Stellar defense not enough as No. 2 Spartans spoil Sandites' playoff hopes

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Photo: Morgan Miller.

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

Scoring Summary:

1Q 6:23 Griffin 40 yard pass to Presley. Campbell PAT. 7-0 Bixby.
2Q 5:27 Pawley 44 yard run. Campbell PAT 14-0 Bixby.
2Q 1:24 Greathouse 6 yard pass to Bales. Hernandez PAT 14-7 Bixby.
2Q 0:12 Greathouse 23 yard pass to Bales. Hernandez PAT 14-14.
3Q 7:56 Griffin 16 yard pass to Barbour. Campbell PAT 21-14 Bixby.
3Q 3:36 Scott 4 yard run. Hernandez PAT 21-21.
4Q 5:50 Pawley 5 yard run. Campbell PAT 28-21 Bixby.
4Q 1:45 Pawley 16 yard run. Campbell PAT 35-21 Bixby.

Note: Coverage of the Sandite-Spartan Semi-final game presented by Morgan's Relax Packs.

For the third-straight year, the No. 3 Charles Page High School varsity football team (7-5) was eliminated from the playoffs by the No. 2 Bixby Spartans (9-3). The Sandites put up a valiant effort, but the two-time defending State Champions progressed to their third-straight State Championship finals appearance with a 35-21 win at Sapulpa's George F. Collins Stadium.

The game was an incredible defensive showdown that saw the two teams punt a total of sixteen times with two interceptions, one fumble recovery, and one turnover on downs. The Spartans won the battle, however, forcing ten punts and racking up 63 yards in tackles for loss. 

Sand Springs failed to find a rhythm offensively, completing only ten first downs and eleven passes on 32 attempts. The team struggled to hold on to the ball, fumbling four times, and dropping numerous passes that should have been completed.

On the Sandites' first possession they quickly picked up 21 yards on a run from junior running back Payton Scott, but then senior quarterback Hunter Greathouse's first pass of the night sailed into the hands of Ethan Hall for an interception. In a strange turn of events, Spartan quarterback Tanner Griffin's first pass was also an interception, caught by sophomore Hayden Cramer, to hold the Spartan possession to a mere ten seconds.

Passing
CPHS: Greathouse 10-31-125-1, 2TD. Pennington 1-1-(-2)-0.
Bixby: Griffin 18-29-238-1, 2TD.

Rushing
CPHS: Scott 24-86, 1 TD. Greathouse 3-(-21). Pennington 1-(-13).
Bixby: Pawley 33-202, 3TD. Griffin 4-25. Presley 1-9. Riddle 1-9.

Receiving
CPHS: Bales 7-69, 2TD. Thompson 1-42. Taber 1-11. Scott 2-1.
Bixby: Kerr 3-80. Presley 5-74, 1TD. Swanson 5-58. Barbour 2-18, 1TD. Riddle 1-8. Pawley 1-3. Watkins 1-(-3).

Tackles (CPHS Only)
Morgan 9, Tolbert 6, Jordan 4, Taber 4, Motes 4, Fain 4, Freeman 4, Simonton 4, Bratcher 3, Cramer 3, Fleischman 1, Delozier 1, Moyer 1, Thompson 1.

The Sandites were unable to capitalize, however, and Greathouse soon punted the ball away without a first down. Bixby had little difficulty moving the ball this time, driving 84 yards in six plays to score on a 40 yard pass to freshman receiver Brennan Presley. Jason Campbell's kick was good and the Spartans were up 7-0.

Eight possessions later, the Spartans caped an 87-yard drive with a 44-yard touchdown run by junior running back Tucker Pawley to make the score 14-0 with 5:27 left in the half.

Sand Springs came alive from there, finally scoring on their seventh possession of the night, aided by a series of personal fouls by the Spartans. Sand Springs grabbed one first down on a facemask penalty, added another on a roughing-the-passer call, then went to work offensively at the Spartan 32. Between Scott's runs and Kasey Bales's receptions, the Sandites inched down to the six yard line where Greathouse connected with Bales for the score. Alex Hernandez sent in the point-after, and the Sandites were closing the gap with 1:24 in the half.

On the Spartans' second play of the corresponding drive, Griffin found Presley again for a gain of twelve, but the freshman lost control of the ball and senior Treyce Tolbert got the recovery to set up Sand Springs for the game-tying drive. 

Greathouse hit Mack Thompson for 42 yards, and after a series of incomplete passes, he found Bales from 23-out to tie the game at half time.

The Sandites didn't ever take the lead, but they won the third quarter defensively, holding Bixby to only 86 yards and three completions on eight attempts. The Spartans did score on their opening drive of the half with a 16 yard pass to Clayton Barbour, but Sand Springs responded two possessions later. 

After a Sandite drive fell flat at the fifty, Greathouse pinned Bixby in at their own one-yard line. Three plays later the Spartans had to punt into a headwind and gave the Sandites prime real estate at the 19-yard-line.

Sand Springs wasted no time in scoring as Bales hauled in a thirteen yard pass and Scott ran it the final four to tie the game.

Soon after, the Spartans pushed eighty yards in eight plays to score on a six yard run from Pawley. With 5:50 to play, things began to fall apart for the Sandites.

Tight-end Dash Fleischman was injured on a play and had to come out for the game. Greathouse found Josh Taber for a first down, but then had to come out for a play. A direct snap attempt to Scott sailed well over his head and he barely recovered the ball for a loss of fourteen. Bales had to punt into a headwind and the Spartans got possession at the Sandite 49.

Four plays later, Pawley scored his third touchdown of the night to make it 35-21.

Sophomore Caden Pennington came in at quarterback with 1:45 to play. Another errant snap pushed the Sandites back to second and 23 at their 22, then a screen pass to Scott ended in another loss, followed by a delay of game penalty. The final play of the game was a run from Scott for no gain, and the clock ran out for the Spartan victory.

The Spartans will advance to their third-straight State Championship appearance Friday, December 2nd at against the No. 5 Lawton Wolverines (8-4). The Wolverines were the sleeper of this season's playoffs, defeating No. 6 Booker T. Washington 21-20, then upsetting No. 1 Muskogee 34-24. This will be Lawton's first State Championship appearance since 2014 when they fell 35-21 to Bixby. 

Sydney Pennington selected as finalist for Junior Women's World Championship Team

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By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

Charles Page High School senior and Oklahoma State University commit Sydney Pennington is headed back to the national level for softball, once again. This July the star infielder competed on the Amateur Softball Association All-Star Team at the Junior Olympic Cup in Powder Springs, Georgia. Now she's headed to Florida this December to try out for the Junior Women's National Team.

The JWNT Selection Camp will be held December 31-January 1, 2017 in Clearwater, Florida. During the selection process she will participate in drills and simulated games, and will be evaluated by the USA Softball Women's National Team Selection Committee, says a press release from the organization.

If Pennington makes the cut, she will get to compete at the 2017 Junior Women's World Championship next July. 

Pennington is a a four-time All-Metro player, four-time All-District player, All-Region player, All-State player, and was named the District Player of the Year three years in a row. She finished her senior fast-pitch season with a 6-0 record on the mound for a 1.41 ERA over 39.2 innings pitched with 29 strikeouts and only 23 hits. She batted .543 for 10 homers, 45 runs, and 38 RBI without a single strikeout. 

No. 3 Sand Springs vs No. 2 Bixby: State Semi-finals tonight in Sapulpa

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Photo: Morgan Miller

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

The third-ranked Charles Page High School varsity football team (7-4) is making a semi-final playoff appearance for the third straight year Friday night at Sapulpa's George F. Collins Stadium. Morgan's Relax Packs is sponsoring tonight's game coverage.

This is the Sandites second-straight year playing in Sapulpa, their third-straight year of playing a post-season game against No. 2 Bixby (8-3), and their second semi-final meeting against the Spartans in the last three years. Thus far, the Sandites have never beaten the Spartans in the post-season, and the Spartans haven't lost a post-season game in three years. 

The Sandite-Spartan rivalry is a brutal one, with six meetings in three years and a 4-1 record in favor of Bixby. Though the Spartans hold an all-time record of 14-12-0 against Sand Springs, it's been the last three years that have mattered the most, with Bixby serving as a constant roadblock in the Sandites' path. 

In 2014 the Sandites gave Bixby their closest game of the season before falling 34-31 at Spartan Stadium in the regular-season finale. The Sandites rebounded with an overtime win at Midwest City to make their first semi-final appearance since 1997, but were plagued by injuries and handily defeated 41-14 in Broken Arrow. The Spartans went on to defeat Lawton for their first ever State Championship title. 

Last season the Sandites got vengeance with a 20-0 victory at home, dealing the Spartans their first shutout loss since 2008. The Minutemen went on to blow out Stillwater on the road, then topped No. 1 Booker T. Washington in Sapulpa before meeting the Spartans in their first State Championship game since 1966. The defending State Champs prevailed, however, dealing the Sandites a 38-28 loss at Union High School. 

This season the Spartans got the win at home, 35-19 over the No. 2 Sandites, to sabotage Sand Springs's district title. Had Sand Springs won, it would have been their first district title since 1997 and their first home playoff game since they hosted Westmoore in 2013. Sand Springs traveled to No. 4 Midwest City once again and prevailed 23-14 while Bixby trashed No. 7 Putnam City West 49-7.

Bixby had the home field advantage in the last game, and the two teams have a habit of splitting wins. Last year Bixby lost to both Sand Springs and Bartlesville in the regular season, then beat both in the playoffs, while the Sandites lost to Booker T. Washington in the regular season and won in the playoffs. The parity of the division means anything is possible, and Sand Springs already has a win over No. 1 Muskogee (9-1), who beat Bixby 45-42. 

Bixby boasts the top scoring offense in the State with 45 points per game, while the Sandites are fifth with 28 points per game. Sand Springs, however, has a habit of playing to their opponents' skill level. The Spartans have the number one run game and number two passing offense in the state, while the Sandites are only ninth in run coverage and eleventh in pass coverage. The two teams are tied for defensive scoring with both teams holding 28 total points this season. The Sandite offense is fifth in scoring, seventh in yards-per-play, and sixth in yards-per-rush. The Spartan defense is nearly identical to the Sandite defense in all areas but pass coverage, where they're significantly better. 

The winner of the match will progress to the State Championship against the winner of No. 1 Muskogee vs No. 5 Lawton (7-4). It's the 50th anniversary of the Sandites' lone State Championship season, so regardless of the victor, you can expect to see some wild game-play and Sandite magic. 

SEE RELATED: Week 12 6A-II Rankings and Playoff predictions; a look at this weekend's games

SEE RELATED: Payton Scott scores twice, Defense shines in 23-14 victory over Midwest City

SEE RELATED: Sandites secure fifth-straight playoff berth, travel to Midwest City Friday

Sandite of the Week: Delvin Jordan records three sacks against No. 4 Midwest City

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By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

Charles Page High School senior Delvin Jordan is one of the most explosive line backers in recent memory for the No. 3 ranked Sand Springs Sandites (7-4) and leads his team this season with fifteen tackles for loss totaling 91 yards. 

The 6'0" 224-pound wrestler has also been awarded Sandite of the Week once before after winning the Regional Championship last winter. This is his first recognition on the gridiron and it comes on the heels of a 23-14 playoff victory over District One Champion No. 4 Midwest City, that can be credited majorly to the defense. 

Jordan was second on his team in total tackles, recording six, but led in tackles for loss with three sacks for 27 yards, a personal best for the young star. The Midwest City game brings his season-total to eight sacks for 64 yards. Last season he managed eight sacks (over thirteen games) for 36 yards and had fifteen tackles-for-loss totaling 64 yards. With at least one more game before him, possibly two, he has easily surpassed his already incredible record. He also recorded his third forced-fumble of the season.

His first tackle of the night came on a seventeen-yard kickoff return by Declaudio Irvin. Next he stopped a six-yard run by Tyree Young, followed by a seventeen-yard run by Young. He picked up his first sack in the third quarter, laying out Preston Colbert for a ten-yard loss on third down to force a punt. He found Colbert again on the Bombers' next possession, this time for a loss of twelve, to set them up at third and 32. The Bombers would punt again soon-after. Colbert just couldn't keep away from Jordan, who hit him once again for a strip sack on their next possession and a loss of five with ten minutes to play. 

Ultimately the Sandites prevailed over the home team thanks to turnovers, despite under-performing offensively. 

Jordan's father, Delvin Jordan Sr., was also a star on the Sandite football team when he was quarterback from 1993-1994. The Sandites went 7-4 during Jordan Sr.'s junior year and fell 24-7 in the playoffs to the eventual State Champion, No. 1 Jenks (13-1). 

The Sandites will take on No. 2 Bixby (8-3) this Friday night at Sapulpa in their third-straight State Semi-final appearance. They met Bixby in the semi-finals in 2014 and were defeated, then lost to Bixby last year in the State Championship.

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.

Daton Fix becomes fourth Division One commit in CPHS Class of 2017, more are possible

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By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

Charles Page High School is on a roll lately with talented athletes in all areas, and has signed seven to play at the collegiate level this week. Four of those are going to NCAA Division One schools, and we haven't even got to winter and spring sports yet. 

Senior three-time State Champion Daton Fix signed with No. 1 Oklahoma State University as the number one most sought-after recruit in the nation. He's a ten-time Freestyle National Champion, three-time Folkstyle National Champion, three-time Greco-Roman National Champion, Freestyle and Greco Pan-American Champion, and two-time World Championship Freestyle Bronze Medalist. 

SEE RELATED: National Champion Daton Fix signs to No. 1 Oklahoma State University wrestling

Senior pitcher Jake Terry signed with the No. 21 University of Oklahoma to play baseball after committing to the program in 2015. He finished last season with a 5-4 record and 3.88 ERA and is currently recovering from shoulder surgery with his Senior year still ahead of him. 

SEE RELATED: CPHS Senior Jake Terry officially signs with University of Oklahoma baseball

Senior pitcher/short-stop Sydney Pennington signed with the No. 31 Oklahoma State University softball team after committing to the program in 2014. She finished last season with a 6-0 record, 1.41 ERA, and .543 batting average and is also the leading scorer on the Lady Sandite Basketball team.

SEE RELATED: CPHS Senior Sydney Pennington signs with Oklahoma State University Softball

Senior seven-time State Champion Cheyenne Walden signed with the No. 15 Oklahoma State University cowgirls after committing to the program in October. She finished her Cross Country career with four State Titles and looks to the Spring track season where she already holds three State Titles in two distances. 

SEE RELATED: CPHS Senior Cheyenne Walden signs with Oklahoma State University Cross Country

Senior four-time State Qualifier Alexis Davis signed with the NCAA Division II Southwestern Oklahoma State University. She finished her career as the first ever Lady Sandite (along with Walden) to ever qualify for State all four years. She took 21st in the State this fall and will continue to show off this spring in Track.

SEE RELATED: CPHS Senior Alexis Davis signs with SWOSU Cross Country

Senior All-State outfielder Jessica Collins signed with NJCAA Division I Connors State. She finished last season with a .316 batting average and was named to the All-District, All-Region, and All-State teams. She will join the Lady Sandite basketball team this winter before finishing her high school career with Spring slow pitch.

SEE RELATED: CPHS Senior Jessica Collins signs with Connors State College Softball

6'6" Senior center Kyle Keener signed with the NCAA Division II University of Central Oklahoma basketball team after committing to the program in September. He finished his junior year as the number three scorer on his team with 11 points and 6 rebounds per game.

SEE RELATED: CPHS Senior Kyle Keener signs with University of Central Oklahoma Basketball

The only other Sand Springs student currently committed to a college is Class of 2018 volleyball player Gloria Mutiri, who verbally committed to Ohio State University in September, but there are several other Seniors expected to go to the next level.

CPHS wrestling coach Kelly Smith says he has two or three other seniors who are more than capable of wrestling at the Division One level if they can get the exposure necessary. 

Sandite Pride's most eligible senior recruits are:

Wrestling
Jack Karstetter (73-15, 132 State Runner-Up)
Beau Bratcher (87-23, 138 State Runner-Up)
Zane Basma (62-25, 160 State Third-Place)
Delvin Jordan (31-12, 220 Regional Champ)
Michael Ritchey (29-24, 113 Regional Champ)
Derek Davis (17-12, 132)
Cody Mathis (18-14, 145)

Cross Country
Jacob Garbey (5K time 17:36)
Ian Baustert (5K time 18:36)

Football
Delvin Jordan (6'0" 224 LB)
Lincoln Adams (6'3" 300 OL/DL)
Hunter Greathouse (6'3" 180 QB)
Nathan Simonton (6'2" 256 OL/DL)
Kasey Bales (5'10" 165 WR/K)
Dalton Morgan (6'0" 190 RB/LB)
Josh Taber (5'11" 160 DB/WR)
Danny Ropp (5'11" 253 OL/DL)
Treyce Tolbert (5'10" 170 DB)
Brett Freeman (6'2" 174 DB)

Mens Soccer
Alex Hernandez (2 goals last season)

Mens Basketball
Mack Thompson (5'10" 7 points per game)

Volleyball
Baylee Mudd (167 digs last season)
Lee Leslie (68 kills, 131 digs last season)

Womens Soccer
Megan Deshazo (13 goals last season)
Kyndal Zicker (12 goals last season)
Melina Flores
Brooklyn Flores

Baseball
Hunter Greathouse (.405 AVG, 3.73 ERA)
Josh Taber (.363 AVG)
Treyce Tolbert (.306 AVG)
Mack Thompson (.238 AVG)
Josh Cordell (3.91 ERA)

National Champion Daton Fix signs to No. 1 Oklahoma State University wrestling

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By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

Charles Page High School senior and internationally renown wrestler Daton Fix has officially announced his college commitment, and it didn't come as much of a surprise for Oklahoma State fans. While the highly sought-after recruit has been open about letting the process play out, and hadn't previously given any indication of where he was leaning, fans of the No. 1 ranked Oklahoma State Cowboys (1-0) had good reason to expect the Sand Springs student to come their way.

Not only was Fix's father, Derek Fix, a successful Oklahoma State wrestler, but so was his coach, Kelly Smith, and his best friend Kaden Gfeller recently announced his commitment to the Orange earlier this summer. Fix has been raised an Oklahoma State fan and several of his classmates have also announced their intentions to compete for OSU, namely: Sydney Pennington for Softball and Cheyenne Walden for Cross Country and Track.

Fix announced his short list earlier this summer, limiting his choices to North Carolina (0-0), No. 2 Penn State (2-0), No. 4 Ohio State (0-0), No. 7 Nebraska (0-0), and his ultimate choice. 

OSU is currently ranked first in the nation, something Fix and his soon-to-be school have in common. He is currently ranked first in the nation at 132 pounds by Flowrestling, who was on-hand to live-stream his college decision. He is third on the pound-for-pound rankings behind 126 Spencer Lee and 145 Yianni Diakomihalis, both of whom he has split decisions with in the past. Intermatwrestle also has Fix at number one, and has Charles Page High School as a team ranked 27th in the nation, third in the state, and second in Class 6A.

Fix will bring quite the resume with him. The three-time undefeated State Champion doesn't slow down when the high school season ends. He's also a Pan-American Champion, National Champion, Olympic Silver Medalist, and two-time World Bronze Medalist. He has competed in numerous countries, including China, Brazil, Spain, France, Slovakia and more. 

Fix says he's comfortable taking a redshirt if that's what his coach wants, but he won't be likely to stop with his summer freestyle competition. He plans on continuing to look at Senior level tournaments in the near future and will be defending his undefeated record this winter. 

SEE RELATED: CPHS Senior Sydney Pennington signs with Oklahoma State University Softball
SEE RELATED: CPHS Senior Jessica Collins signs with Connors State College Softball
SEE RELATED: CPHS Senior Cheyenne Walden signs with Oklahoma State University Cross Country
SEE RELATED: CPHS Senior Alexis Davis signs with SWOSU Cross Country
SEE RELATED: CPHS Senior Kyle Keener signs with University of Central Oklahoma Basketball
SEE RELATED: CPHS Senior Jake Terry officially signs with University of Oklahoma baseball