Sandite Wrestling places second at Cabot tournament, beat Sapulpa in dual

Mitchell Smith looks for an opening against his opponent at Meet the Sandites. Smith was named the Outstanding Wrestler at the Cabot “Drop the Hammer” Tournament. Photo by Scott Emigh.

This story was originally written for the Sand Springs Leader.

The Charles Page High School wrestling team (1-0) is off to a hot start on the season, topping 5A No. 4 Sapulpa 37-23 in a Highway 97 Rivalry dual. 

The Sandites won eight out of the fourteen matches, collecting four pins in their fifth consecutive win against the Chieftains. 

Sapulpa, fresh off a tournament win at Bristow, took an early lead before Sammy Naugle pinned Parker Lecoq at 138 to put the Sandites up 13-12. Lecoq had scored two takedowns and a set of nearfall points against Naugle before the Sandite made a second-period comeback.

Mitchell Smith followed it up with a pin of Blake Hurt, and Ethan Norton pinned Hugh Primeau to turn the tide in the Sandites’ favor. 

The two teams traded blows till 195 when Brooks Dudley clinched the dual with a pin of Jackson Deerman to make it 34-20. 

Zander Grigsby recorded a major decision for the Sandites, and Jayden Pait, Ethan White, and Marcus Sims all won decisions. 

The junior high team pitched a shutout against the Chieftains with a 75-0 victory.

The Sandites traveled to Cabot, Arkansas over the weekend and placed second at the Bring the Hammer tournament with two champions in Grigsby and Smith.

Grigsby won the 120-pound bracket with three pins, a technical fall, and two major decisions to remain undefeated on the season.

Smith won at 145 pounds with seven pins and was named the Outstanding Wrestler of the tournament. 

Pait, Norton, David Ritchey, Cash Lucas, and Carter Goodman placed third. Jaxon “Scout” Trotter placed fourth, James Robey placed seventh, Colt Hood and Jesse Moore placed ninth. Dylan Quinton and Drake Fain placed tenth, Ethan White placed eleventh, and Slaytor Ferrell placed twelfth. 

The Sandites were only 17 points behind Keller Timber Creek, despite being short handed without Blake Jones, Brooks Dudley, and Mason Harris. Dudley and Harris are expected to return after Christmas Break, but Jones may miss the season due to a football injury. 

Sand Springs will return to action January 4th with a dual at Jenks (0-2).

Sandite Wrestling places 10th at Perry, Keystone Kids crown 9 champs at Coweta

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The Charles Page High School wrestling team took tenth place Saturday at the prestigious Perry Tournament of Champions, placing higher than five ranked teams, despite being unranked themselves.

Mitchell Smith placed fourth at 145, David Ritchey placed fifth at 106, Carter Goodman was fifth at 160, and Ethan White took sixth at 182. 

The Sandites are still without returning State qualifiers Blake Jones and Mason Harris due to football injuries, and Brooks Dudley also had to injury default after a close loss in the quarterfinals.

Sand Springs will return to action Tuesday, December 14th with a conference road dual at 5A No. 11 Sapulpa (2-0).

The Highway 97 Rivalry dual was canceled last year due to COVID-19, but the Chieftains haven’t beaten Sand Springs since 2013. 

The Keystone Kids Wrestling Club competed at Coweta Saturday and brought back nine gold medals.

Maddox Pope, Samuel Moore, Kasen McAffrey, Legend Dentis, Kayden Worthington, Jase Crain, Collin Randall, Mylum Ache V, and Ryder Black all won their divisions.

Rylan Hamby, Tanner Copeland, Wes Wilson, Carter Luce, Ozzie Ache, JJ Baker, Seth Brown, Weston Roberts, Jet Epperley, Claude Treat, and Kydon Harness placed second.

Kason Wolfe, Hunter Haught, Khamdyn Patterson, Karson Waag, Joshua Drury, Hudson Waag, Maddix Spencer, and Boston Parsons placed third.

Rixon Hathaway placed fourth, Blaze Ingram, Zayden Anderson, Hunter Fields, Bennett Thayer, and Carter Randall placed fourth.

Meet the Sandites wrestling dual is smashing success

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For the first time in the Jarrod Patterson era, the doors were open to the public for the Charles Page High School wrestling team’s ranking matches, and it was quite the spectacle.

The Sandites and Keystone Kids wrestling club teamed up Thursday night at Clyde Boyd Middle School to host Meet the Sandites, as Sand Springs wrestlers at the elementary, junior high, and high school levels all settled who was the best in each weight class.

Sand Springs used to open the ranking matches to the public back when Kelly Smith was head coach, but the tradition ended around 2016. Smith retired in 2019, but is now back on the team as an assistant as his son, Mitchell, enters his junior year.

“We’re excited to have him back,” said Patterson. “We were just kind of talking, and he said that was one thing they used to do that kind of got kids excited, so I was kind of excited to bring it back.”

“It seems like it worked out awesome. It seemed like they got a lot of fan support, and it’s good from the youth all the way up to high school.” 

The stands were certainly packed as the action went on simultaneously across three mats. On the varsity mat, the black team defeated the white in an evenly matched dual. 

Many recognizable faces returned to mat duty, including state qualifiers Mitchell Smith and Brooks Dudley, who won their matches by fall. Missing were Blake Jones and Mason Harris, who are recovering from football injuries.

“We’ve got a couple kids that are injured, but once we get through those injuries I think we should be pretty good,” said Patterson. “We’ve got a good group. They’re all hard-working kids from freshmen to seniors, so I think we’ve got some good leadership in there that will help us in the long haul.”

The Sandites graduated only one starter last year and added lots of talented junior high up-and-comers to give the team some extra depth and competitiveness at every weight range.

“We’re pretty solid all the way through, so as long as we can stay healthy and just battle and continue to get better we should be a really solid team,” said Patterson.

“We’ll have three freshmen in there who have a chance at getting in the lineup. Our 106-pounder is David Ritchey, then Colt Hood will be in there some at 113, and Jaxon “Scout” Trotter will be in there at 138.”

They will lean on seniors Shane Wolf, Colton Luker, Ethan Norton, Sammy Naugle, Jones, and Dudley for leadership.

Last year the Sandites finished the season a surprising 4-6, snapping a 14-year streak of winning records, primarily due to COVID-related quarantines, injuries, and canceled duals. They still brought home four first-place tournament medals, however, and qualified four for the State tournament.

Varsity will kick off the season Friday at the Perry Tournament of Champions, and will battle Sapulpa in their first dual on Tuesday the 14th at 7:00 p.m. on the road.

The junior high team hosted its annual tournament Saturday at CBMS and the Gold team took home first prize, followed by the Black team in sixth place and the White team in 19th. The girls placed 12th in their division.

Dawson Briscoe won at 80 pounds with six pins, Kaden Pope won at 106 with six pins, Jace Simms won at 119 with three pins, and Bailey Copeland won 82 pounds for the girls with a pin and a 17-2 technical fall.

Hudson Sheppard, Jaden Allen, Waylon Jeffers, and Ryley Kester placed second. Jaxon Grigsby, Karsen Skaggs, Matthew Moore, Jackson Burdge, and Tanner Copeland placed third. Colt Hood, Caleb Childers, and Preston Reyna placed fourth

The Keystone Kids competed at Sperry and Owasso on Saturday. Weston Roberts, Ty Galloway, and Mylum Ache V won at the Owasso Ram Jam, while Julian Valdez, Hudson Waag, and Bailey Copeland won at the Sperry Smalltown Throwdown.

Sports Roundup: Final Football Stats, Wrestling "Meet the Sandites" coming up

The Charles Page High School varsity football team wrapped up the 2021 season a touchdown shy of the State finals, falling 20-17 to Edmond Deer Creek in the semifinals to cap off an 8-4 campaign.

The Sandites will be graduating a number of top contributors next spring, including three-year starting quarterback Ty Pennington, who rewrote the school record books in his senior season. 

Pennington set single-season records of 2,831 passing yards and 27 passing touchdowns, and career records of 6,455 passing yards, 54 passing TDs, and 77 total TDs. He also rushed for 1,306 yards and 23 TDs in his career. 

Blake Jones wrapped up his senior year with 164 carries for 945 yards and 11 TDs, and had 374 carries for 1,877 yards and 19 TDs in his career. 

Junior Jacob Blevins led the receiving corps with 64 catches for 981 yards and 8 TDs, followed by Keaton Campbell with 55 catches for 774 yards and 9 TDs. Brody Rutledge had 42 catches for 697 yards and 6 TDs, and Ryan Shoemaker had 23 catches for 295 yards and five TDs. 

Campbell concluded his career with 147 catches for 2,048 yards and 18 TDs, and Shoemaker had 44 catches for 521 yards and 5 TDs.

Junior star Drake Fain led the defense with 116 tackles, followed by several seniors. Brooks Dudley had 99 tackles, Conner Light had 74, Gabe Brown had 69, Ryder Barnes had 98, and Landon Hendricks had 66. Dudley had an impressive 338 tackles in his four-year career.

Hendicks had 21 tackles for loss, 7.5 sacks, 2 fumble recoveries, 3 forced fumbles, a safety, and 2 blocked kicks. Brown had 11.5 tackles for loss and 5 sacks. Barnes had 3 interceptions and 13 passes defended. Fain had a team-high 3 fumble recoveries. 

Jabe Schlehuber made his way into the school record books with a 99-yard kick return for a touchdown against Muskogee.

Junior kicker Jonathan Daniels was 13-of-16 on PAT kicks this season and 2-of-3 on field goals with a long of 35, while Logan Wolfe was 29-of-34 on PATs and 2-of-2 on field goals with a long of 34.  

The team will also have to replace senior linemen Matthew Shelton, Morgan Eubanks, and Owen Higgins, but will return Mason Harris and Marcus Sims.

Wrestling

The Charles Page High School wrestling team will be hosting Meet the Sandites Thursday, December 2nd at Clyde Boyd Middle School at 6:00 p.m. Fans will get to watch the youth, junior high, and varsity ranking matches. 

CPHS Football Preview: Sandites vs. Deer Creek, Friday at Yukon

The Sandites have only played once at Miller Stadium, and defeated Yukon 26-21 in 2017.

The No. 3 ranked Sand Springs football team is back in the Class 6A-II playoff semifinals for the first time since 2016, and this time it’s a rematch of last year’s first-round playoff game against No. 4 Edmond Deer Creek.

The game will utilize the GoFan Electronic Ticket process, with tickets priced at $8.35. Cash admission will be $10 per person. School-aged children and above will need to purchase a ticket but children ages three and younger are admitted free of charge.

The game will be played at 7:00 p.m. at Miller Stadium at 1777 S. Yukon Pkwy, Yukon, OK 73099. Miller Stadium has a capacity of 6,112. Deer Creek will be the home team, and Sand Springs fans will sit on the visitor side. Sand Springs is planning a tailgate beginning at 5:30 p.m.

There is no livestream planned for the game, so fans should watch out for fake scam pages on social media.

The winner of the game will play the winner of No. 1 Bixby (11-0) vs. No. 2 Stillwater (9-2).

Sand Springs

The Sandites are in their second year under Head Coach Bobby Klinck, who holds an all-time coaching record of 28-20. 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 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.

The Sandites snapped the losing streak 41-20 at Bartlesville after jumping out to a 41-0 lead before sending in the backups. They then rolled Putnam City West 44-7, once again getting a first-team shutout before allowing the Patriots on the board in the final minutes. In the first round of the playoffs they upset the District One Champions from Del City 21-17 on the road.

“We have unbelievable players, unbelievable coaches,” said Klinck after Friday’s game. “We’ve got great players in Sand Springs. We are not good coaches without great players. It’s all about those dang kids and the effort and the heart they give.”

Sand Springs holds one gold ball, a 2A title in 1966, and last appeared in the state finals in 2015. Their last semifinal appearance was 2016, and they are 2-6 in the semifinals all-time.

Players to Watch

Ty Pennington (Sr. QB) is 170-265-2544-4 passing with 27 touchdowns, and is 134-467 rushing with ten TDs. He holds the school records in career passing yardage at 5,935, career passing touchdowns at 52, single season passing touchdowns, single season passing yardage, and career total touchdowns at 77.

Blake Jones (Sr. RB) is 149-918 rushing with eleven touchdowns an 7-56 receiving.

Brody Rutledge (Jr. WR) is 4-11-58-1 passing with two touchdowns and 39-658 receiving with six TDs.

Keaton Campbell (Sr. WR) is 45-678 receiving with nine touchdowns and averages 18.6 yards per kick return.

Jacob Blevins (Jr. WR) is 56-833 receiving with eight TDs, 9-43 rushing with one TD, and averages 16 yards per kick return.

Ryan Shoemaker (Sr. TE) is 22-291 receiving with five TDs.

Jabe Schlehuber averages 31.5 yards per kick return with a school record-setting 99-yard TD.

Landon Hendricks (Sr. DE) has 58 tackles, 19 for loss, 7.5 sacks, 6 pass breakups, 2 fumble recoveries, 3 forced fumbles, a safety, and 2 blocked kicks.

Brooks Dudley (Sr. LB) has 93 tackles, 6 for loss, 1.5 sacks, and 1 pass breakup.

Gabe Brown (Sr. LB) has 65 tackles, 11 for loss, 5 sacks, 1 pass breakup, 1 forced fumble, and a 75-yard scoop and score.

Conner Light (Sr. LB) has 71 tackles, 5.5 for loss, 3 sacks, 3 pass breakups, and 2 forced fumbles.

Drake Fain (Jr. LB) has 105 tackles, 6 for loss, 1 sack, 3 pass breakups, three fumble recoveries, an interception, and a 13-yard scoop and score.

Ryder Barnes (Sr. CB) has 63 tackles, 0.5 for loss, three interceptions, 9 pass breakups, and 1 fumble recovery.

Edmond Deer Creek

The Antlers (9-2) are in their fifth season under head coach Wade Standley, who holds a 26-25 record with the Antlers and is 67-51 in his career. He also went 11-10 at Ada and 30-16 at Norman North.

Deer Creek currently holds its first winning record since a 9-4 mark in 2015. They dropped to 2-8 in 2016 and went 4-6, 4-6, 5-5, and 4-6 over Standley’s first four seasons.

This year they won 35-7 at Edmond North, 44-0 against Southmoore, and 35-14 at Yukon before dropping a 35-28 overtime battle against Stillwater to start district play. They then won 38-13 at Putnam North, 70-0 against Northwest Classen, and 23-6 at Midwest City before falling 35-28 to Del City in overtime. They are currently on yet another three-game win streak, 67-20 at Lawton, 65-7 against U.S. Grant, and 36-29 with a road upset against Choctaw.

The upset of No. 2 Choctaw gave the Antlers their first-ever playoff win at the 6A level. Deer Creek last made it to the State semifinals in 2001, and won their only championship in 2000 at the 3A level. The Antlers are 1-2 in the semifinals, all-time.

Players to Watch

Brett Pense (Sr. QB) is 149-250-2061-2 passing with 27 TDs and 57-190 rushing with 6 TDs.

Deontaye Wilson (Jr. RB / CB) is 178-930 rushing with 10 TDs and 12-131 receiving with a TD.

Michael Holley (Sr. WR) is 28-415 receiving with 6 TDs.

Berkley Dalton (Jr. WR) is 27-367 receiving with 5 TDs.

Jevion Jones (Sr. WR / OLB) is 17-299 receiving with 4 TDs.

Gavin Smith (Sr. WR / FS) is 16-284 with 5 TDs and 3-7 rushing with a TD.

Jacob Sexton (Sr. OT) is a four-star Oklahoma commit standing at 6’5”, 285 pounds.

The Series

The two teams have met only once before, and it was in last year’s first-round playoff. The Antlers didn’t qualify for the postseason outright last year, but due to the high number of COVID-related game cancelations, the OSSAA added a play-in round for anyone who wanted to compete.

Sand Springs was short 27 players due to contract tracing, but they still prevailed 34-29 to advance to the quarterfinals at Stillwater.

Sand Springs jumped out to a 13-0 lead in the first quarter and led by as much as 20-3 before the Antlers surged back. Pennington was 14-of-24 passing for 171 yards and a TD, and ran 26 times for 163 yards and two more TDs. Jacob Blevins caught five passes for 104 yards a TD, while Blake Jones was 10-73 rushing with a TD.

Deer Creek quarterback Brett Pense was 18-of-36 for 293 yards and two TDs, but the backfield was held to 29 yards on the ground.

Sand Springs football downs Del City on the road 21-17, Pennington sets another record

This story was originally written for the Tulsa World.

Any coach will tell you, when it comes to the playoffs, your record doesn’t matter. What matters is going 1-0 every week.

The No. 6 Sand Springs football team (8-3) is 1-0 for the second straight year after taking down No. 4 Del City (9-2) on the road, and will get a familiar opponent next week.

The Sandites’ 21-17 upset of the District One Champions will put them on neutral territory against No. 7 Edmond Deer Creek (9-2) who they beat 34-29 in last season’s playoffs. The Antlers pulled off a 36-29 upset of their own against No. 2 Choctaw (8-3).

“We’re just on a mission, we’re highly favored,” said Sandites head coach Bobby Klinck. “What an unbelievable football team Del City has. Hard-nosed kids. What a good job the coaches have done over here, but man that’s a big one.”

The Eagles took to the ground for most of the game, and drove 51 yards on their opening possession before Dominic Ornelas made a third-down tackle for loss in the red zone to force a 31-yard field goal from Stanley Johnson.

The Sandites responded three plays later with a 79-yard touchdown pass from Ty Pennington to Brody Rutledge, and the score stayed 7-3 till the fourth quarter. 

The Eagles took the lead twice in the final stanza, once on a five-yard plunge by quarterback Virgil Yates, and once on a 55-yard breakaway run by Ethan Lawrence.

But both times, the Sandites responded. Pennington put the Sandites up 14-10 with a 40-yard pass to Keaton Campbell, then took the final lead at 21-17 on a two-yard run, pushed from behind by his O-line.

The third quarter started on a sour note after the heavily recruited Kanijal Thomas picked off Pennington in the end zone, but that didn’t get the star quarterback down.

“I just try to focus on my next drive after a mistake like that and just don’t look back on it,” said Pennington.

In the fourth quarter alone, he was 5-of-5 passing for 95 yards and ran the ball 11 times for 34 yards. 

“Why wouldn’t I put it in the best quarterback in the state’s hands right there,” asked Klinck. “There’s not another guy in the locker room who wanted it anywhere else. He proved again he’s the best quarterback in the whole frickin state and we’re going to ride that dude.”

Pennington ended the night 13-of-20 passing for 221 yards, setting the school’s single season passing record unofficially at 2,532 yards. He already holds the school records in career passing yardage, career passing touchdowns, single season passing touchdowns, and career total touchdowns.

Always humble though, Pennington always has more to say about his receivers and his linemen than about himself. 

“Man, there is no better feeling. That’s the greatest feeling in the world. I just trust my guys that they’re going to do the right thing, I trust what my coaches are telling me, and I trust my guys to go make the plays.”

“Any game could possibly be the last time I play with these dudes and I’ve played with them a whole lot so it’s definitely a motivation.”

The Sandite defense was clutch against an Eagle unit that averaged 40 points per game coming into the night. Drake Fain tallied 12 tackles and Brooks Dudley had 11 as the Sandites forced two punts and two turnovers on downs. 

“We had to stop the run,” said Klinck. “We had to commit to it, and we had to trust our secondary when they took shots to make a play.”

“We have unbelievable players, unbelievable coaches. We’ve got great players in Sand Springs. We are not good coaches without great players. It’s all about those dang kids and the effort and the heart they give.”

Rutledge was 4-121 receiving and Campbell was 3-51. Blake Jones had 16 carries for 44 yards for the Sandites, and Jonathan Daniels was 3-of-3 on PATs. Click here to view the full statistics.