Sand Springs librarian Richard Why wins Ponca City Open

Courtesy photo.

Sand Springs librarian Richard Why took first place at the Ponca City Open Sunday with a two-round score of 106 in the top division.

Why shot a 52 in round one and a 54 in the second round to finish two strokes under par. Runner-Up Larry Gardner shot a 108. Just Robertson, of Sand Springs, placed seventh with a 115 total and second round score of 56.

Why placed second earlier this month at the Thirteenth Annual Northshore Invitational in Fayetteville, Arkansas. He shot nine under par with a two-round score of 101. He won the Second Annual Return of the Little Big Show in Neosho, Missouri last month with a two-round score of 92 for twenty under par.

Why is sponsored by FOSSA Disc Golf, WhyDry Chalk Bags, and Negative Disc Golf. He has won three tournaments this year and will be competing at the Thirteenth Annual Four States Open in Joplin this coming weekend.

CPHS Fishing: Hayden King and Collin Brady 10th in State Standings

The Oklahoma Bass Nation High School Fishing season kicked off Saturday on Lake Tenkiller. Two separate tournaments were held on Saturday and Sunday as the first two legs of a five tournament trail.

The OBN Trail is a privately organized series, not recognized by the Oklahoma Secondary Schools Activities Association. Teams are responsible for providing their own boat, equipment, and entry fees, and are coached by an adult boat captain. Sand Springs teams turn to local business for sponsorships and donations.

The event had a slot limit preventing the fishers from keeping anything under sixteen inches, and most teams had difficulty bagging more than a single legal catch on either day.

Noble High School’s Jaxon Windsor and Brycen Soliday won the Saturday tournament with four fish totaling 9.5 pounds. No team managed the five-fish limit, and only two teams caught more than two fish in the stingy waters.

Seth Kearns and Cole Scott were the leading Sandites, catching a 3.05-pound fish for sixteenth place. Kyle and Kale Hilligoss caught a 2.27-pounder for 33rd place. Nathan Tavaglione and Daniel Grisham caught a 2.17-pound bass for 38th place, as did Hayden King and Collin Brady. Austin Smith and Joe Nelson caught a 2.09-pound bass for 43rd, closely followed by Mack Taylor and Reese David with a 2.08-pound catch.

Broken Arrow’s Cody Hays and Joey Sabella won the Sunday event with five fish totaling 13.93 pounds. No other team caught more than three fish.

King and Brady had a much-improved second day, finishing in seventh place with three fish totaling 6.54 pounds. They were the only Sand Springs team to land a catch, however.

The next OBN event won’t be until March 30th when the Sandites travel to another back-to-back tournament event on Lake Eufala.

Stilwell’s Raycen Meyer and Jacob Armstrong are in first place on the trail standings with 185 points.

Sandite Trail Standings
10th - King/Brady - 157 points
37th - Kearns/Scott - 95
57th - Hilligoss - 78
63rd - Tavaglione/Grisham - 73
69th - Smith/Nelson - 68
70th - Taylor/David - 67
T75th - Williams/McCarty - 20
T75th - Pennington/Miller - 20
T75th - Haley/DuVall - 20th

CPHS Softball: Sandites hit 5 home runs at Collinsvillle, Luttrell hits grand slam

The Charles Page High School softball team (19-6) had one of their best offensive performances of the season Tuesday afternoon in Collinsville, thumping the Cardinals 16-2 with five home runs and a grand slam.

The Sandites batted .441 with sixteen hits against Collinsville (18-11). Jacie Taber went four-for-four at the plate, and Madelyn Blair was three-for-three with two home runs. Jenson Arnold and Kimi Presnell also hit home runs, and Elizabeth Luttrell hit the Sandites’ first grand slam since the 2015 season.

Blair kicked things off with a solo homer in the top of the second. Presnell hit a two-run home in the third to score Taber, then Blair went yard to score Makenna Skaggs and Sabrina Usher for a 6-0 lead.

The Cards scored two runs on two singles and two errors in the bottom of the third, but those would be their only points of the game.

Taber and Madison Lee scored on a throwing error in the top of the fourth and Skaggs hit a sacrifice bunt to bring in Presnell.

Jenson Arnold hit a solo homer in the fifth, then Raegan Rector, Cameron Clemons, and Lee loaded the bases. Taber brought in Rector with a single, but the Sandites stranded three to end the inning 11-2.

Arnold reached on an error in the sixth, then Blair and Clemons hit singles to load the bases. Taber singled in Rector, then Luttrell scored everybody else.

Blair (8-2, 27-7) got the win on the mound, throwing four hits, four strikeouts, and two walks in six innings.

Sand Springs Softball will return to action Thursday at 5:00 p.m. with a home game against Oologah-Talala (25-5).

CPHS Football Preview: Muskogee holds lopsided record against Sand Springs

The Class 6A-II No. 9 ranked Charles Page High School football team (1-3, 0-1) will host No. 7 Muskogee (3-1, 1-0) Friday evening at Memorial Stadium. Both teams have had lackluster starts to the season and need a strong statement to build momentum for the rest of their district schedule.

CPHS Memorial Stadium
600 North Adams Road
Sand Springs, OK 74063

Last Week

Sand Springs suffered a 23-20 overtime upset at No. 14 Shawnee (1-3, 1-0), winning every aspect of the game but the scoreboard. The Sandites had more yards passing, more yards rushing, less penalties, and more first downs.

What went wrong? A fumble at their own 26, resulting in a touchdown. A turnover on downs at the Shawnee 13. A missed extra point. The first half ended with Sand Springs in the Shawnee red zone. Caden Pennington’s first interception of the season ended regulation, also in the red zone. On fourth-and-goal from the six, Pennington had a wide open lane after a collapsed pass play, but slipped on the waterlogged turf in overtime. The weather also severely limited the passing game, but Joel Mackey had a career night with thirty carries for 251 yards.

Muskogee only mustered 167 yards in a 16-7 victory over No. 15 Ponca City (0-4, 0-1). Ty Williams was 0-6-0-2 passing and the entirety of their offense came on the ground.

This Season

Sand Springs made a big second half comeback against Mansfield Summit (2-2) in the season opener but fell 41-28 at home before starting a three-game road series. The Sandites won 45-24 at No. 16 Putnam City (0-4) and were rolled 49-13 by Greenwood, Arkansas (3-1).

Muskogee won their season opener 35-14 over McAlester (1-3), gave No. 3 Midwest City (3-1) a tough battle for their only loss, 16-14, then edged out No. 13 Putnam West (1-3) 34-29.

Average Sandite Box Score
Opponent 34 CPHS 27
First Downs: Opp 17, CPHS 18.
Fumbles/Lost: Opp 1/1, CPHS 1/1.
Penaltes: Opp 8-75, CPHS 7-50.
Passing: Opp 12-17-145-0, CPHS 10-17-133-0.
Rushing: Opp 37-217, CPHS 43-258.
Total Offense: Opp 54-362, CPHS 60-391.

The Programs

Sand Springs is coming off a 5-6 season, led by twelfth year Head Coach Dustin Kinard with a 61-63 record. They are riding an all-time program best streak of six-straight seasons with playoff berths. They have been in Class 6A-II since its inception in 2014. The Sandites hold one gold ball, winning the 2A State title in 1966.

Muskogee is coming off a 5-5 season, led by fifth-year Head Coach Rafe Watkins with a 23-22 record at Muskogee and a 170-70 career record. The Roughers are coming off back-to-back post season appearances and have been in Class 6A-II since its inception. They won the 5A State Championship in 1986 and Class A titles in 1950 and 1948.

The Series (Muskogee 21-6)

1953: Muskogee won 20-0.
1954: Muskogee won 40-12.
1955: Muskogee won 24-6.
1956: Muskogee won 7-0.
1957: Muskogee won 34-6.
1958: Muskogee won 12-0.
1959: Muskogee won 40-14.
1960: Muskogee won 14-5.
1961: Muskogee won 38-6.
1994: Muskogee won 20-14 in OT.
1995: Muskogee won 28-6.
2002: Muskogee won 38-12.
2003: Muskogee won 37-14.
2004: Muskogee won 27-6.
2005: Muskogee won 47-25.
2006: Muskogee won 57-21.
2007: Muskogee won 49-21.
2008: Muskogee won 39-37.
2009: Muskogee won 37-29.
2010: Muskogee won 44-14.

2011: Sand Springs beat Muskogee for the first time ever, 7-3 in the season-opener. Darrack Harger, currently the Sandite receivers coach, passed 12-16-74-0 and Richard DeHart led the ground game with nine carries for 38 yards. Raymond McLaurin scored the lone touchdown on a seven-yard run.

2012: Sand Springs won 40-28.
2013: Sand Springs won 39-14.

2014: Sand Springs (7-1) clinched a post-season berth with their only Rougher shutout, 13-0. Connor Sitton passed 10-14-111-1 and Lane Lettich ran 27-119.

2015: Sand Springs won 34-10.

2016: No. 4 Sand Springs (5-2) won a 26-25 upset over No. 1 Muskogee (6-1) with a wild two-point conversion that made the ESPN SportsCenter Top 10 Plays of the Day. Hunter Greathouse passed 16-32-221-1 with three touchdowns and Payton Scott ran 25-116 for one score. With six seconds to play, Greathouse caught his own deflected pass and pitched it to Josh Taber. Taber broke a tackle and took it to the house for the one-point win.

2017: No. 6 Muskogee (3-4) spoiled homecoming 40-34 over No. 7 Sand Springs (4-3). Caden Pennington passed 9-21-151-0 for three touchdowns and Payton Scott ran 34-199 for two scores. The Sandites had five takeaways: four fumbles and one interception.

High School 6A Football and Volleyball Rankings: 9/24/2018

Class 6A Volleyball Week 6 - OSSAA Rankings

1. Edmond Santa Fe (25-2)

2. Edmond Memorial (23-5)

3. Deer Creek (17-5)

4. Stillwater (16-6)

5. Norman North (19-8)

6. Edmond North (16-10)

7. Owasso (21-7)

8. Jenks (16-15)

9. Broken Arrow (17-11)

10. Yukon (15-6)

11. Mustang (19-7)

12. Shawnee (21-7)

13. Southmoore (11-16)

14. Bixby (14-12)

15. Choctaw (17-9)

16. Westmoore (7-15)

Class 6A-II Football Week 4 - Sandite Pride News Rankings

1. Booker T. Washington (2-2)

2. Bixby (3-1)

3. Midwest City (3-1)

4. Stillwater (4-0)

5. Lawton (2-2)

6. Del City (3-1)

7. Muskogee (3-1)

8. Choctaw (2-2)

9. Sand Springs (1-3)

10. Sapulpa (3-1)

11. Deer Creek (1-3)

12. Bartlesville (1-3)

13. Putnam West (1-3)

14. Shawnee (1-3)

15. Ponca City (0-4)

16. Putnam City (0-4)

CPHS Softball: Tigers clinch district title with 5-2 win over Sand Springs

Sand Springs lost a do-or-die game Thursday afternoon in Broken Arrow, falling 5-2 in the Tigers’ final district bout. After losing 5-2 the week before, the Sandites needed to win by at least three runs to have a shot at their first district title since 2015. Instead they’ll have to settle for second, which is still a solid feat.

Charles Page High School (17-6, 7-2) secured a home Regional Playoff, despite having one district game left. Even if they suffer a ten-run defeat Monday in Stillwater (16-6, 6-3), they will still have the number-two spot secure on district point-differential. They will find out their Regional opponents on Wednesday.

The Lady Sandites hold fifteen Regional titles and the current team has been to the State Tournament three years in a row. Four-straight would make the seniors only the fourth team in school history to go every year.

The Sandites struck first on Thursday with an RBI single from Jenson Arnold to score Kimi Presnell in the top of the first. The Tigers scattered four singles in the bottom of the inning, but converted only one into a run and stranded three.

Broken Arrow took a 3-1 lead in the bottom of the second thanks to an error and two hits, including an RBI triple from Grace Jarvis.

Presnell scored another run in the third, this time on an error, and would be the only Sandite to cross home plate.

McKayla Carney hit an RBI double in the fourth and Lexi Smith scored on an error in the sixth inning.

Madelyn Blair (7-2, 26-7) pitched all six innings for Sand Springs, throwing eight hits, two strikeouts, and two walks.

Sand Springs will finish district action Monday at 5:00 p.m. in Stillwater.