Sports Roundup: Rector and McNally get All-State, Wrestling kicks off season at Bixby

A version of this story was originally written for the Sand Springs Leader.

The Charles Page High School softball team picked up All-State accolades for the fourth consecutive year this week, and had more than one All-State player for the 17th time in school history.

Raegan Rector (Corner Infield) and JoLee McNally (Utility Outfield) were named to the All-State softball team, and Avery Tanner was named an alternate at Middle Infielder. The All-State games will be played June 11, 2022 at Oklahoma Christian University in Edmond. 

48 Sandite softball players have been named to the All-State team in school history.

Rector led the team in fielding percentage this season at .995 to go with a .352 batting average and .477 slugging percentage. McNally .919 in the field with a .379 batting average and .495 slugging percentage.

Rector, McNally, Tanner, and Lauren Hammock (Utility Outfield) received All-Region accolades as well. 

Rector and Tanner will both be signing collegiate letters of intent to play for Oklahoma Wesleyan University Wednesday, November 10th.

Volleyball

Charley Fahland, Jacelyn Smith, Kasidy Holland, Payton Robbins, and Olivia Dewitt all received Frontier Valley All-Conference honorable mentions after helping their team to a 14-20 record this season. Tehya Johnson and Layla Lenex were named to the All-Conference Second Team. 

All fifteen members of the varsity volleyball team received Academic All Conference accolades, and the team received an OSSAA Academic Achievement award for a cumulative GPA of 3.25 or above.

The volleyball program is currently hiring for two assistant coaching positions, including varsity assistant and middle school coach. Interested applicants can contact derek.jackson@sandites.org for more information.

Wrestling

The wrestling preseason kicked off Saturday at Bixby, where Sand Springs crowned three junior high and one high school champion.

Mitchell Smith, the Sandites’ top performer at last year’s State tournament, got off to a hot start with three pins to win the 152-pound bracket, beating all of his opponents in the first period.

Zander Grigsby placed second at 126, Shane Wolf placed second at 132, James Robey placed second at 152, Carter Goodman placed second at 160, and Adrian Hernandez placed second at 182.

Jesse Moore placed third at 138, Sammy Naugle placed third at 145, Jayden Pait placed fourth at 126, and Brody Ensten placed fourth at 152.

The high school team was missing Blake Jones, Brooks Dudley, and other top competitors who are still focused on football season.

Bailey Copeland, David Richey, and Jaxon Trotter all won titles for the junior high team. Copeland recorded two falls at 73 pounds, Richey had three pins at 112, and Trotter had four pins at 132.

Dawson Briscoe placed second at 80, Brady Moore was second at 119, Kase Skaggs placed third at 98, Ayreson Reiss placed third at 112, Colt Hood was third at 119, Isaac Sensintaffar was third at 126, and Corbin Wooley was fourth at 119.

The Keystone Kids youth wrestling team competed at the Claremore Invitational where Kasen McAffrey, Hudson Waag, Luke Hall, Maddix Spencer, Jase Crain, and Mylum Ache V won first place in their divisions. 

Collecting silver medals for the Keystone Kids were Rixon Hathaway, Rylan Hamby, Karson Waag, Zayden Anderson, Joshua Drury, Samuel Moore, Joshua Compton, Khamdyn Patterson, Jase Morgan, Julian Baker, Caemon Young, Raelie Hamby, and Zailyn Garland. 

Sandites roll Patriots 44-7 on Senior Night, Jones scores 3 TDs

A version of this story was originally written for the Tulsa World.

Senior Night at Memorial Stadium was all about recognizing the 23 football players who have spent four years building a huge legacy in Sand Springs, but head coach Bobby Klinck wasn’t yet ready to talk legacy after the game.

“Some coaches and some players are getting a little bit nostalgic or whatever, but we’ve got a lot left to play for,” said Klinck. “So you know, once the season’s truly over, maybe I’ll look back and see that, but their legacy is not done yet.”

Instead, it’s all eyes on the playoffs. 

Class 6A-II No. 6 Charles Page High School (7-3, 4-3) rolled to an easy 44-7 district win over an outclassed Putnam City West (0-10, 0-7), dealing the Patriots their 34th consecutive loss.

The game marked the final time that many of the players would compete on their home turf and served as a tune-up before the Sandites travel to No. 4 Del City (9-1) next week.

Sand Springs took a 31-0 lead into the half and sent in the backups in the fourth quarter with a 44-0 advantage.

Ty Pennington was 18-of-22 passing for 293 yards and two touchdowns, and added a third score on the ground. 

Jacob Blevins had eight catches for 121 yards and a touchdown, while Brody Rutledge caught three passes for 74 yards and the first score of the game.

Blake Jones saw his most productive game since suffering a mild injury four weeks ago, and carried the ball 13 times for 63 yards and three touchdowns. His second score of the night came with a helpful push from lineman Owen Higgins, who powered him through a handful of defenders for the final few yards.

Kenneth Page racked up 100 yards on the ground, mostly in the fourth quarter, to lead the team’s seven rushers.

Jonathan Daniels handled most of the kicking duties, going four-for-four on extra points, and added a 35-yard field goal to end the first half. Logan Wolfe also kicked a PAT for the Sandites.

Defensively the team was led by Conner Light with eight tackles and two sacks. Alex Turner forced a fumble that Jabe Schlehuber recovered, and Drake Fain had an interception.

The Patriots struggled in most aspects of the game, but had an ace up their sleeve in three-star Baylor-commit Corey Gordon, who had eight catches for 223 yards, and a touchdown in the fourth quarter. 

“Definitely satisfied, glad we’re healthy, glad we were able to make some explosive plays,” said Klinck. “Little disappointed in the personal foul, that was a point of emphasis last week, so we need to do better because next week in Del City those are going to really hurt us. But all in all, happy for the win, happy for the seniors, but we’ve got a lot left to play for.”

This season marks the Sandites’ second winning record and second postseason trip in their two years under Klinck. It’s the team’s first 7-3 regular season finish since 2014 technically, though they would have been 7-2 in 2015 had they not forfeited two wins due to an OSSAA violation.

Next week’s trip to Del City will mark the first ever meeting between the Sandites and Eagles. Del City has won nine consecutive games since a season-opening loss to Booker T. Washington.

“They do a really good job of running the football and then defensively they’re very sound, so we’ve got our work cut out for us,” said Klinck. “It’s going to be a physical football game, so we’ve got to bring our lunch pail and come ready to go.”

Sandite Football Preview: Veterans get free admission to final home game

In honor of Veterans Day, all current and past members of the United States military will receive free admission to the final Sandite home game of the 2021 football season, Friday night at Memorial Stadium.

The Class 6A-II No. 6 ranked Charles Page High School football team (6-3, 3-3) will play unranked Putnam City West (0-9, 0-6) in a district tune-up game with nothing on the line, having already clinched a postseason berth at No. 4 Del City (8-1) next week.

Kickoff is at 7:00 p.m. on the campus of Charles Page High School at 600 North Adams Road. Tickets are $7.00 for adults and $5.00 for students.

Sand Springs

The Sandites are in their second year under Head Coach Bobby Klinck, who holds an all-time coaching record of 26-20. While Sand Springs was a perennial playoff contender from 2012 to 2017, they hit a rough patch of three losing seasons before Klinck’s arrival spurred them from 2-8 in 2019 to 7-5 last year.

In the season opener they beat archrival Sapulpa 53-26, then they easily handled Bishop Kelley 34-13. Against defending Arkansas 4A State Champion Shiloh Christian they had to come from behind in a 40-33 shootout. In district action they have won 30-13 against Ponca City and 48-34 against Muskogee before falling 37-32 to Booker T. Washington, 58-14 to Bixby and 41-28 to Choctaw.

Last week the Sandites won 41-20 at Bartlesville after jumping out to a 41-0 lead before sending in the backups.

“We certainly expected to win,” said Klinck. “The biggest thing I wanted to see was us get off to a good start. We hadn’t really gotten off to good starts this year. So we definitely emphasized that with our players and I was very proud that we came out and got on them really fast.”

“When you come off of three tough losses, it’s always good to get a win,” said Klinck. “We want to be playing our best football come November. So we need to have a great practice session this week and get after Putnam City West.”

Players to Watch

Ty Pennington (Sr. QB) is 139-223-2018-3 passing with 23 touchdowns, and is 114-407 rushing with eight TDs. He holds the school records in career passing yardage at 5,642, career passing touchdowns at 50, and single season passing touchdowns at 23.

Blake Jones (Sr. RB) is 118-795 rushing with eight touchdowns.

Brody Rutledge (Jr. WR) is 4-7-58-1 passing with two touchdowns and 32-464 receiving with four TDs.

Keaton Campbell (Sr. WR) is 37-552 receiving with eight touchdowns and averages 18.6 yards per kick return.

Jacob Blevins (Jr. WR) is 46-697 receiving with five TDs and averages 16 yards per kick return.

Ryan Shoemaker (Sr. TE) is 18-230 receiving with five TDs.

Jabe Schlehuber averages 31.9 yards per kick return with a school record-setting 99-yard TD.

Landon Hendricks (Sr. DE) has 53 tackles, 17 for loss, 7.5 sacks, 6 pass breakups, 2 fumble recoveries, 3 forced fumbles, a safety, and a blocked PAT.

Brooks Dudley (Sr. LB) has 82 tackles, 5.5 for loss, 1.5 sacks, and 1 pass breakup.

Gabe Brown (Sr. LB) has 56 tackles, 9.5 for loss, 5 sacks, 1 pass breakup, and a 75-yard scoop and score.

Conner Light (Sr. LB) has 51 tackles, 3.5 for loss, 1 sack, 1 pass breakup, and 1 forced fumble.

Drake Fain (Jr. LB) has 88 tackles, 5 for loss, 3 pass breakup, three fumble recoveries, and a 13-yard scoop and score.

Ryder Barnes (Sr. CB) has 49 tackles, 0.5 for loss, three interceptions, 6 pass breakups, and 1 fumble recovery.

Logan Wolfe (Jr. K) is 28-of-33 on PATs and 2-of-2 on field goals with a long of 34 yards.

Putnam City West

The Patriots are in their third season under head coach Craig Maynard, who owns an 0-27 record at Putnam West. The Patriots have lost 33 consecutive games and haven’t had a winning season since 2016.

This year the Patriots lost 67-0 to Guthrie, 55-12 to Putnam City, 56-5 to Putnam City North, 42-12 to Muskogee, 81-6 to Bixby, 43-6 to Ponca City, 62-6 to Booker T. Washington, 41-19 to Bartlesville, and 60-27 to Choctaw.

Players to Watch

Corey Gordon (Sr. S/WR) is a three star recruit committed to Baylor.

The Series

Sand Springs is undefeated against the Patriots with a 3-0 record. The Sandites won 29-24 in 2016, 28-14 in 2017, and 51-13 last season.

Sandites roll Bartlesville 41-20, Pennington scores four touchdowns

A version of this story was originally written for the Sand Springs Leader.

After three weeks of brutal competition against the top three teams in the state, the Class 6A-II No. 6 Charles Page High School varsity football team (6-3, 3-3) got a much-needed win Friday night at Bartlesville (2-7, 1-5).

Sand Springs rolled to a 41-0 lead against the unranked Bruins before sending in the backups, and picked up a 41-20 win in district action. 

“We certainly expected to win,” said Sand Springs head coach Bobby Klinck. “The biggest thing I wanted to see was us get off to a good start. We hadn’t really gotten off to good starts this year. So we definitely emphasized that with our players and I was very proud that we came out and got on them really fast.”

After forcing a punt to start the game, the Sandites marched 85 yards and scored on a 27-yard pass from Ty Pennington to Jacob Blevins. 

Blevins added a ten-yard TD run with 2:23 in the first quarter, and Pennington ran in the PAT to make up for a missed kick on the first drive. The quarterback added a 17-yard scamper and Jonathan Daniels’s kick made it 21-0 to end the first quarter.

Things slowed down in the second quarter as the Bruins controlled the clock and forced two three-and-outs. A change in quarterbacks and costly Sandite penalties helped the home team move the chains, but Braylon Flores forced two turnovers on downs with pass deflections, including a goal-line stand. 

“We pride ourselves on not having those stupid penalties,” said Klinck. “I was a little disappointed in that, but all-in-all it was a good win for us.”

Sand Springs restarted its momentum with a 21-yard TD throw from Pennington to Blevins late in the half, then Blake Jones scored on a one-yard run to start the third quarter.

Jones has seen limited action the past three weeks after an injury against Booker T. Washington, but carried the ball nine times for 53 yards against the Bruins.

“It’s just day to day,” said Klinck. “This was the first time that he’s kind of looked good, so we wanted to give him that opportunity. Hopefully with each week he’ll be getting better and better in time for the playoffs.”

Jones remains the team’s leading rusher with 795 yards and eight scores.

Pennington hooked up with Keaton Campbell for the final score early in the third quarter on a 57-yard reception.

From there it was all about getting meaningful reps for the backups and running out the clock.

Pennington finished the game 11-of-19 passing for 187 yards and had three carries for 46 yards. Kenneth Page led on the ground with 69 yards on eight carries, while Blevins led the receiving corps with five catches for 111 yards. 

Defensively, the Sandites tallied seven tackles for loss, three sacks, and three turnovers. Brooks Dudley recorded nine tackles and Drake Fain had eight. Ryder Barnes had a 31-yard interception return, Fain and Trevor Stone recovered fumbles, and Dallas Elifrits forced a fumble.

“When you come off of three tough losses, it’s always good to get a win,” said Klinck. “We want to be playing our best football come November. So we need to have a great practice session this week and get after Putnam City West.”

The Sandites will wrap up the regular season at home against the Patriots (0-9, 0-6), who have lost 33 consecutive games.

Sandite Football Preview: Sand Springs travels to Bartlesville Friday

The Class 6A-II No. 6 ranked Charles Page High School varsity football team (5-3, 2-3) will travel to unranked Bartlesville (2-6, 1-4) Friday in a must-win district battle. The Sandites need to win their last two games in order to reach the playoffs.

The Game

The game will be played at Custer Stadium at 7:00 p.m., on the campus of Bartlesville High School at 1700 SE Hillcrest Drive, Bartlesville, OK 74003.

Tickets are $7.00 for adults and $5.00 for students.

Sand Springs

The Sandites are in their second year under Head Coach Bobby Klinck, who holds an all-time coaching record of 25-20. While Sand Springs was a perennial playoff contender from 2012 to 2017, they hit a rough patch of three losing seasons before Klinck’s arrival spurred them from 2-8 in 2019 to 7-5 last year.

In the season opener they beat archrival Sapulpa 53-26, then they easily handled Bishop Kelley 34-13. Against defending Arkansas 4A State Champion Shiloh Christian they had to come from behind in a 40-33 shootout. In district action they have won 30-13 against Ponca City and 48-34 against Muskogee before falling 37-32 to Booker T. Washington, 58-14 to Bixby and 41-28 to Choctaw.

“We still control our own destiny,” Klinck said after the loss to Choctaw. “That’s what I tell these kids. It’s okay to be disappointed. Last week we got rolled at Bixby. I could tell the kids were disappointed.”

“We’ve got two weeks to get a lot better. I do feel we’re going to be a dangerous football team when it comes time for the playoffs.”

Players to Watch

Ty Pennington (Sr. QB) is 128-204-1827-3 passing with 20 touchdowns, and is 111-359 rushing with seven TDs. He has over 5,400 passing yards in his career and holds the school record in passing yardage. He also set the school record in passing touchdowns at 47.

Blake Jones (Sr. RB) is 110-742 rushing with seven touchdowns but has been battling injury since the Booker T. Washington game, and only took two reps last week.

Kenneth Page (Fr. RB) is 22-113 rushing with one TD as Jones’s backup.

Brody Rutledge (Jr. WR) is 2-3-49-0 passing with two touchdowns and 30-446 receiving with four TDs.

Keaton Campbell (Sr. WR) is 33-493 receiving with seven touchdowns and averages 20 yards per kick return.

Jacob Blevins (Jr. WR) is 41-585 receiving with five TDs and averages 16 yards per kick return.

Ryan Shoemaker (Sr. TE) is 18-230 receiving with five TDs.

Jabe Schlehuber averages 31.9 yards per kick return with a school record-setting 99-yard TD.

Landon Hendricks (Sr. DE) has 52 tackles, 17 for loss, 7.5 sacks, 6 pass breakups, 2 fumble recoveries, 3 forced fumbles, a safety, and a blocked PAT.

Brooks Dudley (Sr. LB) has 74 tackles, 5.5 for loss, 1.5 sacks, and 1 pass breakup.

Gabe Brown has 51 tackles, 6.5 for loss, 3 sacks, 1 pass breakup, and a 75-yard scoop and score.

Conner Light has 46 tackles, 2.5 for loss, 1 pass breakup, and 1 forced fumble.

Drake Fain has 76 tackles, 4 for loss, 3 pass breakup, two fumble recoveries, and a 13-yard scoop and score.

Ryder Barnes has 44 tackles, 0.5 for loss, two interceptions, 6 pass breakups, and 1 fumble recovery.

Logan Wolfe (Jr. K) is 28-of-33 on PATs and 2-of-2 on field goals with a long of 34 yards.

Bartlesville

The Bruins are in their third season under Head Coach Jason Sport, who was previously the defensive coordinator. Sport is 8-21 as head coach and is the third head coach for the Bruins in the past five years. They haven’t had a winning record since a 10-2 season in 2015.

Bartlesville won its season opener 15-14 at Claremore, but lost six in a row from there: 34-14 to Sapulpa, 42-7 to Collinsville, 71-0 to Bixby, 66-0 to Booker T. Washington, 49-14 to Muskogee, and 34-7 to Ponca City. Last week they snapped the skid with a 41-19 trouncing of Putnam City West, who has lost 32 consecutive games.

Players to Watch

Harrison Clark (Sr. QB) made his first career start last week after Simian Gilkey was injured against Ponca City. The backup was 13-of-20 passing for 196 yards and one touchdown.

Gage Keaton (WR) was 4-110 receiving against Putnam West.

Austin Zink (So. RB) was 20-118 rushing with two TDs against Putnam West.

The Series

Assigning an exact number to the Sand Springs vs. Bartlesville rivalry is difficult due to the number of different high schools in Bartlesville history. Bartlesville schools overall lead Sand Springs 40-25, but the current Bruins program, which unified two previous Bartlesville schools, only leads 21-16 since it opened in 1982.

Last year Sand Springs won 21-14 on Senior Night to snap a two-year losing skid. Ty Pennington had 142 rushing yards and two touchdowns with 180 passing yards in the game, while Blake Jones scored one touchdown with 43 rushing yards.

Bartlesville won the two years prior, but in 2017 Sand Springs throttled the Bruins 55-13 behind a school-record 507-yard, seven TD rushing performance from Payton Scott.

16-21 vs. Bartlesville High
2020: Sand Springs 21-14 (H)
2019: Bartlesville 54-34 (A)
2018: Bartlesville 29-27 (H)
2017: Sand Springs 55-13 (H)
2016: Sand Springs 47-28 (A)
2015: Bartlesville 24-7 (A)
2014: Sand Springs 28-27 (Homecoming)
2013: Bartlesville 40-27 (A)
2012: Sand Springs 27-25 (H)
2011: Sand Springs 34-0 (Homecoming)
2010: Bartlesville 48-16 (A)
2009: Bartlesville 45-14 (H)
2008: Sand Springs 52-24 (A)
2007: Bartlesville 27-26 (H)
2006: Bartlesville 24-14 (A)
2005: Sand Springs 22-3 (A)
2004: Sand Springs 28-18 (H)
2003: Bartlesville 35- (A)
2002: Bartlesville 34-7 (H)
2001: Sand Springs 13-8 (H)
2000: Sand Springs 21-0 (A)
1997: Sand Springs 31-0
1996: Bartlesville 20-16
1995: Sand Springs 28-12
1994: Sand Springs 27-7
1993: Sand Springs 28-6
1992: Bartlesville 40-33
1991: Bartlesville 21-0
1990: Bartlesville 7-0
1989: Bartlesville 23-20 OT
1988: Bartlesville 27-7
1987: Bartlesville 28-27 OT (Shared District Title)
1986: Bartlesville 20-6
1985: Sand Springs 35-15
1984: Bartlesville 17-6
1983: Bartlesville 24-21
1982: Bartlesville 14-0

4-10 vs. College High
1979: Sand Springs 8-0
1978: College 20-15
1975: College 21-0
1974: College 14-7
1973: Sand Springs 14-7
1972: College 43-15
1960: College 48-14
1959: College 16-6
1958: College 30-0
1957: College 19-0
1956: Sand Springs 6-0
1955: College 19-0
1954: College 28-6
1953: Sand Springs 13-7

2-6 vs. Sooner High
1977: Sand Springs 21-0
1976: Sooner 6-0
1975: Sooner 28-6
1974: Sooner 28-9
1973: Sand Springs 34-22 (Sooner)
1972: Sooner 41-7
1971: Sooner 21-6
1970: Sooner 29-0

3-3 vs. Central High
1930: Central 20-6
1929: Sand Springs 12-0
1922: Central 6-0
1921: Sand Springs 22-6
1920: Central 43-7
1919: Sand Springs 19-7

Things to do in Bartlesville:

Woolaroc Museum & Wildlife Preserve
1925 Woolaroc Ranch Road
Barlesville, OK 74003

Frank Phillips Historic Home
1107 South Cherokee Avenue
Bartlesville, OK 74003

Price Tower Arts Center
510 South Dewey Avenue
Bartlesville, OK 74003

Phillips Petroleum Company Museum
410 Keeler
Bartlesville, OK 74004

Bartlesville Union Depot
201 South Keeler Avenue
Bartlesville, OK 74003

Bartlesville Area History Museum
401 South Johnstone Avenue
City Center Building - Floor 5
Bartlesville, OK 74003

Sandite Football hosts Choctaw Friday in pivotal district matchup

If you can only make it to one Sand Springs football game this season, this Friday is the one you don’t want to miss. No. 4 Charles Page High School (5-2, 2-2) hosts No. 2 Choctaw (5-2, 3-1) Friday at 7:00 p.m. at Memorial Stadium, and the outcome could be the difference between fourth and second place in the district.

If Sand Springs beats Choctaw, it’ll force a three-way tie for second place behind Bixby. In such an event, at the end of the season, it’ll come down to district point differential to settle things between the Sandites, Yellowjackets, and Booker T. Washington Hornets. That’s a difference between a first-round playoff game against the District 1 Champions, and a home game against the No. 3 team in District 1.

The Game

Tickets for the game are $7 for adults, $5 for students, and $10 for reserved seating. Memorial Stadium is located at 600 N. Adams Road on the campus of CPHS.

Sand Springs

The Sandites are in their second year under Head Coach Bobby Klinck, who holds an all-time coaching record of 25-19. While Sand Springs was a perennial playoff contender from 2012 to 2017, they hit a rough patch of three losing seasons before Klinck’s arrival spurred them from 2-8 in 2019 to 7-5 last year.

In the season opener they beat archrival Sapulpa 53-26, then they easily handled Bishop Kelley 34-13. Against defending Arkansas 4A State Champion Shiloh Christian they had to come from behind in a 40-33 shootout. In district action they have won 30-13 against Ponca City and 48-34 against Muskogee before falling 37-32 to Booker T. Washington and 58-14 to Bixby.

“We’re going to reset this,” said Klinck after Friday’s loss. “We’re going to give the kids some time, we’ll see them on Sunday. Let them kind of recover. Then we’re going to get right back at it. We’ll put it to bed, make corrections, and then we’ll come up with a brand new game plan and we’re gonna see what happens.”

“It’ll be a measuring stick for our program to see how we respond to something like this” said Klinck.

Players to Watch

Ty Pennington (Sr. QB) is 109-175-1535-1 passing with 17 touchdowns, and is 90-335 rushing with six TDs. He has over 5,000 passing yards in his career and holds the school record.

Blake Jones (Sr. RB) is 108-746 rushing with seven touchdowns but was injured against Booker T. Washington and his status is unknown going into Friday’s game.

Brody Rutledge (Jr. WR) is 2-3-49-0 passing with two touchdowns and 26-413 receiving with three TDs.

Keaton Campbell (Sr. WR) is 29-373 receiving with six touchdowns and averages 22.8 yards per kick return.

Jacob Blevins (Jr. WR) is 36-528 receiving with five TDs and averages 19 yards per kick return.

Ryan Shoemaker (Sr. TE) is 14-153 receiving with four TDs.

Jabe Schlehuber averages 38.9 yards per kick return with a school record-setting 99-yard TD.

Landon Hendricks (Sr. DE) has 46 tackles, 14 for loss, 7 sacks, 5 pass breakups, 1 fumble recovery, 4 forced fumbles, a safety, and a blocked PAT.

Brooks Dudley (Sr. LB) has 60 tackles, 3.5 for loss, and 1.5 sacks.

Gabe Brown has 38 tackles, 4 for loss, 2.5 sacks, 1 pass breakup, and a 75-yard scoop and score.

Conner Light has 45 tackles, 4 for loss, 1 pass breakup, and 1 forced fumble.

Drake Fain has 62 tackles, 1 for loss, 1 pass breakup, two fumble recoveries, and a 13-yard scoop and score.

Ryder Barnes has 34 tackles, 0.5 for loss, two interceptions, 4 pass breakups, and 1 fumble recovery.

Logan Wolfe (Jr. K) is 24-of-29 on PATs and 2-of-2 on field goals with a long of 34 yards.

Choctaw

The Yellowjackets are in their fifth season under Head Coach Jake Corbin, who holds an all-time coaching record of 37-30 and a record of 27-18 at Choctaw. He previously went 2-7 at Sapulpa and 6-5 at Del City in one-year stints.

Choctaw has put together back-to-back winning seasons with playoff appearances, and made it as far as the State finals last year. Coming into the season, the Yellowjackets were considered by many to be the biggest threat to Bixby’s reign after close losses of 24-13 in last year’s regular season and 17-14 in the championship.

Choctaw started strong with wins of 66-0 and 63-6 against Beacon Hill (1-5), and Springdale (1-6), but they suffered their first loss 36-29 at Dallas Jesuit (6-1). They got back on track with a huge 29-20 win over Booker T. Washington (6-1), then earned a 36-0 shutout against Ponca City (3-4). The much-anticipated rematch with Bixby was nothing like anyone expected, however, as the Spartans decimated the Yellowjackets 70-7 on statewide television. Choctaw got back on track with a 49-32 win at Muskogee (2-5) last week.

Players to Watch

Three-star senior DL DeSean Brown (6’3”, 230) has offers from over a dozen D1 programs, including Oregon, Michigan, Nebraska, Indiana, Missouri, and most of the Big 12. The 247 Sports Crystal Ball projects him as a likely Oklahoma State commit.

Three-star senior IOL Cade McConnell (6’5”, 290) is committed to Texas Christian University.

Junior quarterback Steele Wasel has passed for over 1,000 yards and 17 TDs this year, including a 6-9-124-0, 2 TD performance against Muskogee last week. He recently received an offer from Virginia Tech.

Junior running back La’Trell Ray put up 207 yards and two touchdowns against Muskogee last week.

The Series

The Yellowjackets lead the all-time series 5-2 and have won the last three consecutive meetings. Choctaw’s biggest win was a 37-0 shutout in 2000, while the Sandites’ biggest win was 29-6 in 2001.

The home team has only failed to win one time in the history of the series, a 21-20 Yellowjacket upset in 2017 at Memorial Stadium.

Coach Corbin is 2-1 against the Sandites in his career, losing his one Highway 97 Rivalry game, but winning both meetings as the Choctaw lead man.

1992: Choctaw 21-14 (A).
1993: Sand Springs 31-18 (H).
2000: Choctaw 37-0 (A).
2001: Sand Springs 29-6 (H).
2016: Choctaw 45-41 (A).
2017: Choctaw 21-20 (H).
2020: Choctaw 34-9 (A).