Bixby Lady Spartans rout Sand Springs 5-0 at home

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By: Virgil Noah, Staff Writer

It was a rough night for the Charles Page High School Ladies' Soccer Team (0-2) as they ran into a Bixby High School squad (3-0) who was very sound on both ends of the pitch. The Lady Spartans scored early and often throughout the course of the game en route to a 5-0 victory. 

SEE RELATED: Jeffus brothers lead Sandite Soccer to first win of season 2-1 over Bixby

Junior defender Caroline Carson got Bixby on the board in the 8th minute with a header that trickled off the fingers of Lady Sandite goalkeeper Abigail Banks. Senior forward Kyndal Zicker countered for the Sand Springs but her shot on goal went straight to Bixby goalkeeper Maddie Dees. Zicker's shot was one of just three on the night for Charles Page as Bixby's stifling defense frustrated the Lady Sandite attack for the duration of the match. 

Banks and the defense kept the visitors off the board for almost the remainder of the first half, with Banks making several impressive saves, but with just 0:32 left in the first half Lacy White found the back of the net to give her side a two goal lead heading into the locker room.  

The second half saw more of the same, with Taylor Pease and Mary Swain both scoring goals off of shots to the far post hitting iron and bouncing in. Kaitlyn Asher rounded out the scoring with a goal in the 62nd minute.  

The Lady Sandites will return to action on the 23rd after a Spring Break hiatus when they host the Muskogee Lady Roughers (1-0).

No. 3 CPHS Girls Basketball dominates No. 13 Mustang 42-24 in State Quarterfinals

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Isabella Regalado is one of three starting sophomores who will be anchoring the Lady Sandites in the years to come. (Photo: Scott Emigh).

CPHS 42 MHS 24

1Q CPHS 12-4
2Q CPHS 11-4
3Q CPHS 8-7
4Q CPHS 11-9

Free Throws: CPHS 4-of-9. MHS 10-of-15.
Field Goals: CPHS 18-of-48. MHS 7-of-31.
Fouls: CPHS 10. MHS 9.

Scoring: (CPHS) Kersgieter 16, Pennington 9, Johnson 8, McGee 3, Regalado 3, Mutiri 3. (MHS) Niehues 8, Haywood 7, Foreman 4, Metzinger 3, Brown 2.

(CPHS only)
Offensive Rebounds: Kersgieter 4, Pennington 1, Mutiri 1.
Defensive Rebounds: Pennington 6, McGee 5, Kersgieter 3, Mutiri 3, Regalado 1.
Steals: Johnson 3, McGee 3, Kersgieter 2, Pennington 1, Regalado 1.
Blocks: Mutiri 2.
Assists: Pennington 1, Johnson 1, Kersgieter 1.
Fouls: Mutiri 4, Regalado 2, Pennington 2, Johnson 1, McGee 1.

The No. 3 ranked Charles Page High School Girls' Basketball team (24-1) took on No. 13 Mustang (17-11) in the first round of the OSSAA 6A State Championship Thursday afternoon at Memorial High School and rolled to their tenth-straight victory by a final score of 42-24. They will advance to the State Semi-Finals Friday morning at the Oral Roberts Mabee Center where they will meet with No. 4 Deer Creek (25-2) at 9:00 a.m.

The Sandites made their first two attempts from three point range and missed both, but they found their usual niche in transition as sophomore Holly Kersgieter snagged a steal on the Broncos' first possession and turned it into a layup. Fellow sophomore Destiney Johnson struck next for the Sandites, then Kersgieter sank a three for the 7-0 lead.

Next it was time for the upperclassmen to shine as Ohio State Volleyball-commit Gloria Mutiri sank one from the charity stripe and Oklahoma State Softball-signed senior Sydney Pennington scored on a steal for the double digit lead. Johnson got back in the action with another steal and layup for the 12-0 lead and the Broncos used their second timeout.

Mustang finally got on the board with a steal and layup from Mia Brown, then Ellise Foreman added another basket to cut the lead to 12-4 shortly before the buzzer. The Broncos tried to go to work in the second period and scored four straight after an opening basket from McGee, but after a brief timeout, Sand Springs went right back to furthering their lead. Kersgieter scored four, Pennington added three, and Mutiri had two in the final minutes to take a 23-8 advantage into the locker room.

Mustang opened the second half with a pair of free throws from Abby Niehues but Sand Springs retaliated as Pennington hauled in a defensive rebound and sent it down court to Kersgieter for two. Sophomore Bella Regalado struck from three point range to put three sophomores in the scorebook. By the end of the third the Sandites had pushed their lead to 31-15.

Kersgieter, McGee, and Pennington went on a five point run to open the fourth, then the Broncos did the same to negate the damage. But Sand Springs wouldn't be stymied and Pennington and Johnson hit back to back layups for the 40-20 lead with 4:30 left to play. The offense fizzled out from there and the Sandites held on for a 42-24 victory.

Kersgieter led all scorers with 16 points as the only player in the game with double digits. Pennington posted nine and Johnson had eight. Neihuis led the Broncos with eight points.

The Lady Sandites' Friday morning opponent won their quarterfinal 49-42 over No. 6 Booker T. Washington (22-6), who the Sandites defeated 56-44 in the Area Championship. 

Sandite Baseball drops 5-1 district road game at Enid

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Treyce Tolbert scored the lone RBI in a 5-1 loss to Enid Tuesday night. (Photo: Scott Emigh).

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

The Charles Page High School varsity baseball team (1-3 overall, 0-2 district) is off to a rocky start in the 2017 season, dropping their third-straight game Tuesday night at Enid High School (2-2, 2-2).

Following a Monday night 4-0 loss at home to the Plainsmen, Sand Springs traveled to Enid's home field for 5-1 district defeat that saw only one Sandite reach base before the seventh inning.

The Plainsmen jumped on the Sandites fast and early, retiring the side in order, then scoring three runs in the first inning. Ambrien Votiek drew a walk and advanced to second on a sacrifice by Mason Skrimager. Connor Gore sent Votiek to third with a groundball single, then Kros Bay brought him home with an RBI single to center field. Brett Russel was hit by pitch to load the bases, then both Gore and Bay scored on a single from Colby Jarnagin.

Treyce Tolbert got on base for the Sandites in the top of the second with an error by the shortstop, but was left stranded after Skrimager struck out Hunter Greathouse, Braden Cook, and Cale Savage.

Skrimager reached first on an error in the bottom of the third, then stole second before being caught going for third by catcher Kameron Adcock.

CJ Arndt added a fourth run for the Plainsmen in the fourth inning, reaching on a double and scoring on a single from Braden Pierce. Votiek walked in the fifth inning, stole second and third, then scored on a wild pitch for the fifth and final run.

Skrimager continued his impressive pitching in the top of the sixth, striking out the side in order, then the Plainsmen landed another hit on a groundball single from Russel. Arndt grounded into a double play from Greathouse at third to Ty Steelman at second, then to Savage at first to end the inning and give the Sandites one last shot.

Cal Watkins flied out into foul territory. Josh Taber sent a line drive into left field for a single, then took second on a wild pitch. Greathouse grounded out, but Taber took third on the throw, then scored on a single from Tolbert. It would be the lone run of the game for the Sandites as Cook grounded out to short on the next play.

Braden Askew (0-1) got the start and the loss on the mound with six hits, five runs, two strikeouts, and three walks. Mack Thompson relieved him in the final inning and gave up one hit.

Sand Springs will return to action this weekend at the Best of the West tournament in Phoenix, Arizona. They will play out-of-state teams Chaparral High School, Sunnyslope High School, Liberty High School, and Sunrise Mountain High School over the course of the Spring Break tournament.

Sandite Soccer falls 3-2 to Bartlesville in thriller shootout

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By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

The Charles Page High School Boys' Soccer team (0-1) may not have won their season opener against Bartlesville (1-0), but they gave the Bruins a run for their money.

Sand Springs is coming off a 3-12 season, compared to the Bruins' 10-5 performance last year, but the Sandites played with purpose to force overtime before falling in PKs.

The visiting team wasted no time in getting on the scoreboard with a goal from sophomore Brice Terronez less than two minutes into the game. With fourteen minutes left in the first half, Reese Hammon fired a pass to Quinton Palmer who hit paydirt for the 2-0 lead.

The second half belonged to the Sandites, who got on the scoreboard four minutes in with a goal from Alex Hernandez. Logan Jeffus added another point seven minutes later, and senior keeper Edgar Soberano pulled off a pair of impressive saves in the final minute to send the match to overtime PKs.

Freshman Luke Jeffus struck first in the shootout, giving the Sandites their first lead of the game. The Bruins missed their first shot, but the Sandites missed their second and Gabriel Ontiveros tied it up. Both teams made their third shots: Ignacio Garcia for the Sandites and Spencer White for the Bruins. Both teams also made their fourth shots: Gracen Taylor for Sand Springs, and Austin Stitt for Bartlesville. In the fifth round the Sandite missed his mark and Terronez recorded a brace for the Bruin victory.

In OSSAA play, the winner of the shootout adds one point to the regulation score, bringing the final total to 3-2.

The Sandites will return to action Friday with another non-district home game at 8:00 p.m., this time against Bixby (0-1). The Lady Sandite (0-1) match will precede the boys' at 6:00 p.m. Last year the Spartans topped the Sandites 2-0.

State Tournament Preview: No. 3 Lady Sandites to meet No. 13 Mustang in quarterfinal

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By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

The brackets are in for the 2016-2017 OSSAA Basketball State Championship tournaments. All three rounds of the Boys' 6A tournament will be held at the Oral Roberts University Mabee Center, while the Girls' quarterfinals will be hosted by Tulsa Memorial High School. The Girls' semifinals and Championship will be played at the Mabee Center.

The first game will be played at 2:00 p.m. on Thursday between No. 4 Deer Creek (24-2) and No. 6 Booker T. Washington (22-5). Deer Creek has been a top-contender throughout the season, finishing first in the Central Oklahoma Conference with a late-season victory over No. 1 Edmond Santa Fe. They earned their way to State undefeated in the post-season with an impressive 62-50 victory over No. 2 Choctaw. Washington went undefeated as the only 6A team in the Green Country Conference and won their Regional bracket, but ran into a hiccup against No. 3 Sand Springs. After falling 56-44 to the Lady Sandites, they won the Area Consolation 46-43 over No. 14 Bartlesville. 

Next up will be No. 3 Sand Springs (23-1) vs No. 13 Mustang (17-10) at 3:30 p.m. The Lady Sandites are now the only one-loss team left in 6A after both Edmond Santa Fe and Choctaw went down late in the season. They held on to the Frontier Valley Championship despite an upset loss to Owasso, then went undefeated in the post-season with a victory over Booker T. Washington for the Area Championship. Mustang has taken the low-key approach to the State Tournament. They placed sixth in the Central Oklahoma Conference, won their Regional with an upset of No. 8 Norman, fell to No. 1 Edmond Santa Fe in Area, but bounced back with an upset of No. 11 Westmoore. 

No. 1 Edmond Santa Fe (24-2) will meet with the biggest surprise of the season--unranked Ponca City (16-7). Santa Fe took the top-spot in the rankings after previous No. 1 Choctaw fell to 4A No. 1 Ft. Gibson at the Tournament of Champions. They went undefeated till after the Regional brackets came out, then fell 68-51 to No. 4 Deer Creek and 40-39 to No. 13 Mustang. Since then they've won their way through the post season with Regional and Area Championships, capped by a 65-55 payback victory over Mustang. Ponca City's outsider status at the State Tournament is fitting with their outsider status in Class 6A. The Lady Cats are the only team without a conference and have played a mix of teams at various levels of competition. They won their Regional with upsets of No. 12 Midwest City and No. 6 Owasso, then topped No. 9 Norman North in the Area Consolations.

The final game of the day will be between No. 2 Choctaw (23-3) and No. 5 Putnam City West (24-2) at 8:30 p.m. The Yellowjackets have held the No. 2 spot since their finals loss to 4A No. 1 Ft. Gibson in the Tournament of Champions. Despite the loss, they remained undefeated in their division till an upset by Putnam West snatched the Big Ten Conference title from their grip late in the season. They fell 62-50 to No. 4 Deer Creek in the first round of Area, and needed overtime to top No. 16 Edmond North for their ticket to State. Putnam West remains the only team undefeated in Class 6A, with their lone losses coming to Campbell County, Wyoming, and 3A No. 3 Holland Hall. They went undefeated in the post-season, topping Ponca City for the Area title. 

The semifinal games will be played at 9:00 a.m. and noon on Friday, with the Championship round being played at noon on Saturday.

Frontier Valley Conference

  1. No. 3 Sand Springs (23-1, 13-1)
  2. No. 6 Owasso (17-9, 11-3)
  3. No. 14 Bartlesville (16-10, 10-3)
  4. No. 17 Union (14-12, 8-6)
  5. No. 15 Broken Arrow (13-11, 8-6)
  6. No. 19 Sapulpa (10-13, 6-7)
  7. Jenks (7-16, 5-9)
  8. Muskogee (9-14, 4-10)
  9. Bixby (7-16, 2-11)
  10. 5A No. 17 Bishop Kelley (6-16, 2-12)

Big Ten Conference

  1. No. 5 Putnam West (24-2, 13-0)
  2. No. 2 Choctaw (24-3, 14-1)
  3. No. 12 Midwest City (14-10, 10-3)
  4. 5A No. 15 Bishop McGuinness (12-12, 6-7)
  5. Putnam City (10-14, 6-8)
  6. Enid (8-16, 5-8)
  7. Lawton (8-16, 4-9)
  8. 5A No. 14 Del City (9-17, 4-9)
  9. Lawton Eisenhower (9-17, 3-11)
  10. Putnam City North (3-21, 2-12)

Central Oklahoma Conference

  1. No. 4 Deer Creek (24-2, 13-1)
  2. No. 1 Edmond Santa Fe (24-2, 12-2) 
  3. No. 8 Norman (17-9, 10-4)
  4. No. 16 Edmond North (17-10, 9-5)
  5. No. 10 Edmond Memorial (16-10, 9-5)
  6. No. 13 Mustang (17-10, 8-6)
  7. No. 11 Westmoore (17-10, 7-7)
  8. No. 9 Norman North (16-10, 7-6)
  9. No. 18 Yukon (11-12, 3-10)
  10. No. 20 Moore (10-13, 3-10)
  11. Southmoore (3-20, 1-13)
  12. Stillwater (5-19, 1-13)

Green Country Conference

  1. No. 6 Booker T. Washington (22-5, 12-0)
  2. 5A No. 2 East Central (22-4, 10-2)
  3. 5A No. 19 Tulsa Memorial (10-13, 8-4)
  4. Will Rogers (12-13, 8-5)
  5. McLain (8-15, 7-4)
  6. Tulsa Edison (9-13, 6-7)
  7. Tulsa Central (3-18, 3-10)
  8. Nathan Hale (1-20, 1-10)
  9. Daniel Webster (2-22, 0-11)

All-City Conference

  1. 4A No. 3 Classen (28-2, 11-0)
  2. Millwood (19-10, 11-1)
  3. Northwest Classen (12-8, 8-3)
  4. OKC Centennial (9-10, 7-2)
  5. John Marshall (8-16, 6-5)
  6. Douglass (8-15, 6-6)
  7. Capitol Hill (15-8, 5-6)
  8. Northeast Academy (7-12, 4-5)
  9. Southeast (5-16, 3-8)
  10. U.S. Grant (3-21, 1-11)
  11. Star-Spencer (2-20, 0-12)

 

Sapulpa Chieftains win first installment of Highway 97 rivalry, thanks to late Sandite error

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Senior pitcher Josh Cordell struck out six Chieftains in the 1-0 Saturday loss, giving up only two hits. (Photo: Scott Emigh).

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

The Charles Page High School varsity baseball team (1-1) suffered their first loss of the season Saturday afternoon at the hands of their biggest rivals. The Sandites and Sapulpa Chieftains (1-0) were all locked up and scoreless till the bottom of the seventh inning when the home team drew a lucky break to clinch the victory. 

Senior Josh Cordell (0-0) got the start on the mound and gave up two hits and one walk against six strikeouts before being relieved in the seventh inning. Brock Youngblood (0-1) came in for the final stretch and suffered the loss with a single hit. 

Senior shortstop Mack Thompson started things off for the Sandites with a ground ball single into left field, but was left stranded after stealing second as the next three hitters all flied out. 

Sapulpa starting pitcher Jacob Esch walked Ian Baker and Ben Banker in the second inning but managed to strand both with a strikeout. The first Chieftain hit came in the bottom of the inning on a line drive double into left field from Gage Williams, but nothing would come of it.

The back and forth exchange continued with neither team finding home plate.

Both teams went through the entire game without committing a single error, right down to the final stretch. Then Sapulpa nearly got themselves in trouble in the top of the seventh. After the first two Sandites grounded out, Cal Watkins reached on an error by relief pitcher Robert Lino, then advanced to second on yet another error. The home team pulled out of it, however, and stranded Watkins on second as Treyce Tolbert grounded out to Lino.

Alan Shibley came in clutch for the Chieftains, sending a fly ball to center field for a double. This time it was the Sandites' turn to commit an error as William returned to the plate and sent a ground ball to third baseman Hunter Greathouse. Greathouse sent the fielder's choice to second, but overthrew Watkins, giving Shibley time to round home plate for the walk off victory. 

Sand Springs will return to action Monday evening with their district-debut against Enid (0-2 overall, 0-2 district) at home. Sapulpa will host Deer Creek (0-0) for their first district game of the season, also on Monday. The Highway 97 rivals will get a rematch on March 31st, this time on the Sandites' home field.