament before hitting a rough patch at the University of Central Oklahoma Tournament where they went 2-3. They finished districts 8-2 for second place, then swept their Regional 3-0. 

In the State Tournament they held Choctaw (32-9) scoreless for three innings before the Yellowjackets jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the top of the fourth. University of Northern Iowa-commit Jacie Taber gave up a walk and four hits before bringing the inning to a close with a strikeout. 

Jensen Arnold singled in the bottom of the fourth and courtesy runner Kinsey Skaggs scored on a double from Felicity Horn, but that was the lone run of the game for the Lady Sandites. 

The girls benefit from playing the only sport with two seasons in the same year. They will get one more tour together when Slow Pitch begins this spring. Last year they finished 11-13 in slow pitch, ranked No. 17 in Class 6A. They will graduate only two seniors this May in Lauryn Jewell and Destinee Garrett, returning a highly-talented and heavily-experienced unit in 2018. 

Final Season Statistics

Batting Average

.522 Presnell (92 At-Bats)
.457 Usher (94)
.368 Taber (87)
.365 Blair (96)
.357 Luttrell (84)
.340 Arnold (53)
.325 M. Skaggs (83)
.316 Horn (76)
.271 Clemons (70)
.200 K. Skaggs (10)
.176 Lee (17)
.143 Jones (7)
.000 Bechtold (1)
.000 Hawkins (3)

Slugging Average

.761 Presnell
.596 Usher
.536 Luttrell
.471 Taber
.469 Blair
.434 Arnold
.434 Horn
.386 Clemons
.386 M. Skaggs
.235 Lee
.200 K. Skaggs
.143 Jones
.000 Bechtold
.000 Hawkins

On-Base Percentage

.532 Presnell
.460 Usher
.423 Horn
.409 Luttrell
.398 Blair
.385 Arnold
.385 Taber
.333 M. Skaggs
.326 Clemons
.304 Lee
.200 K. Skaggs
.143 Jones
.000 Bechtold
.000 Hawkins

Runs

32 Presnell
29 Usher
23 Horn
22 Luttrell
20 Clemons
18 M. Skaggs
16 K. Skaggs
14 Taber
12 Blair
11 Hawkins
8 Jones
1 Arnold
1 Lee

RBI

32 Taber
29 Luttrell
22 Blair
22 Horn
21 Usher
16 Presnell
15 M. Skaggs
13 Clemons
10 Arnold
2 Lee

Hits

48 Presnell
43 Usher
35 Blair
32 Taber
30 Luttrell
27 M. Skaggs
24 Horn
19 Clemons
18 Arnold
3 Lee
2 K. Skaggs
1 Jones

Singles

33 Usher
30 Presnell
25 Blair
25 Taber
21 Luttrell
21 M. Skaggs
17 Horn
13 Arnold
13 Clemons
2 Lee
2 K. Skaggs
1 Jones

Doubles

15 Presnell
10 Blair
8 Usher
6 Luttrell
6 Taber
5 Arnold
5 Clemons
5 Horn
4 M. Skaggs
1 Lee

Triples

2 Horn
2 Presnell
1 M. Skaggs
1 Usher

Home Runs

3 Luttrell
1 Clemons
1 Presnell
1 Taber
1 Usher

Strikeouts

1 Presnell
1 K. Skaggs
1 Taber
2 Blair
2 Jones
4 Lee
5 Arnold
5 Luttrell
8 Usher
8 Clemons
8 Horn
9 M. Skaggs

Base on Balls

20 Horn
10 Clemons
8 Presnell
8 M. Skaggs
7 Luttrell
6 Blair
5 Arnold
5 Taber
3 Lee
3 Usher

Hit By Pitch

2 Arnold
2 Presnell
1 Clemons
1 Lee
1 Luttrell
1 M. Skaggs

Sacrifices

16 M. Skaggs
11 Clemons
8 Horn
7 Presnell
5 Arnold
4 Taber
3 Usher
2 Lee
1 Blair
1 Luttrell

Stolen Bases-Caught Stealing

12-4 Presnell
10-0 Usher
3-0 Luttrell
3-0 Taber
3-1 M. Skaggs
1-0 Clemons
1-0 Hawkins
1-0 K. Skaggs
0-1 Horn

Errors

1 Arnold
1 K. Skaggs
1 Horn
1 Taff
1 Usher
2 Luttrell
2 Taber
3 M. Skaggs
4 Jones
5 Presnell
5 Lee
5 Blair
12 Clemons

Double Plays

11 Luttrell
9 Presnell
3 Blair
3 Taber
2 Clemons
2 Lee
1 M. Skaggs
1 Horn
1 Usher

Pitching Record

1-0 Jones
16-3 Taber
6-3 Blair
0-2 Taff

Earned Run Average

0.00 Jones
2.04 Taber
2.96 Blair
4.31 Taff

Walks+Hits/Innings Pitched

1.000 Jones
1.358 Taber
1.500 Blair
1.923 Taff

Saves

1 Taff

Innings Pitched

120 Taber
52 Blair
13 Taff
2 Jones

Batters Faced

531 Taber
234 Blair
69 Taff
9 Jones

Strikeouts

118 Taber
27 Blair
3 Taff
1 Jones

Base on Balls

1 Jones
7 Taff
13 Blair
52 Taber

Hit By Pitch

11 Blair
24 Taber

Strike Percentage

67% Blair
64% Taber
61% Taff
57% Jones

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.