Choctaw stuns Sandites in come-from-behind 45-41 shootout

Photo: Morgan Miller

By: Virgil Noah, Staff Writer

The No. 2 Charles Page High School Varsity Football team (0-2) came into their non-district contest with the No. 9 Choctaw Yellowjackets (2-0) looking to get things going offensively after only managing to score 21 points in their season opening loss to Pulaski Academy. They succeeded, scoring 41 points in the game but it would not be enough as the team fell 45-41 to the Yellowjackets. 

The contest was a back and forth battle all game, with the Sandites threatening to pull away multiple times, but the Jackets kept clawing their way back into it.  

The teams traded possessions until near the end of the first period when Payton Scott, who was the game's workhorse for the visitors, capped an 8 play, 66 yard drive with a 6 yard touchdown run. Kasey Bales tacked on the extra point and the Sandites lead 7-0. On the ensuing Choctaw possession Senior quarterback Dylan Weaver threw a pass into the waiting arms of defensive back Cody Motes who scampered 36 yards up the sideline for the pick 6 and the lead was 14-0. 

Choctaw got on the board with a touchdown pass from Weaver, and the Sandites answered on the first play of the second quarter on a touchdown pass from Dalton Morgan to Bales.  

Another touchdown toss from Weaver, and a rushing touchdown by running back JD Kolb tied the game at 21. Second-year quarterback Hunter Greathouse scored on a quarterback sneak with 0:33 left in the first half but Bales's PAT was blocked. On the last play of the first half, Jacket kicker Liam Jones made a 32 yard field goal and the game went to intermission with the home team trailing 27-24.  

Scott found pay dirt again in the third, this time from 23 yards out to extend the Page lead to 10 points, but Kolb cut it back to 3 quickly with a run of his own. The Sandite offense faced a fourth and 15 deep in Choctaw territory, and elected to go for the conversion. It proved to be a smart decision as Greathouse connected with Caleb Wash for a 25 yard touchdown and increased the lead to 41-31. Kolb ran 21 yards for his fourth touchdown of the game just 30 seconds later and put the pressure back on Sand Springs. 

Choctaw snagged an interception on the ensuing Sandite drive, but Jerry Lyons forced a fumble and got the Sandites the ball back in Yellowjacket territory with under four minutes remaining.  

With 1:16 remaining Choctaw stuffed a fourth down run by Scott to give their offense one more attempt at scoring, and they made the most of it. On fourth and 5, Weaver completed a pass to Kolb who broke a tackle short of the first down marker, and turned on the jets up the sideline for a 78 yard touchdown, his fifth of the game.  

Down four points with just 0:49 seconds left, Greathouse lead the offense back on the field. With 0:10 left he completed a pass to Wash for 45 yards down to the Choctaw 13-yard-line. Greathouse attempted two throws to the end zone, the first broken up, and the second just past the fingertips of Bales and the game ended.

Scott lead the way for Sand Springs, carrying the ball 39 times for 239 yards and two scores. Greathouse passed 14-29-251-1 for one touchdown, and also scored a touchdown rushing. Bales lead the way receiving with 5 receptions for 72 yards and a touchdown. Delvin Jordan took a beating, going down twice, but rejoining each time to lead the Sandite defense in tackles.

Charles Page will host their first game of the season Friday at 7:00 p.m., in a non-district match-up with Putnam City West  (2-0). Choctaw will take on Putnam North (0-2) in a non-district battle Friday at 7:00 in Putnam City. 

Sydney Pennington hits 3 homeruns in double-header victories over Ponca; Sandites win 14th straight

By: Virgil Noah, Staff Writer

The runs came early and they came often in the Charles Page High School Varsity Softball team's (17-3, 8-0) district doubleheader against Ponca City (14-10, 2-5). The Lady Sandites won both games handily with a 10-0 five-inning run-rule victory in the first leg, and a 15-3 win in the second match-up which went the full seven innings.

Felicity Horn got scoring underway for the day when she singled and later scored on an error in the first inning of game one.

Ponca City loaded the bases in the second, but Madelyn Blair (6-2) forced Kylie Hopkins into a two-out popup which got the Lady Sandites out of the inning without allowing any runs. Jacie Taber hit an RBI double to left center which scored Cameron Clemons in the second inning.

Oklahoma State University commit Sydney Pennington hit the first of three home runs on the night in the home half of the third inning. Freshman Sabrina Usher hit an RBI double allowing Madelyn Blair to score, and scored a run on an errant throw to push the lead to 5-0.  Sand Springs scored the final five runs in the fourth inning on to put the game away, with Pennington, Usher, Madelyn Blair, and Clemons each adding an RBI to their totals.

Madelyn Blair picked up the win on the mound for the Lady Sandites, pitching five shutout innings, allowing just 6 hits. 

Game two saw Sand Springs getting off to an even quicker start, when Pennington sent a towering fly ball over the center field fence for a three-run-homer. Clemons scored on an error and Kimi Presnell picked up an RBI single in the third inning and lead 5-0 when Ponca City finally got on the board in their half of the third. Camenda Osborn doubled in a run to cut the lead to 5-1 and gave the Lady Cats some life. 

The Lady Sandites substituted Elizabeth "Lyz" Luttrell into the game and she quickly added an RBI single to make the score 6-1, and Taber added an RBI on a sacrifice fly to make the lead 7-1. The Lady Cats added another pair of runs to their score on RBI doubles by Osborn and pitcher Kelci Hasenfratz.

With the score 7-3 the Charles Page offense went back to work and didn't look back scoring the final 8 runs of the contest. Pennington led the way in game two with four RBI, Luttrell added three, Jensen Arnold and Presnell each had two. 

Pennington (5-0) picked up the win on the mound pitching all seven innings, surrendering three runs on seven hits and striking out four batters.

The Lady Sandite offense was hot all night, scoring at least one run in eleven of twelve innings played. The pair of victories pushed the Sand Springs win streak to fourteen games, including a 9-1 triumph over former district No. 1 Yukon. Sand Springs is the only undefeated team remaining in District 6A-3. 

The Lady Sandites will return to action Friday at 1:20 p.m. when they play 3A Perry (10-17) on field #9 at Bentley Park in the Bixby Tournament.

Lady Sandite Softball mid-season update: stats and preview of Bixby Tournament

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

The Charles Page High School varsity softball team (15-3, 6-0) is riding a twelve-game winning streak and just put a big win in the books with a 9-1 defeat of former district No. 1 Yukon. The Lady Sandites have proven they have the skillset necessary to make another State Championship run, but the season is far from over. Every team knows that once you reach the number one spot, you paint a target on your back and all eyes are on you.

After graduating two All-State players and six starting seniors last year, the Lady Sandites were in need of some fresh talent to bolster the ranks led by Sydney Pennington, Jessica Collins, and Rachel Blair. They found that talent in freshmen Felicity Horn and Sabrina Usher. Jacie Taber and Madelyn Blair have also been crucial in filling the void left by Kennedy “Goose” Salyers at the mound.

The Lady Sandites had a lukewarm start to the season as they were still adjusting to the new team dynamic. They split their first two games at the Claremore Festival, winning the opener 13-0 over Mannford, but dropping game two 5-0 to Coweta.

By the end of the Broken Arrow Tournament they had found their rhythm 

They dropped a close 2-1 game to Owasso, defeated the defending State Champions from Choctaw 4-1, and took down Putnam City North 3-1. Durant dealt the girls a 6-2 loss, but that was the last time this season anyone has beaten the Lady Sandites.

The girls won their next two games to place fifth of sixteen teams in the tournament, and haven’t lost a game since. They won six-straight shutouts and dethroned Yukon to become the only undefeated team remaining in District 6A-3.

The girls have the opportunity to pick up two more district wins tonight at home when they take on the Ponca City Wild Cats (14-8, 2-3) at 5:00 p.m.. The two teams only have a couple of mutual opponents. Ponca was run-ruled twice by Yukon, and fell 9-2 to Jenks, who the Sandites defeated 10-2.

From there, the girls will travel to the Bixby Spartan Tournament this Friday. They will play 3A Perry (10-17) at 1:20 p.m. on field #9 at Bentley Park. The teams only have one mutual opponent this far. The Maroons fell 8-1 to Mannford a few weeks ago. They also lost 12-0 to Ponca City.

The Sandites will take on the host team at 3:00 p.m. Friday on field #9. The Spartans (8-10, 7-3) are third in district and haven’t played Sand Springs yet, but they lost two games to Yukon and one to Sapulpa.

On Saturday Sand Springs will play 4A Cushing (11-8) at 10:00 a.m. on Field #11 and 5A Skiatook (7-9) at 1:20 p.m. on field #9.

Also in the tournament is Edmond Memorial (6-10), 5A Collinsville (20-2), Glenpool (10-8), Inola (8-11), and Sapulpa (4-13). Collinsville is the biggest threat in the tournament. The defending 5A State Champions are undefeated in their district and have only given up two losses this season. Southmoore defeated them 9-0 and Carl Albert won a close one 1-0. Both Southmoore and Carl Albert were State Semi-Finalists in their divisions last year.

The first round of bracket games will be played at 3:00 p.m. Saturday and the finals and consolation finals will be played at 4:40 p.m.

Sydney Pennington has played all 18 games and is .490 batting, .863 slugging, and has a .574 OBP with 14 singles, 6 doubles, 4 homeruns, 1 stolen base, 18 runs, and 14 RBI on 51 at-bats. She is 3-0 from the mound this year and holds a 0.60 ERA and .900 WHIP. She’s given up only 3 runs and 11 hits against 14 strikeouts and pitches 61% strikes.

Jessica Collins has played all 18 games and is .327 batting, .346 slugging, and has a .426 OBP with 16 singles, 1 double, 6 sacrifices, 3 stolen bases, 20 runs, and 10 RBI on 52 at-bats.

Sabrina Usher has played all 18 games and is .300 batting, .500 slugging, and has a .340 OBP with 8 singles, 6 doubles, 1 home run, 1 sacrifice, 1 stole base, 8 runs, and 11 RBI on 50 at-bats.

Cameron Clemons has played all 18 games and is .273 batting, .318 slugging, and has a .360 OBP with 9 singles, 3 doubles, 3 sacrifices, 1 stolen base, 9 runs, and 4 RBI on 44 at-bats.

Madelyn Blair has played all 18 games and is .259 batting, .352 slugging, and has a .344 OBP with 9 singles, 5 doubles, 2 sacrifices, and 6 runs on 54 at-bats. She is 5-2 from the mound this season and holds a 1.77 ERA and 1.038 WHIP. She has given up only 10 runs and 25 hits against 31 strikeouts and pitches 71% strikes.  

Jacie Taber has played all 18 games and is .226 batting, .283 slugging, and has a .268 OBP with 9 singles, 3 doubles, 3 sacrifices, 2 stolen bases, 6 runs, and 6 RBI on 53 at-bats. She is 7-1 from the mound this season and holds a 1.10 ERA and 1.059 WHIP. She has given up only 8 runs and 29 hits against 48 strikeouts and pitches 69% strikes.

Kimi Presnell has played all 18 games and is .170 batting, .170 slugging, and has a .278 OBP with 8 singles, 8 doubles, 2 sacrifices, 7 stolen bases, 6 runs, and 3 RBI on 47 at-bats.

Rachel Blair has played 17 games and is .182 batting, .182 slugging, and has a .280 OBP with 8 singles, 3 sacrifices, 8 runs, and 3 RBI on 44 at-bats.

Felicity Horn has played 16 games and is .244 batting, .341 slugging, and has a .456 OBP with 6 singles, 4 doubles, 4 sacrifices, 1 stolen base, 13 runs, and 5 RBI on 41 at-bats.

Makenna Skaggs has played 5 games and is .429 batting, .429 slugging, and has a .500 OBP with 3 singles, 5 runs, and 1 RBI on 7 at-bats.

Elizabeth Luttrell has played 3 games and is .200 batting, .200 slugging, and has a .333 OBP with 1 single on 5 at-bats.

Jensen Arnold has played 1 game and is 1.000 batting, 2.000 slugging, and has a 1.000 OBP with 1 double and 1 run on 1 at-bat. 

Lady Sandite Softball wins 12-straight, takes #1 spot in district with 9-1 defeat of Yukon

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

The Charles Page High School varsity Softball team (15-3, 6-0) withstood a lot of rain last week, but they didn't get rusty. After having rain-outs against Bixby and Yukon, the girls went eleven days without a game. Some teams might get soggy, but not the Lady Sandites.

This is the second year in a row that Sand Springs and Yukon met while both teams were undefeated in district play. Last year the Millerettes (18-3, 10-1) got the upper hand and spoiled an otherwise spotless season in Sandite district play. This time it was the Sandites who broke Yukon's nine-straight district win-streak. 

Sophomore standout Jacie Taber (7-1) got her sixth-straight win on the mound, giving up only five hits and one run against four strikeouts. Seniors Sydney Pennington and Jessica Collins led the offense. Each scored two runs and two RBI. Collins had three hits on four at-bats and Pennington had two hits on three at-bats, and one home run.

The Sandites took the lead in the top of the first, loading the bases with the first three batters. Freshman Felicity Horn scored on a wild pitch before Yukon pitcher Breley Webb found her groove and struck out Madelyn Blair and Sabrina Usher. Taber grounded out to second and the Millerettes warded off the Sandite tide.

The Sandite defense was quick to put Yukon on notice as Taber struck out Rylee Uhr, Madelyn Blair caught a popup, and Cameron Clemons scooped up a hard grounder at third for the putout at first.

In the second inning there was no stopping the Sandites. Webb struck out Kimi Presnell to start, but then the bats came alive. Clemons doubled, Rachel Blair singled, and Horn hit a sacrifice fly to bring in Clemons. Collins singled to score Blair, and Pennington hit her fourth home run of the season to make it 5-0.

The Millerettes got on the board in the bottom of the second with a home run from Hannah Franklin, but that would be the lone score of the evening for the Yukon team.

In the top of the fourth Clemons reached on an error and scored on a single from Collins, who was in turn brought in on a double from Madelyn Blair. Pennington singled before Blair's at-bat and advanced home on a throw for the 8-1 advantage.

In the top of the seventh Madelyn Blair, Usher, and Taber all singled to load the bases. Presnell hit a sacrifice fly to bring in Blair, but the other runners were left stranded. The home team managed to land a single in the bottom of the inning, but was unable to stage a come-back attempt.

The Lady Sandites still have eight district games left, including a rematch with Yukon, but for now they'll be sailing high on a twelve game winning streak as the only undefeated team remaining in district 6A-3. 

The girls will return to action Thursday afternoon in a home double header against district opponent Ponca City. First game starts at 5:00 p.m.

Sandite Cross Country impresses at Sapulpa, boys and girls both place second

High School Boys' 2-Mile

11:18 Landin Green 8th Place (PR-0:05)
11:33 Jacob Garbey 12th Place
11:38 Aden Baughman 16th Place
11:49 Pierson Balsters JV 2nd Place
12:06 Ian Baustert 30th Place
12:08 Nelson Yazzie 33rd Place
12:20 Kaegan Murray 42nd Place
12:21 Jaedyn Jackson JV 3rd Place
12:32 Cooper Lynch JV 8th Place (PR-0:11)
12:33 Phillip Elleman JV 9th Place
12:49 Danny Murray JV 12th Place
12:51 Austin McCaskey JV 14th Place
12:57 Jaden Weiser 68th Place
13:00 Nathan McKnight JV 20th Place (PR-0:01)
13:08 Jacob Smith JV 22nd Place
13:58 Charlie Everett JV 37th Place
14:02 Alex Newport JV 38th Place (PR-0:41)
14:30 Russell McCaskey JV 56th Place (PR-0:30)
17:04 Josh Ivy JV 84th Place

High School Girls' 1-Mile

5:21 Cheyenne Walden 1st Place (PR-0:02)
6:11 Alexis Davis 8th Place (PR-0:13)
6:14 Tiqvah Soap 9th Place (PR-same)
6:44 Elizabeth Watts 21st Place (PR-0:10)
6:45 Julia Lewis 23rd Place (PR-0:20)
6:49 Sara Abbet 29th Place (PR-0:18)
6:53 Stephanie Genn 33rd Place (PR-0:19)
6:58 Nia Byrd JV 4th Place
7:07 Kaitlyn Walden JV 6th Place (PR-0:10)
7:12 Erika Baker JV 9th Place
7:19 Madison Englestead JV 13th Place (PR-0:19)
7:20 Chezney Kelley JV 15th Place (PR-0:20)
7:37 Madelynn Adams JV 24th Place (PR-0:17)
7:52 Kaileeann Worthington JV 29th Place
7:58 Lily Reed JV 33rd Place (PR-0:43)
8:17 Erindira Cuevas JV 36th Place
9:22 McKenzie Cypert JV 49th Place
9:36 Ayden Meade JV 51st Place (PR-0:42)
10:41 Hope Pollard JV 54th Place (PR-0:20)
13:17 Hanna Nelson JV 55th Place
13:18 Lauren Barkdull JV 56th Place

Junior High Boys' 1-Mile

6:53 Blain Baldridge 49th Place
7:07 Caleb James 56th Place
7:30 Carter Young 69th Place

Junior High Girls' 1-Mile

6:00 Kalea Fleming 3rd Place (PR-0:11)
7:24 Kenzie Burkes 31st Place
8:10 Jolie Currie 49th Place
9:15 Sidney Cross 61st Place
9:41 Kaitlyn Converse 65th Place

Co-Ed Elementary 1-Mile

6:35 Ava Watts 3rd Place
6:53 Kelton Tarr 11th Place
6:56 Jacob Lewis 12th Place
7:21 Morgan Rector 28th Place
7:24 Brynlee Durborow 32nd Place
7:37 Dawson Briscoe 44th Place
7:42 Kodah Gregory 50th Place
7:45 Chloe Grona 59th Place
7:53 Korben McCaskey 66th Place
7:53 Braden Gregory 67th Place
8:09 Gavin Corbin 80th Place
8:18 Rogelio Ayala 83rd Place
8:19 Josie Myers 84th Place
8:20 Koby Hadley 87th Place
8:51 Sawyer Briscoe 103rd Place
9:11 Corbin Sutton 110th Place
9:23 Brody Carter 119th Place
9:32 Scout Mushrush 117th Place
9:35 Carter McDonald 119th Place
9:46 Cooper McDonald 122nd Place
9:53 Jackson Roley 125th Place

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

Sixty-nine Sand Springs students traveled to the Sapulpa Cross Country meet Saturday and performed excellently in all divisions. Senior State Champion Cheyenne Walden won her fifth-straight race with a 0:15 lead on her closest competitor. Thirteen total Sandites placed in the top ten in their respective divisions. The JV boys team took first place, and the JV girls and both varsity teams placed second.

Just last week the Charles Page High School teams made their season debut at Kiefer and both varsity squads won their races for the first time in school history. It was the first time the boys had ever won a meet, and they nearly did so again at Sapulpa.

Walden finished her one mile run in 5:21, a two-second improvement over her previous personal record that she had just set last week at Kiefer. Second for the Lady Sandites was Alexis Davis who finished in eighth place with a PR of 6:11, improving 0:13 over last week. Tiqvah Soap tied her last week’s record of 6:14 for a ninth place finish.

The varsity girls finished with 54 points and an average time of 6:15. The varsity boys scored 96 points and averaged 11:45. Lincoln Christian swept both races with five runners in the top-ten girls and only 26 points, while their boys team placed four runners in the top-ten and scored 36 points. 

The Lady Sandites held a thirteen point lead on third place Sapulpa, and the boys got the edge on Holland Hall by nine points.

Landin Green led the pack for the Sandite boys team, placing eighth overall with a time of 11:18, a five-second improvement over his previous PR. Jacob Garbey wasn’t far behind, finishing in twelfth place with a PR of 11:33. The boys ran a two-mile course.

The JV girls trailed Lincoln by only ten points and placed three runners in the top ten. Nia Byrd trailed varsity by a mere five seconds and finished in fourth place with a PR of 6:58. Freshman Kaitlyn Walden wasn't far behind in sixth place with a time of 7:17, knocking ten seconds off her PR. Erika Baker took ninth place with a time of 7:12.

Freshman Pierson Balsters performed incredibly in JV boys, coming in runner-up to Sapulpa's Caleb Walsh by a mere two seconds. Balsters had the fourth best time of the Sandite boys, beating four varsity runners. His time would have put him in twenty-third place in varsity. Jaelyn Jackson, Cooper Lynch, and Phillip Elleman all finished in the top ten and Jackson trailed varsity by just two seconds. Lynch also bested his last week's PR by 0:11. The great performance gave the boys a huge lead for first place over Sapulpa.

The Lady Sandite Junior High team only had five runners and placed seventh, missing sixth by only eight points. Kalea Fleming led the team with a PR of 6:00 for third place. The great time would have landed her in seventh place in varsity. The eighth grader will be a huge help in filling the void that will be left when Walden and Davis graduate. Only three junior high boys competed, so the team was unable to place. 

The elementary team also turned out in great numbers to compete, and the co-ed Sandites placed second behind Sapulpa. Ava Watts came in third with a time of 6:35, followed by Kelton Tarr and Jacob Lewis and eleventh and twelfth, respectively. 

CPHS senior Daton Fix wins Bronze at World Championship in France

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

Charles Page High School Senior and sixteen-time National Champion Daton Fix secured his second consecutive World Championship Bronze medal Sunday morning. The eighteen-year-old Pan-American Champion and undefeated High School wrestler left for Macon, France last Tuesday after spending time at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado.

The Junior Freestyle World Championship began Saturday and Fix lost his opening match in a 9-6 decision to 2014 Junior World Champion Khasankhusein Badrudinov of Russia. The match was tied 1-1 when Badrudinov got Fix in a headlock and rolled him three times. Fix retaliated with a takedown and a turn, but was unable to get the win.

Badrudinov won his next match 6-2 over Canada's Darthe Capellan and pulled Fix through in repechage. Fix dominated Capellan with a 10-0 tech fall and followed it up with another tech fall shutout of Mikyay Salim Naim of Bulgaria.

At 11:00 a.m. Central time Fix won his second Bronze medal with a 10-3 decision over Senior European Championship Runner-Up Andriy Yatsenko of Ukraine. Yatsenko won his first two matches by tech fall, including a 10-0 victory over Mukhambet Kuatbek of Kazakhstan, before falling 8-7 to Badrudinov. Kuatbek defeated Fix in the Junior Olympic finals in 2012 and again this summer at the Spanish Grand Prix.

Fix may not have beaten Kuatbek yet, but in a way he got the win Saturday by beating the man who beat him. Yatsenko is a two time Cadet World Champion, so the win marks quite the achievement for Fix. 

We haven't gotten word yet on what's next for Daton, but the young man still has his senior year of high school ahead of him where he looks to be the first four-time State Champion in Sand Springs history. The Sandites placed third in State and second in Dual State last season and have some impressive returning wrestlers for this year and some exciting young additions to the team, setting them up well for the season.