Beau Bratcher places first at Bobby Lyons Invitational

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

Despite sitting out several key starters, the Charles Page High School wrestling squad was still more than capable of finishing third at their home tournament behind the #1 teams in 6A and 5A. After upsetting the #1 Broken Arrow Tigers Thursday night, the most important thing for the Sandites to do now is remain healthy for Regionals, State, and Dual State. #8 Riley Weir, John Jiminez, #2 Trace Fleischman, #7 Lane Lettich, and Delvin Jordan all set out the tournament to rest and recover, and several backups got to see their first varsity action of the season. 

(Part Four of Five...)

#2 Beau Bratcher (26-4) was the victor of 138, pinning Cascia Hall's Miles Waller in 2:37 and Ponca City's Nenebah Biggoose in 1:05. Broken Arrow's Blake Mattioda gave Bratcher the closest run for his money, only giving up a 4-1 decision, but Bratcher prevailed against both him and #4 Brody Perciful (Ponca City) in the finals with a 5-0 decision for his first championship of the season.

Gavin Garcia (0-2) made his varsity debut wrestling unattached at 145, but had to take on #8 Gabe Evans, a state qualifier from Union in the first round and was teched 16-1 in 4:58. The next battle was much closer, but Jimi Cerre of Ponca got the 5-0 decision for the win.

145 #10 Cody Mathis (8-7) had one of the highest-scoring matches of the night, running up a 17-14 decision over Barnsdall's Colten Allen, then pinned Cerre in 4:53. In the next round, however, he was defeated 5-0 by 5A State Runner-Up Justin Walker of Collinsville and bumped to the consolation bracket. Saturday morning Mathis had to take on Evans and was overcame 9-2, but he rebounded with a narrow 3-2 victory over Jacob Waits (Sperry) for a 5th Place finish. 

At 152 #2 Payton Scott (11-3) defeated Wesley Yarber (Barnsdall) 9-3 and pinned James Ott of Grapevine, TX in 1:31. Union's #5 Christian Mayhue battled valiantly before falling 5-3 to land Scott a spot in the finals against Elijah Tanner of Collinsville. Unfortunately, Scott aggravated an injury and forfeited his last match to settle for second place. Earlier this season Scott defeated Tanner 7-6 and Tanner defeated Scott 3-1 at Geary. 

See Related:

http://www.sanditepride.com/wrestling/160117sargentsstourney

http://www.sanditepride.com/wrestling/160117karstettersstourney

http://www.sanditepride.com/wrestling/160117fixsstourney

Sandite Wrestling dominates Broken Arrow to earn #1 rank in Oklahoma

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

It was a battle of the undefeateds Thursday night at Ed Dubie Fieldhouse as the #2 Charles Page Sandites challenged the defending state champions, the #1 Broken Arrow Tigers. Both teams went into the dual 4-0 for the season.

The Sandites started off at 126 with #3 Jack Karstetter (17-6) scoring a 14-4 major decision over Brady Mattioda for a 4-0  team lead. Karstetter had multiple takedowns and a near fall, but was unable to get the pin.

At 132 Derek Davis (5-2) got off to a great start against #10 Dylan Wingo, scoring a 2-pt takedown in the first minute. Davis expanded that lead to 4-0 by the end of the first period, and rode for nearly the entire match, but was unable to score again and ended with a 4-0 decision for a 7-0 team lead.

Next up was the #1 wrestler in the state, #3 in the nation, the undefeated 2X State Champion Daton Fix (22-0) against (145 #5) Blake Mattioda. Fix exploded on to the mat with a somersault and flip to great crowd applause. In typical fashion it was cat and mouse as Fix outscored his opponent 10-4 in the first period and the only points Mattioda scored were escape points that Fix handed him. Ultimately Fix ended with a win by technical fall for a 12-0 lead.

At 145 both Beau Bratcher (22-4) and Caleb Wise wrestled up from their usual 138. Bratcher is currently ranked #3 in 138, Wise is ranked #4, and the two had met twice already this week. Bratcher defeated Wise 6-5 at the start of the Geary Invitational, then beat him 2-1 later on in the tournament. Bratcher wrestled his way up through the consolation bracket at Geary for a second place finish and is currently Sandite of the Week. This time Bratcher would edge Wise out even more for a 3-0 finish and a 15-0 Sandite lead. 

152 #3 Payton Scott (8-2) immediately made a statement with a takedown of #4 Blake Warren barely 8 seconds into the match. Warren got the escape point, however, and Scott gave him another escape to start the second period. The two were tied throughout the entire second period, but Scott scored a 2pt reversal early in the third for the 4-2 lead. With 9 seconds left Scott slammed Warren and looked like he would get a pin, but ultimately only got a 6-3 decision for an 18-0 Sandite lead.

For the third time this dual, it was the #3 wrestler in 160 versus the #4. Zane Basma (13-9), the underdog, scored a 2:32 upset pin over Brady Jones for the 24-0 lead

At 170, Gavin Potter scored the first win of the night for the Tigers over Bryton Beck (5-9). The Sandite Senior was filling in for Trace Fleischman (3-2) who is nursing an ankle injury, and battled valiantly before giving up an 11-2 major decision.

At 182 it was #6 Lane Lettich (4-3) against #1 Isaiah Page and the two had a perfect repeat of their 170 pound match at last year's dual. The Geary Champion from Broken Arrow beat Lettich 7-2 for the second year in a row, but the Sandites still led 24-7. 

195 #10 Zack Sims (11-13) had a David vs Goliath matchup against #1 State Runner-Up Skylar Haynes but managed to avoid bonus points, going down 13-6 and holding the team lead 24-10.

At 220 came standout linebacker Delvin Jordan, Jr. (5-2) against #9 Gage Kaiser. The Sandite scored first on a second period escape, and nearly got a takedown in the third but Kaiser battled it out for a match-tying escape. Jordan was outstanding, clearly wrestling through some major pain from a still-recovering leg injury. The match went into overtime and Jordan narrowly worked his way through a near-takedown and reversed it for the 3-1 sudden victory decision and a 27-10 lead.

The Sandites are lacking in the heavyweight department, and Gage Fain (3-11) has been having to wrestle up against much larger opponents such as #3 Trenton Lieurance who had more than 50 pounds on Fain and won by pin in 3:27 to keep the Tigers' hopes alive.

Circling back to the light weights, it was 106 #8 freshman Riley Weir (14-8) wrestling against junior state-placer Tyler Lawley who is ranked #5 in 113. Weir is nursing a majorly strained ligament in his arm and overcame a near fall for a pin in an inspiring match against Union Tuesday night. Weir wasn't able to pull off the win, but he battled it out to a 7-1 decision, preventing bonus points as the Sandites led 27-19.

All 113 #6 Michael Ritchey (9-9) had to do was win by simple decision to cinch the dual for the Sandites, but he made it clear he was looking for the pin, and nearly got it at the end of the first. Instead, the Junior had to settle for near-fall points and a 5-0 lead. Ultimately Ritchey would settle for the 7-0 shutout decision over Blake Gonzalez, but he had all the riding time and wrapped up the upset win for the Sandites.

The last match was merely a formality as Sand Springs already had an 11-point lead with only 6 points left, but 120 #9 Blake Sargent (17-7) went above and beyond in his battle against the #5 wrestler in 126. TaJuan Daniels is an incredible athlete, but Sargent worked it over on him for most of the regular match. Daniels wouldn't go down without a fight, however, and escaped with 10 seconds left to tie things up 2-2 and force overtime. Sargent got the 2-pt sudden victory takedown and the Sandites ended things with a 33-19 victory to unofficially claim the #1 rank in the state.

Broken Arrow won the Junior High dual 36-26. The Sandites will next see action tomorrow at the Bobby Lyons Invitational Tournament at Ed Dubie Field House.

Sandite of the Week: Sand Springs Dance

This week Sandite Pride would like to recognize the achievements of the Sand Springs Dance program who are an invaluable asset to our community.

The dance team works year round to support our other sports programs through cheering them on at events and making posters and more, in addition to their own competitions.

This past weekend the 8th grade dance team won a state championship in mix category and the JV/9th Grade squad won a state championship in Hip Hop, while coming in third in Pom. 

Gabby Miller is the 8th grade coach, Megan Faulkner is the 9th grade coach, Rachel Ellis is the JV coach, and Michelle Spears is the Varsity/Head Coach.

Pictured is the JV/9th Grade performing their Hip Hop routine.

#2 Sandites dominate Owasso Rams in season-opener

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

The Charles Page High School varsity wrestling team easily overcame the Owasso Rams Thursday night in their first competition of the season, and they did it without five starters. 

The unranked Rams entered their match with a 1-1 record, beating Enid 47-24, but losing to #1 Broken Arrow 54-14. 

Sand Springs is starting a bit later than many schools, and the anticipation has been building since Flowrestling listed Sand Springs as the #25 team in the nation.

Several starters are also starting players on the Charles Page State Runner-Up football team and Coach Smith wanted to give them extra time to get in wrestling shape after a long season. 

Those missing links didn't even slow down the Sandites who only lost two matches on the mat, and forfeited two others due to not having anyone at that weight. 

Up first was 106 freshman Riley Weir who shut down his opponent Eric Merida (2-5) with a 10-0 major decision for 4 team points.

113 Michael Ritchey (1-0) expanded that lead to 7-0 with a 3-0 decision over Wyatt Johnson, then 120 Blake Sargent pinned Gavin Damilao in 0:53 for a 13-0 lead.

126 junior #6 (in 113) Jack Karstetter scored a 17-2 tech fall in 3:35 against Jesse Gomez, then his 132 cousin #1 (in 120) Daton Fix pinned #1 Baylor Smith in 3:05.

The Rams didn't put points on the board till Brandon Conrad managed a narrow 5-4 defeat of 138 John Jiminez. Jiminez took a brief 1-point lead on an escape and nearly won it before he was taken down with 10 seconds left and was unable to escape or reverse. Jiminez was a state runner-up two years ago but missed last season due to a pretty serious back injury. Though he's back at 100% physically, this was his first match in over a year and a half.

With a 24-3 lead, 145 junior #4 (in 132) Beau Bratcher pinned Jacob Mitchell in a team best 42 seconds and 152 Cody Mathis ran up the highest scoring match of the dual with a 17-8 major decision over Nolan Miller. 

160 junior (#2 in 145) Zane Basma scored a 1:12 fall against Jalen Johnson and 170 Bryton Beck was right there with him with a pin in 1:08 of Zach Mitchell. 182 John Houston was pinned by JD Johnson, but 195 Zack Sims finished the night off with a 3:09 pin of Harrison Moseby for a 52-9 lead. 

The Sandites didn't have any wrestlers available at 220 and heavyweight so the Rams were awarded 12 points for a final score of 52-21. 

While technically #1 Broken Arrow edged the Rams by slightly more than Sand Springs, the Sandites won it without state qualifier Delvin Jordan, state placer Trace Fleischman, starters Cole Dixon and Gage Fain, and state qualifier Lane Lettich who are all healthy and will be joining the wrestling ranks in the coming weeks. 

Needless to say, it looks like that #25 ranking is well deserved, and Broken Arrow may soon be toppled.

Charles Page dream season falls flat with loss to Spartans

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

Photo: Austin Evans

Football is more than just a sport in a small town like Sand Springs. It's an opportunity for a community to come together, forget the hardships of their week, and find common ground and unity.

Football is a way of life that continues well beyond the gridiron.

It's strange to think that I could be so enthralled by a sporting event, less than 24 hours after I sat in a room filled with grieving family saying goodbye to a loved one. But, that's what football does. It brings out the best in people--and yes, sometimes the worst. But it's an escape.

When those Friday night lights illuminate the turf, the cold crisp air whips across your face, and you and your friends huddle together for warmth, focused intently on the next play...the rest of the world fades away. You're in a moment that the movies will never manage to live up to. It's not just about the players, it's about the town.

It takes a village to raise a child, and during those games, the whole team are our children. We have their backs, we have no problem giving the refs a piece of our mind if we feel our kids were wronged. We're one community. One family.

It also helps when you're winning. 

Charles Page has been to the playoffs four years in a row now. We've won games the last two years. This time we made it to the Championship.

Once upon a time, Sand Springs went 12-0 and defeated El Reno 14-7 for a 2A state title at the Taft Stadium in Oklahoma City. That was nearly half a century ago. Since then, the Sandites have had more losing seasons than winning seasons, and have only made the playoffs 15 of those 49 years. 

The program never really turned south until 1998. That season we posted a 5-5 record, ending 3-straight seasons of playoff appearances and winning records. 

From 1999-2006, we went 21-59, and we didn't see a winning season till 2008, during Dustin Kinard's second year at head coach. That year we got our first playoff appearance since 1997. It wouldn't be a trend-setter, however.

When I was in school we went 8-22.

I remember being at the University of Oklahoma and hearing about how we were winning games back home and I couldn't believe it. Sandites didn't win games.

One night I decided to make the long trip back to Tulsa to catch a game against Booker T, and we won 21-7 at their stadium. That season finally brought a change to Sandite football. Despite being killed 35-6 in the first round of the playoffs--we had posted an 8-2 regular season record.

As we saw in 2008, however, some seasons can be isolated incidents. 

The next season wasn't quite as hot; we only went 6-4 before losing to Westmoore in the playoffs. 

In 2014, however, it became clear that this wasn't just a couple of decent seasons. It was a legitimate turnaround for a school that most teams in the state laughed at. That season saw a 63-6 rout of Nathan Hale, two shutouts, and the first post-season win since 1997.

It was 20 degrees in Midwest City, but I have never been so happy as when that overtime 2-pt conversion attempt failed, and a 1 point victory was sending Sand Springs into uncharted waters.

The Charles Page Class of 2016 is the only team in the history of Sand Springs athletics to make it to the playoffs all four years.

The season started rough: two forfeitures, one cancelled game, and a defeat at the district opener mean the Sandites were 0-3 and were in a district with the top 3 teams in the division. Making the playoffs would be far from easy.

Sand Springs took it one step at a time. A 27-7 homecoming win over Claremore. A 44-10 rout of Highway 97 rival, Sapulpa. A 44-21 win over Ponca City and a 34-10 win against Muskogee. In week 9, the Sandites went up against the #1 team in the state. A team that had just slaughtered the defending state champions 52-7, and came within a field goal. 

In week 10 Sand Springs dealt the Spartans their first shutout in 7 years, 20-0 on senior night. At Stillwater, Sand Springs won their quarter-final game for the second year in a row, 49-14, then upset #1 Booker T Washington 30-23 at Sapulpa. The Hornets learned there that it's hard to beat a good team twice.

This time it was the Sandites who had to learn that lesson. 

The Class of 2016 can't focus on their 38-28 loss to the Bixby Spartans. A lot of people have been talking about how these Sandites are making history. I disagree.

The Class of '67 made history. That season is shrouded in legend. The Sandites didn't make the playoffs for another decade after that. 

The Class of '16 isn't making history.

They're building a future. 

What Charles Page seniors like Lane Lettich and Jacob Taber have done doesn't belong in the history books. It belongs in the forefront of every student's mind in the coming years. What these boys did isn't just what's possible. It's what's going to continue happening. Their torch may have been dampened tonight, but it was far from extinguished. And tonight they passed it off to the next generation.

As cool as it is to make history, it's far greater to build a future. That's what the resilience and perseverance of these great athletes has done. They showed their underclassmen that it's not your ranking or your record that matters, it's your heart. "We had a lot of heart," said junior QB Hunter Greathouse after the loss. "We put a lot into it all year...and we'll get them next season."

The Class of 2016 may have been disappointed tonight. Hell, we all were. But their great sportsmanship has paved the way and set the example for their young peers. 

These boys will go on about their lives. Some may play college ball. Most won't. They'll probably end up in the history books, and one day they may be giving a pep talk to a future team like the Class of 66 did for them earlier this week. But they accomplished a lot more tonight than they'll ever know. They proved that it doesn't matter where you came from, it matters what you're made of. 

Sandites fall 38-28 to Bixby Spartans at State Championship

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

Photo: Austin Evans

It's hard to beat a good team twice.

The Charles Page High School football team saw its first state championship game in 49 years Friday night, but was unable to bring home the gold.

Despite dealing the Bixby Spartans a 20-0 shutout in the regular season finale, the Sandites were unable to overcome their rival this time around and were fended off 38-28.

It was the first quarter that did the Sandites in. Plagued with turnovers, the Sandites were held to negative yardage and threw two interceptions and a fumble as Bixby took a 13-0 lead.

The next two periods belonged to the Sandites as they held the Spartans to a field goal in the second quarter and got on the board with a 16-yard touchdown pass from junior first-year QB Hunter Greathouse to senior receiver Trace Fleischman.

Trailing 16-7 at the half, the Sandites rallied for two touchdowns in the third period and took two brief leads before finally giving up the ghost in the fourth quarter.

"They've overcome a lot and they've competed all the way down to the last minute of the last game," said Charles Page principal Stan Trout. "You can't ask any more from a bunch of kids. They do a great job in the classroom everyday and Coach Kinard and his coaches have built something to be proud of and something that will be lasting in this community for a long time."

Sand Springs got the ball to start the game, but were unable to make anything work early on. Lane Lettich was stopped at the line of scrimmage, Greathouse was sacked, then intercepted, and the Spartans got the ball less than two minutes into the game at the Sandite 38.

The infamous Sandite secondary was prepared, however, and Jaxon Starling exploded through the Bixby O-line for a 13-yard tackle for loss against notorious running back Nic Roller. That play, along with two Nathan Simonton tackles forced the Spartans to punt for a touchback and the Sand Springs offense was back on the field. Once again, however, they came up 4th and long and Kasey Bales was forced to punt into a strong headwind and Bixby was right back at the Sandite 37.

This time the Spartan tide would not be stymied and they quickly scored on an 11-yard Nic Roller run. The PAT was missed, however, and the Spartans settled for a 6-0 lead with 5:26 in the first quarter.

Trace Fleischman had several impressive kickoff returns for the night, but his return to the 31 was the furthest the offense would get that drive and once again Bales had to punt it away. 

The ensuing Spartan drive traveled 25 yards before Cade Cabbiness fumbled it away into Sandite hands. Two plays later, however, Sand Springs gave it back as an errant pitch was recovered by Conner Walker at the Sandite 7. Two plays later, Roller found the endzone on a 2 yard run. The extra point was good this time and for the second game in a row, the Sandites found themselves down by two touchdowns in the first quarter.

The Sandite secondary showed up strong on the first drive of the second quarter and held the Spartans to a 30 yard field goal by junior kicker Jason Campbell. 

The next two drives for both teams came up flat, then Sand Springs finally found their offense in a 17 yard pass from Greathouse to Bales. Lettich grabbed 3 yards on the ground, then it was back to the air as Bales caught an 11 yard pass to penetrate the Spartan red-zone at the 16.

On the next play, Greathouse was almost sacked, but broke a tackle and was downed at the line of scrimmage. The next time his O-line managed to hold the sturdy Spartan defenders at bay long enough for Greathouse to find Fleischman on a 16 yard touchdown pass. Bales was perfect on PATs for the night and Sand Springs found new life, cutting the deficit to 16-7 going into half time. 

Whatever Coach Kinard said to the Sandites at half time brought them out even more fired up for the second half. The Spartans pushed to their 36 when Jacob Taber picked off his second interception of the season and returned it 16 yards before being tackled. He didn't go down with the ball, however. Seconds before he was hit, he pitched it off to Cruz Desjarlais who took it the remaining 20 for a Sandite touchdown.

The next Spartan drive was a dud and Sand Springs took the ball at their 10. An 8-play 76-yard drive came to an end as Greathouse found Fleischman on a 14 yard touchdown screen to take a brief 21-16 lead over the defending state champions.

Nic Roller clearly didn't enjoy trailing. The Spartans drove 81 yards and Roller punched in a 1 yard touchdown, then ran in the conversion to reclaim the lead 24-21 that would carry over into the fourth quarter.

Three minutes into the final period, the Sandites once again took the lead as Payton Scott ran 33 yards for a touchdown on the first play of the drive. 

It would, however, be the last score of the game for the Charles Page kids.

Junior QB Tanner Griffin found Cade Cabbiness on a 17 yard touchdown pass, then later in the quarter Roller found a hole for an 18 yard touchdown run.

An onside kick was recovered by the Spartans and it was time for victory formation.