Undefeated Sandites win third straight with 6-2 victory at OneOK Field

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Jake Ward pitched 9 strikeouts in a win over Booker T Washington Monday night.

Story by: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

Jake Ward had one heck of a night on the mound. The Charles Page High School pitcher won his second game of the season with nine strikeouts and only allowed two walks and four hits while throwing 49% strikes. 

The Sandites started their season last week and have racked up wins against Tulsa NOAH, Sapulpa, and Booker T Washington thus far to remain one of only 14 undefeated 6A teams. Monday night the Sandites took on the Hornets at OneOK Stadium in downtown Tulsa, the home of the Drillers, and easily handled their opponent.

The team batted just under .400 and Treyce Tolbert lead the team with two runs (coming from walks) along with cousin Trevor Tolbert who batted in two runners in two at-bats. 

Ward started on fire, striking out the first four batters before Cole Mendenhall finally got off a single in the top of the second. With one out on the board, Hunter Greathouse was the first Sandite to get on base with a left field single in the bottom of the second. Treyce Tolbert was walked and Jake Terry hit a sacrifice fly to advance the runners on base. Trevor Tolbert brought Greathouse home with a line drive single into right field, then Ty Fain brought home Treyce with a bunt and a fielding error. Trevor was put out at third and the Sandites went to field with a 2-0 lead.

The Hornets failed to get off a hit in the third and the Sandites scored another run as Rhett Rutledge was hit by a pitch and walked, then stole second and advanced to home on a single by Joey Montgomery. 

Booker T finally got on the board in the fourth inning as Davin Gummere was walked, stole second, advanced to third on a sacrifice hit by DJ Hall, and stole home on a catcher's error with Mendenhall at bat. 

Sand Springs wouldn't take that lying down, however, and scored three more that inning. Treyce Tolbert was walked once more and stole second, then came home on a triple by Trevor. The elder cousin would come home soon after on a groundball single from Josh Taber. Taber then took second on a left field fly from Rutledge and stole third, then home on a catcher's error. Rutledge stole second and third in pursuit of Taber, but was left stranded along with Ward (walked) after Montgomery was put out at first. 

The fifth inning was devoid of hits from either team. Booker T put one runner on base in the sixth after a catcher's error, but he would be left stranded. Mack Thompson hit a double for the Sandites in his first and only at-bat, but was put out at third after a groundball by Taber. Taber, who plays wide-receiver for the State Runner-Up football team, continued to show off his quick feet as he stole second and third, but was left stranded along with Phillips who was walked.

The Hornets finally scored again in the seventh as Mendenhall was hit by a pitch and found his way home on a single by Ben Curry. Curry would be left stranded however as Ben Curry was put out at second on a single by Connor O'Malley. Their rally attempt fell short and the Sandites retained their standing as one of the teams to beat and brought home a memorable experience from a minor league field. 

Baring a weather delay, the Sandites will next take on Enid (1-1) Tuesday night at 5:30 at the Sandite Athletic Complex. 

Lady Sandite Basketball advances in playoffs with 46-43 win over Booker T Washington

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Story and photo by: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

The No.11 ranked Charles Page High School girls' basketball team (17-8) is still alive in their playoff run after a close 46-43 win over No. 13 Booker T Washington (16-10) Thursday night in Catoosa. 

The girls won their first Regional game against Union last week, guaranteeing their advancement to Area, but lost in the Regional Championship to No.4 Sapulpa (22-3), 48-40, meaning they have to take the long way to State by winning two straight at Area. Their win over Booker T puts them halfway there, now they just need to defeat No. 9 Owasso (19-7) Saturday at 1:30 PM.

Junior Sydney Pennington led the scoring effort for the Sandites with 14 points, followed by sophomore Gloria Mutiri who had a double-double with ten points and twelve rebounds. 

The Lady Sandites took an early 11-3 lead before trailing off defensively toward the end of the first quarter, at one point allowing the Hornets to snag six straight offensive rebounds, and their opponent took a 17-13 lead early in the second. 

Pennington tied things back up with a pair of layups and it was a back and forth affair from there. Rhys Anderson hit a two to take the lead back for Booker T. Sandite freshman Destiny Johnson missed a two but Mutiri rebounded and tied things up at 19-19. Anderson sank another shot, followed by Mutiri, then freshman Holly Kersgieter snatched a half court steal and hit the layup with five seconds left in the half to take the lead back for the Sandites.

Kambri Davis hit a three, followed by Taylor Sells with a two and it was the Hornets with a 26-23 lead to start the second half. Pennington, Kersgieter, and Mutiri went on a 6 point run for Sand Springs to take back the lead for a while, but the Hornets found 5 points of their own to carry a 33-31 advantage into the final stanza.

The lead exchanged hands five times in the fourth period, but Sand Springs emerged to a definitive lead off a run from Johnson who sank a field goal and three free throws to give her team a 44-39 advantage. Sells hit a two and added a free throw and it continued to come down to the wire as both teams were in the double bonus with 1:16 to play. 

Aiya El-Hassan had a chance to tie things up from the charity stripe, but missed her second shot and senior Cierra Scott was fouled on the rebound and sent to the line to score the final points of the night.

If the girls can overcome Owasso on Saturday, they'll advance to the State Championship tournament for the first time in half a decade. It won't be easy. The girls defeated the Lady Rams 51-48 earlier this season, but the last time the two teams met it was Owasso with a 53-48 victory.

Come out and support your girls Saturday afternoon at 1:30 at Catoosa High School, right up the road from the Hard Rock Casino! It's been an incredible year of State Championship appearances from Sand Springs, let's rally around our incredible athletes and send another team to the top!

Sandite of the Week: Stan Trout

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This week, Sandite Pride would like to recognize the outstanding leadership of Charles Page principal Stan Trout, whose love and passion for our young people is evident in both his words and actions, both public and private. 

He guides our school through thick & thin and is an exceptional speaker and human being.

This past week in particular has been a particularly trying time due to allegations of misconduct on the part of our student body. Without going into details on the negativity, we would instead like to focus on the positive messages put out by our beloved principal. 

 

Sandite of the Week: Hunter Greathouse

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By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

Photo: Morgan Miller, Videographer

Hunter Greathouse is only a first-year starting quarterback, but he keeps his cool like he's been in the spot for years, and demonstrates outstanding sportsmanship and leadership both on and off the field. The junior went 7-14-0-171 in Friday's 30-23 semi-final playoff win over Booker T Washington and helped lead his team to their first Championship appearance in 49 years with 1 passing touchdown and 2 rushing. 

For the season, Greathouse is 88-164-6-1603 with 16 touchdowns by air and 5 on the ground. 

#3 Charles Page upsets #1 Booker T Washington: Here's the stats

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By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

In case you've been living under a rock for the last 36 hours, the Sand Springs Sandites are headed to the State Championship for the first time in 49 years after a come-from-behind 30-23 win over the #1 Booker T Washington Hornets.

Passing

First-year quarterback Hunter Greathouse threw for 171 yards and 1 touchdown in his second largest output of the season, completing 7 of his 14 passes. Greathouse sits 88 of 164 for the season with 1603 yards, 16 touchdowns and only 6 interceptions.

Kasey Bales also attempted one pass that was broken up, but still sits at 2-4-0-77 for the season.

Receiving

Five Sandites registered receptions in Friday's semi-final game.

Bales led with two catches for 79 yards and 1 touchdown, putting him at 21-359 for the season and 4 touchdowns. 

Lane Lettich pulled in a season-long pass for 49 yards. He sits at 12-231 and 2 touchdowns on the season.

Trace Fleischman caught two passes for 25 yards, putting him at 32-718 on the season with 6 touchdowns.

Jake Ward caught a season-long 13-yard pass bringing him to 5-47 this year.

Ty Fain caught a 5-yard pass putting him at 10-158 and 1 touchdown for the season.

Rushing

Lane Lettich had his second-best night of the year, entering the game 69-yards short of a 1000-yard season rushing. He broke through that barrier on his first play of the night with a season-best 70 yard carry and went on carry 13 times for 128 yards and 1 touchdown. He'll be going into the Championship 207-1059 with 17 touchdowns.

Payton Scott was 6-39 bringing him just shy of 900 for the season. Scott will need a big night against Bixby if he hopes to break 1000 as he currently sits 112-861 with 8 touchdowns.

 Trace Fleischman picked up a single yard on a direct snap. He sits 19-112 with 1 touchdown.

Kasey Bales was hit hard immediately upon reception of a lateral pitch and stuck with a 10 yard loss for the night. Seasonally, he sits 5-12.

Hunter Greathouse was pushed to negative yardage for the season, suffering several sacks by the #2 defense in the state. Despite a few QB sneaks for 2 touchdowns, he ultimately ended up 9-(-13) against Booker T and is 62-(-9) on the season with 5 total touchdowns.

Kicking

After quite a few kicker switch-ups at the beginning of the season, Kasey Bales has had the position completely on lock for the last several games. He was 3/4 on extra points and sank a 25 yard field goal, but missed a 32. He punted 3 times for an average of 26 yards and kicked off 6 times for an average of 40.

For the season, Bales is 33/38 on PATs and 3/4 on field goals with a long of 36. He averages 25 yards over his 28 punts with a long of 57. He's kicked off 32 times for an average of 39.9 with 1 touchback.

Kick Returns

Trace Fleischman returned four kickoffs for 57 yards. He's 13-341 on the season with a long of 57. 

Parker Taylor picked up 10 yards on a punt return and is 8-151 for the season with 1 touchdown and a long of 62.

Tackles

For the third time this season, Cole Dixon registered 11 tackles for a team leading 89 total. 14 of those are tackles for loss totaling 52 yards and 2 are sacks for 10 yards.

Jacob Taber was not far behind with 8 tackles bringing his total to 76. 10 were for losses totaling 36 yards and 1 was a 1 yard sack.

  • Jaxon Starling had 6 tackles, 3 for loss of 9, 1 sack for 5 yards. (47 tackles, 21 for loss of 115, 9 sacks for 81).
  • Delvin Jordan had 6 tackles, 1 for loss of 4. (74 tackles, 15 for loss of 63, 7 sacks for 31).
  • Malachi Walton had 3 tackles, 1 for loss of 3. (24 tackles, 1 for loss of 3).
  • Cruz Desjarlais had 3 tackles. (32 tackles, 1 for loss of 3).
  • Parker Taylor had 3 tackles. (37 tackles).
  • Jason Cooper had 3 tackels. (31 tackles).
  • Gage Fain had 2 tackles. (28 tackles, 6 for loss of 13, 1 sack for 5).
  • Trace Fleischman had 2 tackles. (8 tackles).
  • Payton Scott had 1 tackle. 
  • Treyce Tolbert had 1 tackle. (23 tackles, 1 sack for loss of 6).
  • Josh Taber had 1 tackle. (4 tackles. 

Other Defense

Malachi Walton caught his first interception of the season, the only one of the night, on the final play of the game to seal the Sandites' ticket to the State Championship.

Jacob Taber scored his first pass breakup of the season.

Jacob Taber and Jaxon Starling both forced their first fumbles of the season. Delvin Jordan recovered one of them, his fourth recovery of the season. 

Click to Enlarge

Read the full story here.

http://www.sanditepride.com/football/151120bookert

 

Sandites upset #1 Booker T Washington in Semi-Finals

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By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

For the first time since 1966, the Sand Springs Sandites are headed to the state championship after a 30-23 come-from-behind win over the #1 previously undefeated Booker T Washington Hornets.

It was a rough start to the game as the Hornets complete a 14 play, 61 yard drive that consumed more than half the clock to emerge at a 7-0 lead off a 1-yard QB Keeper by Dakari Willis with 5:00 left in the first.

It looked like the Sandites were ready for a major offensive explosion as Lane Lettich rushed 70 yards on the opening play of the drive to give Sand Springs first and goal at the Hornet 7.

Unfortunately for the underdogs, a strong defensive rally pushed them back to fourth and 8 and they had to settle for a 25 yard field goal by junior Kasey Bales.

The Hornets came right back for another touchdown drive, most of the gains made by Oklahoma State-commit Justice Hill, and capped it off with a 13 yard keeper.

A daunting 14-3 score with 7.5 seconds left in the first looked like the Hornets might run away with this game, especially after the next Sandite drive fell flat. Bales was forced to punt into a headwind and the Hornets ended up with great field position at the Hornet 38 yard-line.

Once again the Hornets were off to a bold start, driving to the 25 before the infamous Sandite secondary put up a fourth and 2 stop thanks to Delvin Jordan and Cole Dixon combining for a tackle on Willis.

The Defense had found their feet, but the Offense was still stumbling, getting pushed back to fourth and 14 and had to punt once again.

They wouldn’t get to rest for long, however. Two plays into the corresponding Booker T drive, Jaxon Starling collided with Hill to knock the ball loose where it was recovered by Jordan.

Three plays later, Hunter Greathouse connected with Bales for a 58 yard touchdown pass, then the all-purpose Bales kicked his own PAT and followed it up with a 40 yard kickoff.

The Hornets’ Zach Haney sent home a 33 yard field goal for a 16-10 advantage, but the Sandites had found their momentum.

Booker T was looking to maintain their lead, however, and drove 51 yards for another Willis touchdown and a 23-10 lead mid-way through the third.

Finally, it was Sand Springs’s time to shine. After getting pushed back to third and 22, Greathouse connected with Bales for fourth and short. The quarterback piled behind his sturdy O-line and kept the drive alive.

A pass interference call against the Hornets gave Sand Springs another first down, then it was time for some trick plays. Trace Fleischman reversed a lateral back to Greathouse who launched it downfield to Lettich for first and goal at the 2.

The O-line piled Greathouse in to narrow the score to 23-16, but Bales’s PAT was blocked.

Sand Springs took possession once again toward the top of the fourth, then Payton Scott pulled out all the stops, dragging a defender 10 yards for a 27 yard rush.

A series of pass interference calls on Booker T helped Sand Springs reach the 14 where Lettich scored and Bales kicked the PAT to tie the game.

The corresponding kickoff was fumbled and recovered by Sand Springs at the Hornet 24, but the challengers failed to capitalize on it as a 32 yard field goal attempt fell short.

The Hornets were equally incapable of moving the ball and Sand Springs got the punt in Hornet territory.

This time, the Sandites wouldn’t fail. Lettich picked up an 18 yard rush, then Greathouse connected with Fleischman for 22. On fourth and 1, Greathouse was once again piled into the endzone and for the first time since week 9, the Sandites led the Hornets.

Bales sent the kickoff deep into Hornet territory and Dixon stopped the return at the Hornet 19. Booker T was resilient, however, and drove to the Sandite 40.

In Hollywood fashion, Malachi Walton picked off a 30 yard pass attempt that could have forced overtime to end the game.

It was the perfect ending to a glorious night that will go down in the Sandite history books as the biggest game in 49 years.

 Sand Springs won't know their opponent till Bixby and Bartlesville battle it out Saturday at 1pm at Owasso High School.