Sandites are now on their longest playoff streak ever

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By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

The Sand Springs varsity football team has had some great years, but they've always been fairly spaced out. 

The program started in 1919 under head coach Ivan Grover and went 6-2-1 in its first year. It's now in its 97th year and since then it's seen the playoffs 17 years and amassed a 13-20 post-season record and won its lone State Championship in 1966.

Since 2000, Sand Springs has seen the playoffs four years and won its first playoff game since 1997 last year at Midwest City.

A 5-2 district record this year has clinched Sand Springs a playoff berth for the fourth consecutive year, the fifth year since head coach Dustin Kinard took over the program in 2007. 

The program has seen a lot of improvements during Kinard's tenure. His first year on the job was also the first season at the newly remodeled Memorial Stadium. In 2008 he led his team to their first winning record and first playoff appearance since 1997. 

There were a few rough years after that; Sand Springs went 8-22 from 2009-2011, but since then it's been one of the better programs in the state. 

2012 saw the team's first 6-0 start since 1997, and in 2014 the Sandites beat the Midwest City Bombers by a single point in an frigid overtime win to advance to the semi-finals.

Overall, Kinard has a 45-49 record at Sand Springs, but it should turn into a winning record within a season or two if things continue the way they have been. In his 9th season, Kinard is currently the second-longest tenured coach in Sandite history, behind LD Baines who coached from 1983-1996.

The last few seasons have seen lots of notable achievements and 2015 was no different. This season marked the Sandites' fourth-consecutive winning record and fourth-consecutive playoffs appearance. Sand Springs handed Bixby their first shutout in seven years.

The biggest loss for the Sandites this season was by 17 points. The last time Sand Springs made it through a season without a loss larger than 21 points was in 1997. A 53 point win over Hale (that was later forfeited) gave Sand Springs their third consecutive season with a 50+ point win. So far Sand Springs has only allowed 111 points this season, the team's best defensive record since 1997.

A 4-0 record at home also gave Sand Springs their first perfect season at home since 1997. 

There's never been a better time to be a Sandite!

Join the Minutemen this Friday as they travel to #7 Stillwater (5-5). Kick off is at 7:00 PM at Pioneer Stadium.

 

*this article has been corrected at 8:34 AM Monday 11/9/15. It previously reflected the Stillwater game as scheduled for Saturday.  

*OSSAA has changed kickoff from 7:30 PM Friday to 7:00 PM. Article has been corrected to reflect this change.

Sandite Athletics Weekly Newsletter

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By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

Previously

9/28/15

  • 8th Grade Football lost 48-6 to Bishop Kelley Red and fall to 1-4 for the season.
  • 9th Grade Football beat Highway 97 Rival Sapulpa 45-6 and improve to 3-1. Garrett McCallie and Jacob Wright each scored two rushing touchdowns apiece. Cooper Mock also rushed for a touchdown and Jasanee Harjo recovered a fumble for the touchdown.
  • JV Football beat Bartlesville 22-7 at home and is 2-2 for the season. Ben Norte was the star of the show with two rushing touchdowns. 

9/29/15

  • Varsity Softball defeated Skiatook 4-3 in extra innings to end the regular season 25-7 overall. 
    http://www.sanditepride.com/softball/150929skiatook
  • Varsity Volleyball lost 3-0 at #18 Bartlesville with sets of 25-20, 25-17, 25-18.

10/1/15

  • Varsity Volleyball lost 3-0 to #2 Jenks at home with sets of 25-16, 25-10, and 25-14, falling to 12-22 for the season.
  • Varsity Football forfeited two pre-district victories over Enid and Hale due to an ineligible player.

10/2/15

  • Varsity Football defeated Claremore 27-7 for Homecoming, beating the spread by 12 points due to several key Zebra players missing with injuries from Bixby. Greathouse threw for 145 yards and one touchdown to Fleischman who caught three passes for 108 yards. Lettich rushed for 62 yards and 3 touchdowns. 
    http://www.sanditepride.com/football/151002claremore

10/3/15

  • Cheyenne Walden failed to take first for the first time this season at the Fayetteville 5K, coming in second to a runner from Missouri. Walden and ten other Sandites had season-best times, including Austin McCaskey who led the boys for the first time. Overall the girls placed 42nd and the boys took 64th. 

10/5/15

  • 8th grade football defeated Bixby Red 7-6 on a run from Blake Goodman.
  • 9th grade football lost to Bishop Kelley Red 14-12. Noah Almy caught an 80 yard reception from Hayden Cramer for the opening touchdown, and Cramer followed it up with a 1 yard rush in the second half. Both PATS failed, and the game ended with the Sandites threatening at the BK 6 yard line.

10/6/15

  • JV Volleyball lost on the wire against Muskogee 2-1.
  • Varsity Volleyball was dominated 3-0 by Muskogee on Senior Night. Gloria Mutiri led scoring for the Sandites with 9 of the team's 26 kills. 
    http://www.sanditepride.com/volleyball/151006muskogee

10/7/15

  • Varsity Fast Pitch Softball lost 2-1 to Claremore in a Regional upset and barely defeated Ponca City 4-3 in the losers' bracket to stay alive. 
    http://www.sanditepride.com/softball/151006regionals1 http://www.sanditepride.com/softball/15106regionals2

10/8/15

  • Varsity Softball rebounded at Regionals, shutting out Claremore 6-0 to take on Union in a double header for the ticket to state. The Redskins fell in back to back shutouts of 3-0 and 11-0 with NSU-committed senior Jessica Schuler hitting a Grand Slam for the run rule.
    http://www.sanditepride.com/softball/151013claremore
    http://www.sanditepride.com/softball/151007union1
    http://www.sanditepride.com/softball/151007union2regionals
  • Varsity Volleyball lost 3-0 to Owasso in the first round of Regionals to end the season with a 12-24 record.

10/9/15

  • Varsity Football brought home another Highway 97 Rivalry win in a 44-10 beat down at Sapulpa. Hunter Greathouse threw for 181 yards and three touchdowns. Trace Fleischman was the receiver for two of those touchdowns and 126 yards. Lane Lettich caught the third TD pass for 41 yards in addition to his two rushing touchdowns and 116 rush yards.
    http://www.sanditepride.com/football/151009highway97football

10/12/15

  • 8th Grade Football was dominated 35-7 by Bartlesville and fell to 2-5 for the season. The lone score was a run by Blake Goodman.
  • 9th Grade Football also had a single-score beatdown by Union with a pass from Cramer to McCallie and a missed PAT. A 21-6 loss brings the freshman team to 3-3 for the season.
  • JV Football against Sapulpa was cancelled.

10/13/15

  • Varsity girls took 6th at the Frontier Valley Conference 5K and the boys took 9th. Cheyenne Walden took her third conference title. 
    http://www.sanditepride.com/cross-country/151018xcconference

10/15/15

  • Varsity Football improved to 3-3, 3-1 with a 44-27 victory over Ponca City. Greathouse hit two receivers for touchdowns-by-air, and three Sandites scored by ground. Bales put in a field goal and the Sandites are now fourth in district play. Sand Springs will likely need to overcome Muskogee this Friday for a shot at the playoffs.
  • Varsity Softball made its third state appearance in the last four years and overcome the defending state champions from Mustang 14-6.
    http://www.sanditepride.com/softball/151015state1mustang

10/16/15

  • Varsity Softball nailed three homeruns in a 5-3 victory over Moore for their first state final appearance since 1996. 
    http://www.sanditepride.com/softball/151016moore1

10/17/15

  • Varsity Softball lost the state champion ship 4-3 to Choctaw in the bottom of the 7th, ending the season 31-9.
    http://www.sanditepride.com/softball/151017choctawstate
  • Charles Page wrestler Daton Fix defended his top ranking in the United States at a Flowrestling Who's #1? All-Star dual against #2 Rudy Yates at 126 pounds with a 5-2 decision in Pennsylvania. 

Upcoming

10/19/15

  • 8th Grade Football @ Broken Arrow Gold
  • 9th Grade Football @ Bixby Red
  • JV Football @ Ponca City

10/23/15

  • Varsity Football vs Muskogee at home. With the top three spots virtually guaranteed for Bixby, Bartlesville, and Booker T, the fourth playoff position for District 1 will likely come down to this game between Muskogee and Sand Springs. 

10/24/15

  • Sandite Cross Country will travel to the Regional 5K.

Sandite Athletics Weekly Newsletter

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By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

Last Week

9/21/15

  • Sandite Volleyball's 7th and 8th grade teams both defeated Bartlesville and Union at Home.
  • The 8th Grade Sandite football team continued a three game losing streak, falling 34-14 to Sapulpa Blue. Blake Goodman scored both TDs for the Sandites. The boys are now 1-3 for the season.
  • The 9th Grade football team suffered their first loss of the year, 12-7 to Jenks White and are 2-1 overall. QB Hayden Cramer completed a 35-yard TD pass to Noah Almy and kicked the PAT for Sand Spring's only score. 
  • JV football lost 35-14 to Bixby. Cade Pennington threw a 6-yard TD pass to Bryson Denton and Ben Norte registered a 70 yard rushing TD. The team falls to 1-2 for the season. 

9/22/15

  • Highway 97 rivalry resulted in an intense battle for Sandite Volleyball at Home. Sapulpa won the 9th grade match, but the JV squad won 25-14 and 25-12 for a 2-0 shutout. The varsity girls lost their first set 18-25 but had back-to-back wins of 25-14 and 25-21 before the Lady Chieftains came back for a fourth set win of 22-25. The final set marked a Sandite V-I-C-T-O-R-Y in a close 18-16 as our girls claimed a 3-2 win!
  • Lady Sandite softball extended their undefeated district record to 13-0 with a 7-2 win over Bixby at home.

9/24/15

  • Lady Sandite varsity volleyball lost straight sets to 5A #1 Collinsville, 15-25, 15-25, 14-25. The girls are 11-20 for the season. 
  • Varsity Softball lost their first district game of the season to Yukon, 4-0 on the road. Previously the Sandites beat the Millerettes 7-6 at home. 

9/25/15

  • Varsity football suffered its first loss of the season 24-7 at Bartlesville. The lone score came on a Hunter Greathouse 2 yard keeper and a Cade Loomen PAT.

9/26/15

  • Girls Cross Country came in 17th at the OSU Cowboy Jamboree, lead by Cheyenne Walden in 1st place overall.
  • Boys Cross Country came in 37th at the OSU Cowboy Jamboree, lead by Aden Baughman in 133rd place overall. 
  • Sandite Cheer came in 8th at the 6A state championships in Stillwater.

On the Horizon

9/28/15

  • 8th Grade football vs Bishop Kelley Red at Home
  • 9th Grade football vs Sapulpa Blue at Home
  • JV football vs Bartlesville at Home
  • 8th Grade volleyball vs Broken Arrow and Muskogee at BA
  • 9th Grade volleyball tournament at Owasso

9/29/15

  • Final home softball game of the regular season against Skiatook
  • 9th Grade/JV/Varsity volleyball at Bartlesville

10/1/15

  • 9th Grade/JV/Varsity volleyball vs Jenks at Home
  • Cross Country race at Claremore

10/2/15

  • Varsity football homecoming vs Claremore
  • Varsity softball at Bixby Festival

10/3/15

  • JV Volleyball tournament at Bishop Kelley
  • Cross Country race at Fayetteville