Sandite defense overcomes Patriot surge for 29-24 victory at home

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Photo: Morgan Miller

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

SCORING SUMMARY

1Q 6:07 Gooch 23 yard pass to Robinson. Castillo PAT. 7-0 PCW.
2Q 11:51 Greathouse 9 yard run. Bales PAT. 7-7.
2Q 2:41 Greathouse 1 yard run. Bales PAT. 14-7 SS.
2Q 2:39. Greathouse 26 yard pass to Morgan. Bales PAT. 21-7 SS.
2Q 0:05 28 yard field goal by Castillo. 21-10 SS.
3Q 5:42 Scott 1 yard run. PAT missed. 27-10 SS.
3Q 5:33 Safety. 29-10 SS.
4Q 10:21 Gooch 5 yard pass to Potts. Castillo PAT. 29-17 SS.
4Q 2:20 Gooch 14 yard pass to Robinson. Castillo PAT. 29-24 SS.

The No.6 ranked Charles Page High School varsity football team (1-2) scored their first win of the season in their home-opener against No. 11 Putnam City West (2-1), dealing the Patriots their first loss of the season. The Sandites were the favorite to win, but penalties and turnovers made the game far closer than it should have been. 

The Sandites received the opening kickoff and started the game with some fireworks as senior quarterback Hunter Greathouse received a double reverse and fired a pass downfield to junior tight-end Dash Fleischman for a 26 yard gain. The rest of the drive fell flat, however, and the Sandites turned the ball over after a failed fourth and 8 pass attempt at the Patriots' 34. 

The Patriots were simple and methodical in their first drive, taking four minutes to drive 66 yards to be the first team on the scoreboard. Putnam quarterback Trey Gooch connected with Nick Robinson from 23 yards out and Pablo Castillo sent in the point-after to take the 7-0 lead.

The Sandites' second drive also fell short due to penalties and solid Patriot defense. Payton Scott picked up a pair of first downs on the ground and landed the home team at the Patriot 14 thanks to a big run with a facemask penalty tacked on the end. From there, everything went in the visitors' favor. Greathouse dropped the snap for a loss of five, and Scott took a tackle-for-loss on the corresponding play. It looked like Scott might get a shot at the endzone on the next handoff, but the play was blown dead due to a holding penalty on the Sandites. A third-and-nineteen pass attempt was broken up in the endzone by Arich Ansley, and on fourth-down, Greathouse was sacked at the 32 by Jordan Ealy.

The Patriots didn't keep the ball for long, however, turning it back over just a minute later and this time the Sandites hit pay-dirt. 

In the last minute of the first quarter, the Sandites drove their way down to the Patriot nine-yard-line for fourth-and-one. In the opening play of the second quarter, the offense piled behind Greathouse on a keeper to try and get the down, and ended up going all nine yards to the endzone for a touchdown. Kasey Bales sent in the point-after and the game was tied up.

Once again the Patriots failed to find traction and punted without a first-down. The Sandites ate up the clock on their corresponding 90-yard drive, and ultimately took the lead. The first play was a fifteen-yard screen to Caleb Wash. Greathouse added another first-down with a 30-yard pass to Bales, Scott picked one up on the ground, and Greathouse hit Bales again for 12. A run from Scott with a facemask at the end put the Sandites in the red zone at the 15-yard line. Greathouse hit Bales at the 1-yard line and scored on a sneak to take the 14-7 lead after Bales's PAT.

The next Sandite drive needed only two plays. Cade Looman sent the kickoff into the back of O'Neal Cotton and Brett Freeman was there to recover it for the Sandites at the Patriot 26. A repeat of the opening play of the game found Greathouse connecting with Dalton Morgan for the touchdown and a 21-7 lead.

The Patriots mustered up a solid drive, aided by some Sandite penalties, and marched to the 11-yard line before settling for a 28-yard field goal by Castillo.

The Sandites tried to score on a deep pass with less than a second remaining, but it was intercepted by T'Mahjai Scales who was tackled by the intended receiver, Bales, to end the half 21-10.

Freeman made yet another great play in the second half, picking off a pass to give the Sandites the ball at the Patriot 16. After being pushed back to a fourth-and-fourteen attempt, Greathouse connected to Mack Thompson at the 2-yard-line and Payton Scott punched it in a few plays later. Bales' PAT missed, but the Sandites led 27-10.

The Sandites scored yet again less than 10 seconds later. Looman's kick pinned the Patriots in at their 19, Delvin Jordan tackled Ealy for a loss of 3, and an unsportsmanlike penalty pushed the visitors back to their 8. A high snap over the quarterback's head traveled all the way into the endzone for a safety, and the Sandites took the ball once again.

From there it was the Patriots' game. The Sandites drove all the way to the visitors' 24 before Greathouse's pass was intercepted. The Patriots retained the ball into the fourth quarter and soon scored on a 5-yard pass to Chris Potts to cut the lead to 29-17.

 The Sandites' next drive was another turnover on downs after a pair of passes were broken up to give Putnam the field at their 32. Putnam marched downfield in yet another successful drive to score on a fourteen-yard pass to Robinson for a touchdown. Castillo's PAT sailed true and cut the deficit to 29-24. 

The Sandites held on to the ball for the remaining two minutes and picked up a first down run the clock out and secure the victory. 

Greathouse finished the evening 10-24-2-172 with one touchdown passing and was 6-(-7) with two touchdowns rushing. The Sandites split receiving duty fairly equally between five players, but Bales led with four receptions for 59 yards. Scott led the ground game with 37 carries for 147 yards and one touchdown. Jordan, Tre Finch, and Gage Fain led the defense with 5 unassisted tackles each, and Freeman was the star of the show with two tackles, an interception, and a fumble recovery.

Gooch led the opposition with a 16-25-1-131 passing record and 14 carries for 72 yards. He was in on all three touchdowns of the evening. 

The Sandites will play their first district game at home next Friday when they take on their Highway 97 rivals from Sapulpa. The Chieftains are ranked fourteenth in Class 6A-II with an 0-3 record after dropping this weekend's game 35-7 to 5A No.8 Bishop Kelley (2-1).

The Patriots will kick off district play at No. 10 Enid Friday (1-2) who just dropped a 44-14 loss to 5A No.7 Bishop McGuinness (2-1).

Sandites of the Week for August through September

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By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

Football season may have just started, but the high school sports season is well under way. We had initially planned on waiting till school started to begin naming a Sandite of the Week again, before realizing that some sports started several weeks before the school year. Out of fairness to the hardworking athletes who gave excellent performances over the last month, we have decided to retroactively name a Sandite of the Week back to August 13th when the first week of high school athletics ended.

August 7 through 13: Sydney Pennington

The athletic season began on Tuesday, August 9th for the Lady Sandite Softball team on a trip to the Claremore Festival where the girls split with a 13-0 shutout win over Mannford and a 5-0 loss to Coweta. Pennington scored two runs on three at-bats against the Lady Pirates, each from a single. Against Coweta she had a perfect batting performance with a single and a double on two at-bats.

On Friday the Sandites traveled to the Broken Arrow Tournament where they amassed a 4-2 record. In the opening game against Owasso, Pennington landed one of only three hits for the Lady Sandites in a 2-1 loss. In the next round the girls got payback on the defending State Champions from Choctaw. After being defeated 4-3 in the State Finals last year, the Sandites avenged themselves with a 4-1 victory in which Pennington scored two runs, one on a fielder’s choice and one on a home run. In the third game of the day the girls handled Putnam City North 3-1. Pennington scored a run and went to the mound for the first time this season. She didn’t give up a single earned run and allowed only four hits against seven strikeouts.

On Saturday the girls dropped a 6-2 loss to Durant and Pennington scored one RBI and hit two singles on three at-bats. Pennington went back to the mound for a 4-1 defeat of Edmond North and Pennington scored two runs on two walks. She allowed only one run, five hits, and zero walks against two strikeouts.

In the tournament finale against the host team, the Sandites prevailed 3-1 to take fifth place out of sixteen teams. Pennington scored one run and two RBI with a perfect batting performance. Two singles, one double, and a home run.

Pennington is a senior and is verbally committed to Oklahoma State University. She is the daughter of Amy and Brett Pennington. This is her third time being named Sandite of the week.

August 14 through 20: Jacie Taber

Charles Page High School sophomore Jacie Taber entered week two of softball with a 2-1 record from the mound, but a series of impressive games bumped her up to 5-1 by the end of the week.

In the first game of a Tuesday night double header against Norman, Taber didn’t give up a single run in the 4-0 shutout. She allowed only three hits and three walks against six strikeouts. In game two she got on base with a double and scored in the 10-0 run rule shutout.

On Thursday the Lady Sandites played a double header against their Highway 97 rivals from Sapulpa. They won the first game 6-0 and the second game with a 10-0 run-rule shutout. In game two Taber got it done on the mound and at the plate, scoring one run and two RBI on three hits for a perfect batting average with two singles and a double. In only five innings she pitched ten strikeouts and only gave up one hit and two walks.

On Friday they headed to the RSU Festival in Claremore and Taber scored a run with a single in an 11-0 shutout run-rule victory over Muskogee. In the next game they played last year’s 5A State Runners-Up and defeated Pryor 3-0 with Taber on the mound. In five innings, Taber gave up only two hits and five walks and struck out ten batters.

Taber is the daughter of Amy and Ronnie Taber. Her father and two older brothers are stars on the Sandite football team. Ronnie played on the State semifinal team in 1988. Jacob, a former SOTW, just graduated after leading the team to the State Finals as Defensive Captain and is currently a freshman at Fort Hays State, while Josh made a great season debut this past weekend as a receiver and defensive back. This is Jacie's first time as Sandite of the Week.

August 21 through 27: Gloria Mutiri

CPHS junior Gloria Mutiri is a 6’2” left-handed middle hitter who has only been playing since the eighth grade. But despite only discovering the sport a few years ago, you would think she was born on the court. Mutiri has been the leading scorer all three years at Charles Page and is one of the top competitors in the entire state.

This was a less than stellar week for the Sandite Volleyball team as a whole, going 2-4 for a seventh place finish at the Broken Arrow Tournament. But Mutiri excelled, averaging nearly 5 kills and 5 digs per set.

The Lady Sandites dropped a close one to 4A No.4 Victory Christian. They won two sets 26-24 and 25-22, but couldn’t pull it together for the whole match. Mutiri smacked down 22 kills and 5 blocks in the exciting match.

At the Broken Arrow Tournament the team struggled with communicating and gave up several close matches that could have gone either way. In the first match, Mutiri got into a shootout with Malia Leatherland of Tulsa NOAH Home School and both scored 31 points in the wild 3-2 loss. The Sandites won the first two games 25-16 and 29-27 before the Jags rallied for wins of 29-27, 25-20, and 15-13.

The next match was mostly a blowout by No. 3 Norman North, but the Sandites didn’t go down without a fight. They were the only team to win a set against Norman North in pool play and prevented the shutout with a 25-20 win. The other three games only scored a total 27 points for the Sandites, however.

Mutiri posted 23 points and 9 aces in a 3-1 win over Moore during pool play, then added 19 in a 3-0 victory against Moore in the placement match. In between matches against Moore, the girls played a tough one against Bartlesville, losing 3-0 in hotly contested sets. The Bruins didn’t win a single set by more than five points. Over the course of the tournament Mutiri scored 23 aces in only 19 games.

Mutiri is the daughter of the late Reverend Chantal Mutiri and has four sisters, three of whom also attended Charles Page. She is a two-year starter on the varsity basketball team and has been named Sandite of the Week once before for basketball.

August 28 through September 3: Cheyenne Walden

Sand Springs will be hard pressed to ever find a runner as gifted, hard-working, and sportsmanlike as senior Cheyenne Walden. The three-time Cross Country State Champion and three-time Track State Champion not only beats her competitors by impressive margins, but she then stops at the finish line to cheer them on and congratulate them when they finish.

Walden has broken her one-mile personal record two weeks in a row with first place finishes in both events. The Sandites rarely participate in one-mile runs and this was the first year she’s officially clocked one since the Sapulpa race in 2013. In the first race this year, two Saturdays ago, she beat her PR by eight seconds with a 5:23 mile at Kiefer. This past Saturday she shaved another two seconds off for 5:21 at Sapulpa, beating her closest competitor by fifteen seconds.

This is Walden’s fifth-straight Cross Country victory. She went undefeated in the state of Oklahoma her junior year, and only came in runner-up one time at the Fayetteville Chile Pepper Festival.

Walden is the daughter of Angela Rhodes and Alvin Walden. Her sister, Kaitlyn Walden is a freshman this year and has also been performing well in JV and finished her mile in 7:07 for sixth place. This is Cheyenne’s second time being named Sandite of the Week.

Sandite of the Week is a weekly recognition given to any one person with significant ties to the Sand Springs community who accomplishes remarkable achievements during the Sunday through Saturday week preceding the award. Prior achievements may be noted in the article, but do not bear direct influence on the selection committee which only considers prior week accomplishments. Candidates may be nominated by anyone by emailing SanditePrideNews@gmail.com. The award is not given to anyone in consecutive weeks, but any recipient may be nominated and awarded again in the future, so long as the weeks are not consecutive. Final selection is made by a majority vote of the Sandite Pride Editorial Board.

Businesses or organizations seeking to sponsor the Sandite of the Week award may contact the above email for inquiries.

Sand Springs takes down Sapulpa 20-14 in Highway 97 Rivalry alumni game

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By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

The Sand Springs Sandites have claimed the lead in the Highway 97 Rivalry Alumni series. The third annual alumni football game was held Saturday night at Charles Page High School Memorial Stadium in Sand Springs and the home team won it for the second year in a row.

Sandite quarterback Cody Hale returned to the turf for the first time since graduating in 2014. The Seminole State pitcher had a hard time connecting with his receivers, but managed a beautiful 21-yard touchdown pass to Cody Hilderbrandt to get Sand Springs on the board moments before the end of the first half.

The Hale-Hilderbrandt combo is a duo Sand Springs will remember for years to come as Hale holds the single-season passing touchdown record for Sand Springs and Hilderbrandt holds the single-season receiving touchdown record for Sand Springs.

Sapulpa was first to draw blood with an eighteen-yard touchdown pass by J.R. Romine. Romine had a huge impact on Sapulpa’s 2014 victory and was unable to participate in last year’s 35-0 shutout by the Sandites.

Sapulpa maintained their 7-0 lead right up until the final seconds of the first half when Hale found Hilderbrandt in the back corner of the endzone with 1.4 seconds remaining. A quick hand-off to Znick Ferrell for a two-point conversion gave Sand Springs the lead at half time.

It didn’t take long for the Sandites to find the end-zone again in the second half.

Sapulpa got the ball to start the half, but a tackle for loss by Travis Tanner pushed them back two yards, followed by a false start and an incomplete pass. At third and seventeen Tanner, Pedro Negron, and Austin Perry combined to sack Romine and force a punt.

Terrance Dixon, a three-year starter for Northeastern State University, picked up thirteen yards, Ferrell grabbed seventeen, and Hale sent a pass to Michael Brown to park the Sandite Offense at the five yard line. After two failed attempts, the Sandites finally scored on a hand-off to the Class of 2015’s Davey Thayer. A conversion attempt was unsuccessful, but the Sandites led 14-7.

Sapulpa didn’t take long to retaliate with a 1-yard run from Jason Broom to tie things up, but Sand Springs reclaimed the lead with 17 seconds left as Ferrell punched in a 1-yard touchdown. A conversion pass attempt to Negron fell flat, but it wouldn’t matter.

On the first play of Sapulpa’s corresponding drive, Romine threw an interception into the waiting arms of Ryan Freeman with 4.5 seconds left to put the game away for the Sandites.

Click here to see the full gallery.

 

Sand Springs:
Davey Thayer (2015)
Lane Freeman (2011)
Znick Ferrell (2009)
Travis Millikin (2014)
Ryan Umbarger (2009)
Cody Hale (2014)
Terrance Dixon (2010)
Keith Hooks (1999)
Ben Riggs (2007)
Justin Caywood
Matt Bettinger (2009)
Nathan Spencer (2009)
Mitchell Brown (2003)
Ryan Freeman (2008)
Michael Brown
Marc Brown (1999)
Keyandre Rose
Austin Ryan (2007)
Pedro Negron (1999)
Shay Kelley (2008)
Kyron Hill (2006)
Rodney Zickefoose
Deandre Smith
Luke Davis (2007)
Austin Perry (2009)
Matt Tucker (2006)
Kenny Tucker
Heath Sutherland (1998)
Levi Wilson (2012)
Kyle Riggs (2008)
Danae Wilson (2007)
Bryan Benton
Travis Tanner (1994)
Cody Hilderbrandt (2013)
Nick Millikin (2011)
Gabe Chronister

Sapulpa:
Paul Littlebear (2011)
Darien Inks (2013)
Michael Cashon (2006)
Cory Mondier (2014)
Tommy Murray (2012)
JR Romine (1998)
Caleb Meacham (2002)
Rob Gowdy (2012)
Lance Simmers (2011)
Jason Broom (1998)
Travis Munger (2011)
Josh Littlebear (2012)
Josh Hardee (2005)
Corbin Steeples (2013)
Sean Proctor (2005)
Julian Roland (2014)
Kiah Smith (1998)
John Tinsley (1999)
Brandon Hardee (2013)
Randall Hardee (2004)
Keiron Peacock (1988)
Zac Williams (1999)
Mike Taylor (2002)
Mark Wheaton (1999)
Chris Playford (1998)
Cliff Owens (2005)
Yancey Phillips (2007)
Casey Smith (2002) 
JT Rains (2014)
Trevor Toliver (2011)
John Blackburn (1998)

Sandite Boys' Soccer season comes to an end at Deer Creek

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By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

The Charles Page High School Boys' Soccer Team (3-12) saw their season come to a close in Edmond Thursday night as they were handily defeated 7-0 by the defending State Champions, No.18 nationally ranked Deer Creek (12-1). 

The boys finished the season with the same number of wins as last year, plus two more losses. In 2015 the boys started 0-4 before they found their first win, but this year they pulled off an impressive 4-0 shutout of Muskogee in the second game of the season.

They lost five straight from there, but placed sixth in the Edison Green and White Tournament after freshman Ethan Baxter scored a hat trick in a 4-1 defeat of Regent Prep. The third win this season is the most important game to win for a Sandite. The Highway 97 Rivalry went to Sand Springs in a 2-1 overtime victory Tuesday night. 

The Antlers wasted no time in getting on the board as sophomore Chris Smirlis notched a goal less than three minutes into the game. The game was a shooting melee, but Sandite keeper Edgar Soberano was all over it, picking up seven saves on thirteen shots before allowing a goal with 13 minutes remaining in the half. The Sandites finally got off their first shot of the game in the 32nd minute, but it was no where close.

The Antlers added another goal for the 3-0 lead with a little over five minutes in the half, then scored a fourth with only 0:50 seconds left. With moments left, Alex Hernandez fired off the second shot of the half for the Sandites from thirty yards out, but sent it wide left as the clock expired. Deer Creek added a PK 16 minutes into the second half for the 5-0 advantage. Tucker Brown added the sixth goal of the evening with 21 minutes to play, and from there Deer Creek sent in the backups to finish the night. The Antlers scored on a free kick with 16 minutes left and the rest of the night consisted of driving back and forth with neither team making any really close runs.

Redistricting really hurt the boys this season, who actually played better than last season in many ways. The tough district included two nationally ranked teams in Deer Creek and Union. The boys' season opener was also to a nationally ranked team, though East Central wasn't a district game. The boys were far better than their record indicated, as demonstrated by the fact Union and East Central each only beat the Sandites by two goals. Seven of the losses this season were decided by two goals or less.

Baxter led the team in scoring with 5 goals, followed by Andrew Morrison with 3, Kaleb Brooks with 2, Alex Hernandez with 2, Cade Loomin with 1, Cody Gurley with 1, and Ignacio Garcia with 1. 

The team will be graduating seven this year: Brooks, Lazaro Franco, Dylan Lambert, Simon Hollekve, Dalton Lane, and Hunter Jacob.

This season's photo galleries can be found at https://sanditepride.smugmug.com/2016-Soccer

Ethan Baxter Golden Goal seals Highway 97 victory for Sandites

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By: Virgil Noah, Marketing Director
Photo: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

Neither the Charles Page High School boys soccer team (3-11) or the Sapulpa High School boys (2-10) are having season to brag about, but when the two face each other the Highway 97 Rivals are always playing for something to brag about.  

Sapulpa came storming out of the gates as Senior Paige McCracken raced up the right line and took a shot that bent straight across the front of the goal. Sand Springs came right back with a chance of their own as Logan Jeffus sent a ball high over the defense and into the box. Sapulpa Goalkeeper Ethan Tanton came out in an attempt to grab the ball but Ignacio Garcia was able to get his head on the ball and chip it over Tanton to give the Sandites the first goal of the game. Moments later Garcia took a shot from well outside the box that dipped at the last moment and struck the crossbar and was cleared by the Sapulpa defense. 

Sapulpa was able to equalize the game when a cross was sent into the Sandite box and a cluster of players blocked Sand Springs goalie Edgar Soberano's vision and allowed Colten Broughton to tap in the goal. Sapulpa would have a couple more chances to score but both shots went just high over the bar. 

The second half started out slow but picked up about halfway through, when a Chieftain corner found the head of Jesse Evans but his shot hit the crossbar and Soberano blocked away the shot attempt that followed. Soberano made another save right after that to keep the game level.  

The Sandites then took back control of the momentum as Cade Loomin dribbled all the way down the left line and into the box but Tanton made an impressive save on the shot. Ignacio Garcia then made a run of his own but crossed the ball back post to Simon Hollekve who first timed a shot that went barely wide. Then Loomin found himself wide open for another shot opportunity but his attempt hit the post and bounced away. 

Neither team was able to score before the end of regulation and the game was sent into extra time tied 1-1. The first few minutes were uneventful but then a Chieftain defender played the ball back to Tanton whose clear went directly to Ignacio Garcia. Garcia took a shot that Tanton was able to dive and save, but it ricocheted straight to Ethan Baxter who stroked the ball to back post for the game-winning golden goal. 

The Sandites will end the regular season Thursday night in Edmond against Deer Creek (11-1) while Sapulpa will take on Westmoore (1-12) Friday night on the road. 

Sapulpa Lady Chieftains win Highway 97 Soccer Rivalry with 2-0 victory over Sand Springs

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By: Virgil Noah, Marketing Director
Photo: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

The Charles Page High School girls soccer team (9-5) entered their matchup with their Highway 97 rivals Sapulpa High School (6-8) looking to right the ship and get to double digit wins after losing back-to-back games for the first time all season. The Lady Sandites fell to Westmoore High School (7-7) on Senior Night by a heartbreaking 2-1 score in extra time. 

The first half saw lots of scoring opportunities from both teams.  

Megan Deshazo put a cross in from a corner kick and Oral Roberts University signee Brooklyn Eardley got a head on it, but Lady Chieftain keeper Cierra Kent was able to bat it away. A few minutes later Lady Chieftain midfielder Mackenzie Biggs took a shot that Lady Sandite keeper Abigail Banks got a hand on and then deflected off the top of the crossbar.

Biggs would get off another shot and Banks made a diving save. Sand Springs defender Emma Peak stepped in front of a shot by Morgan Medina and it ricocheted off of her back and out of striking range. Just before the half Eardley got off a shot at the inside of the post that Kent had to slide to save and the first half came to an end tied 0-0. 

Minutes into the second half Emma Peak took a shot from outside the box that was saved by a sliding Kent and Kyndal Zicker got off a rocket of a shot that Kent barely got to. Sapulpa got on the board midway through the second half as a shot on goal was deflected by Abigail Banks, but bounced straight to Sapulpa midfielder Addyson Hoey who tapped it in for the lead.

Kayla Foster, who has seen limited action since returning from a knee injury, subbed in after the Lady Chieftain goal and nearly scored the equalizer. Foster lined up a free kick from the edge of the box and struck the crossbar. The ball ricocheted directly back to her and she was able to get another shot off but it floated high and over the crossbar. 

Sapulpa put the game out of reach when Kelsey Gordon scored on a penalty kick that was just past Banks's fingertips.  

Sand Springs will play their regular-season finale Thursday night in Edmond against Deer Creek (10-3), while Sapulpa will travel to Moore to battle Westmoore.