The Class 6A-II No. 8 ranked Charles Page High School varsity football team (5-4, 3-3) snapped a three-game district losing streak with a big 21-14 Senior Night win over No. 11 Bartlesville (3-6, 2-4) Friday at Memorial Stadium, securing their position at No. 4 in the district.
The game was a battle of dual threat quarterbacks, and both signal callers led their teams in rushing yardage. Bruin senior Paxton Bradford was 9-of-25 for 201 yards passing with one touchdown and one interception, and also had a team-high 60 yards on six carries.
6’3” junior Ty Pennington, the second-year Sandite starter, had a career night with 22 carries for 142 yards and two scores. It was his first time passing the century mark on the ground. He also aired it out with 12 completions on 20 attempts for 180 yards to four different receivers. The game pushed him over the 3,000 career passing mark.
The Bruins scored on their opening possession, marching 65 yards on seven plays, capped by a six-yard touchdown run from Braeden Winters. Dylan McCoy kicked the PAT and the visitors had an early lead.
A Sandite block in the back on the kick return, followed by a pair of false starts, pinned the home team in with a series of plays from the one-yard line, and ultimately gave the visitors great field position at the Sandite 41 on their next drive.
Bartlesville wouldn’t capitalize on it, however, as Landon Hendricks made his sixth fumble recovery of the year on a third-and-one play at the 16-yard line. That turnover set up a six-play 81-yard march that saw Pennington completions of 14, 41, and seven yards before running it in from the four. Zach Heinen’s PAT tied it up, and the Sandites never trailed again.
Pennington ultimately completed six straight passes over two drives, and made run plays of 19, 21, and a 15-yard scamper for the go-ahead score. Bartlesville tried a fourth down pass attempt as the half entered its final minute, but Bryson Chase snagged his first pick of the year.
Both teams had touchdowns called back for holding in the second quarter. Bradford found Caden Davis for a 97-yard would-be score with 5:54 left in the half. Then Sisco made a wild catch after juggling it several times, and made his way downfield for a wish-it-were 62-yarder with two minutes to play. Both drives ultimately ended in punts.
Blake Jones padded the Sandites’ lead with a six-yard run up the middle on the opening drive of the second half. The junior running back ended the evening with eight touches for 43 yards.
Bartlesville threatened with a 13-play 59-yard march that ended at the 1-yard line. Winters converted a fourth-down run earlier in the drive, but his next fourth-down attempt was stopped short in a goal-line stand to end the third quarter 21-7.
The Bruins found themselves fourth-and-goal once again in the fourth quarter, and this time they were successful with a seven-yard pass from Bradford to McCoy. McCoy’s kick would be the final point of the game.
Sand Springs ate up the final 5:41, picking up four first downs, all on the ground, before assuming victory formation at the Bruin 30.
Even with his near-97-yarder called back, Davis still managed to lead all receivers with four catches for 123 yards. Jacob Blevins was the top Sandite with three catches for 87 yards, and Keaton Campbell had seven catches for 77 yards. Sophomore Brody Rutledge made a 14-yard first-down catch on his first-ever varsity target.
Up next for the Sandites is a district road trip to Warr Acres on Friday against No. 16 Putnam City West (0-7, 0-4). Bartlesville will travel to No. 5 Choctaw (6-3, 5-1) Friday at 7:00 p.m.
CPHS 21 Bartlesville 14
First Downs: CPHS 19, Bartlesville 16.
Fumbles/Lost: CPHS 0/0, Bartlesville 3/1.
Penalties: CPHS 14-84, Bartlesville 9-68.
C-A-Y-I: CPHS 12-20-180-0, Bartlesville 9-25-201-1.
Rushing: CPHS 33-185, Bartlesville 34-115.
Offense: CPHS 53-365, Bartlesville 59-316.
