CPHS Football: Sandites fall 41-28 in Border Brawl, Pennington throws career high against Mansfield Summit

Class 6A-II No. 8 ranked Charles Page High School (0-1) hosted Mansfield Summit Friday night at Memorial Stadium, kicking off the 2018 season with a Border Brawl match-up. The visiting Jaguars won the bout 41-28, but Sand Springs ended on a high note with a two-touchdown comeback. 

Several Frontier Valley Conference teams hosted Mansfield high schools Friday night, and the Tulsa-Metro programs will travel to Texas next year. Bixby (1-1) defeated Mansfield Timberview 36-33. Union (1-1) defeated Mansfield Lake Ridge 36-30. Broken Arrow (2-0) defeated Mansfield High 28-6, and Jenks (2-0) defeated Mansfield Legacy 35-14. 

Texas State-committed quarterback Brysen McKinney led the Jaguars to an 8-5 record with 2,600 yards and 31 touchdowns last season. He didn't disappoint in his performance against the Sandites, throwing 13 of 22 for 243 yards and three touchdowns. 

Senior Caden Pennington was equally impressive for Sand Springs with a career-best 14 of 20 for 196 yards and two touchdowns. His previous best was 9 of 21 for 151 yards and three touchdowns last season against Muskogee. 

Sand Springs went 5-6 in 2017 with most of their offense coming in the hands of University of Central Oklahoma freshman Payton Scott, who set the all-time Class 6A single season and single game rushing records. 

Senior Track and Field star Joel Mackey made a solid replacement with fifteen carries for 97 yards and two touchdowns. His two receptions for 38 yards put him in the triple digits and he was also remarkable on kick returns. 

Mackey gave the Sandites a good start with a 37-yard kickoff return, but the first possession was turned over on downs and the Jaguars made the most of it.  The visitors marched 56 yards in five plays, scoring on a 35-yard touchdown pass from McKinney to Jaelon Travis, but Austin Meza missed the extra point.

Sand Springs's second and third drives also failed to convert. Tristian Amerson scored on a one-yard run and McKinney scored from four yards out. Meza made both of those kicks and the Jaguars were up 20-0 after one quarter.

The visitors continued to push their advantage with a six-play 72-yard march, scoring on a 23-yard pass from McKinney to Brendan Sirls. Sand Springs finally had an answer, however, and prevented the first-half shutout with a 27-yard run from Mackey.

Mansfield took nearly six minutes on their next drive, draining the clock to fifteen seconds before scoring on a fifteen-yard keeper to ride a 34-7 lead into the locker room.

The second half belonged wholly to Sand Springs. 

A huge fourth and two defensive stand gave the Sandites a turnover at their own 24, and they put together a fourteen-play march to the goal line. Mackey was piled into the endzone and Jaden Weiser hit his mark with the extra point.

McKinney responded just two minutes later on a 47-yard pass to Hal Presley just after the start of the fourth quarter. And two minutes later it was Pennington with a 24-yard pass to Jacob Snodgrass.

Freshman Brooks Dudley picked off the first interception of the season on the opening play of Mansfield's next drive, and the Sandites broke out a trick play on their next sequence. Junior backup QB Braden Foster took a lateral from Pennington and found sophomore Daren Hawkins for 41 yards, setting up a first and goal at the Jaguar seven-yard line. Pennington punched it in to Snodgrass from six yards out for the final points of the game.

Sand Springs nearly had another redzone penetration with 3:15 to play, but a fourth-and-eleven pass from Pennington to Hawkins came up just a foot short of the visitors' 25, and the Jaguars drained the clock.

The Sandites will return to action Thursday at 7:00 p.m. at Putnam City (0-1), the first leg of a three-week streak of road games. Mansfield will host Lake Travis (1-0), the Texas 6A State Runners-Up currently ranked No. 9 on the MaxPreps Xcellent 25 National Rankings. 

Head Coach Dustin Kinard is 60-61 in his twelfth year at the helm and has led the Sandites to an all-time town record with six-straight years of playoff berths.

High School 6A Football and Volleyball Rankings: 8/27/2018

Class 6A Volleyball Week 2 - OSSAA Rankings

1. Edmond Santa Fe (10-2)
2. Edmond Memorial (11-1)
3. Norman North (14-3)
4. Deer Creek (9-2)
5. Edmond North (10-5)
6. Stillwater (5-5)
7. Jenks (8-6)
8. Mustang (12-3)
9. Broken Arrow (6-6)
10. Yukon (7-3)
11. Shawnee (8-4)
12. Owasso (6-2)
13. Southmoore (4-7)
14. Westmoore (6-5)
15. Bixby (5-5)
16. Muskogee (10-6)
17. Choctaw (9-7)
18. Putnam City North (9-3)
19. Union (6-8)
20. Norman (3-8)

Class 6A-II Football Week 1 - Sandite Pride News Rankings

1. Booker T. Washington (0-1)
2. Midwest City (1-0)
3. Bixby (0-1)
4. Lawton (0-1)
5. Stillwater (0-0)
6. Putnam City (0-1)
7. Muskogee (0-0)
8. Sand Springs (0-0)
9. Choctaw (1-0)
10. Deer Creek (0-1)
11. Del City (0-0)
12. Shawnee (0-1)
13. Putnam West (0-0)
14. Bartlesville (0-0)
15. Sapulpa (0-0)
16. Ponca City (0-0)

CPHS Cross Country: Sandites place sixth at Owasso Relays

The Charles Page High School Varsity Cross Country program competed at the Owasso Ram Charge Relays Thursday afternoon at Mohawk Park in Tulsa. The athletes took part in a six-mile run with each team member running 1.5 miles apiece. 

The varsity boys had the best showing with a sixth-place finish in 34:54.3, just 2:02 behind the champions from Jenks. The host school was the most stacked from top to bottom, placing second with their A-team and fourth with the B-team. 

The Sand Springs B-team placed 26th in 39:16.6 and the C-team placed 45th in 44:00.8. 

The Varsity Lady Sandites placed nineteenth in 47:28.4. Jenks also won the girls' competition in 40:04.6 followed by Owasso in 40:14.9. The Lady Sandite B-Team placed 29th in 51:12.6.

Sand Springs Cross Country will return to action Saturday, September 1st at the Westside Sports Complex in Sapulpa. There will be both one and two-mile runs for girls and the boys will run two miles. 

CPHS Softball: Madelyn Blair pitches 10-0 shutout of Sapulpa

Sand Springs - The Charles Page High School varsity softball team (10-4, 2-0) notched their fourth shutout of the season Thursday evening with a 10-0 rivalry beatdown of Sapulpa (2-14, 2-5) to remain undefeated in district action. 

Their second meeting of the season went much like the first, which Sand Springs won 11-0. The Sandites outhit the Chieftains ten to four and benefited from a handful of Sapulpa errors. University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma-committed senior Madelyn Blair (5-1, 24-6) got the win on the mound with three strikeouts and one walk.

Half of Sapulpa's hits came in the top of the first; a single from Jessica Hobbs and a double from Morgan DeGraffenreid. Blair had a hand in all three outs, sending two ground balls to first and catching a line drive. Makenna Skaggs scored the first run of the game on a double from Sabrina Usher in the bottom of the inning.

Felicity Horn scored on an error in the second and Kimi Presnell doubled to bring in Reagan Rector. Usher reached and scored on a pair of errors in the third. Presnell singled in the fifth to score Cameron Clemons and Rector scored on a passed ball.

Taber scored on a passed ball in the fifth, Skaggs scored Presnell and Elizabeth Luttrell on a single in the sixth, and Taber singled in Skaggs for the run rule victory.

Sand Springs Softball will take a week off before traveling to district road game in Stillwater (11-3, 1-2) next Thursday at 5:00 p.m.

OSSAA District 6A-4 Standings
4-0 Broken Arrow (13-3)
2-0 Sand Springs (10-4)
2-2 Ponca City (15-6)
2-4 Sapulpa (2-13)
1-2 Stillwater (11-3)
0-2 Putnam City North (4-15)

Jacie Taber commits to Missouri State University for softball

View fullsize

This story was originally written for Vype.

Charles Page High School senior standout Jacie Taber is headed to Missouri State next summer, and hopefully to the 6A State Tournament this fall. 

Previously committed to the University of Northern Iowa, Taber decided to stay close to home and recently announced her decision to attend Missouri State University instead. 

“From the moment I went on my visit to Missouri State I fell in love with it,” says Taber. “The coaches are amazing. I knew that if I went there I would 100% succeed. Not only as a softball player but in the classroom, they do all they can to make school the biggest priority.”

Missouri State is coming off a 32-20 season with a 17-8 second place finish in the Missouri Valley Conference standings. The Bears are coached by Holly Hesse in her thirtieth season at the helm with a 749-747-2 record, five MVC regular season titles, five MVC tournament titles, and five NCAA Tournament appearances. 

“It’s such a family environment and there’s so much love shown between the coaches and the players. The emphasis they continue to put on your future and succeeding in life is so helpful. Going on my visit there felt like home and I realized that is where I want to be.”

Before she heads to Springfield, she has unfinished business in Oklahoma City. The Lady Sandites have won three-straight Regional Championships, making it to the quarterfinals the last two seasons and the finals in 2015. 

Taber finished the 2017 season with a .368 batting average, .471 slugging average, and .385 slugging average, and led her team with 32 RBI. On the mound she amassed a 2.04 ERA and 1.35 WHIP, throwing 64% strikes for a 16-3 record. She is currently .476 after 21 at-bats this season and holds a career pitching record of 30-10.

In addition to Northern Iowa and Missouri State, Taber also received offers from the University of Missouri at Kansas City, Butler Community College, Oklahoma Christian University, and the University of Southern Arkansas. 

Taber has interests in psychology and social work, but hasn’t yet decided on a major. For now, her main focus is finishing high school strong, both academically and on the diamond. 

CPHS Softball: Jenks doubles Sand Springs 10-5 thanks to Sandite errors

Jenks - After a successful weekend at the Stillwater Festival, the Charles Page High School varsity softball team saw a four game win streak come to an end at the hands of Jenks High School (11-5). Four errors and nine unearned runs handed the Trojans the non-district victory. 

Sand Springs (9-4) was first on the board as Rogers State University-commit Kimi Presnell reached on a single and scored on a ground ball from Jensen Arnold in the top of the first. They gave up that advantage immediately, allowing three runs on two errors in the bottom of the inning. 

Makenna Skaggs and Sabrina Usher hit back-to-back doubles in the third, the latter scoring the former, and Usher came home on a ground ball from Jacie Taber to tie it up. Jenks hit four singles for a pair of runs in the fourth and Dacia Sexton hit a grand slam in the fifth.

Usher scored Presnell on a single in the seventh and Taber brought in Skaggs, but a pop fly to second brought the game to an end. 

Aliyah Taff (2-2, 2-4) pitched the first five innings, tossing twelve hits and one walk. Mackenzie Bechtold (1-0) threw no hits, two strikeouts, and one walk in the sixth inning.

Sand Springs Softball will return to action Thursday at 5:30 p.m. with a district home game against their Highway 97 rivals from Sapulpa (2-13, 2-4). The Sandites are 1-0 in district action.