Sandites show promise in 24-7 preseason loss at Jenks

This story was originally written for the Sand Springs Leader.

It would be easy to try and justify the Sandites’ 24-7 preseason loss to the defending 6A-1 State Champions from Jenks.

After all, the Trojan program has twice the enrollment of Sand Springs, a wealthier community, and a blue blood tradition that includes 18 gold balls. 

But third-year Charles Page High School coach Bobby Klinck doesn’t make excuses for his team and he doesn’t let them make excuses for themselves. 

“I was a little disappointed in the way we came out,” said Klinck. 

“Obviously it’s Jenks. They over-physicalled us a little bit, but what we’ve been trying to instill in these guys is a belief in themselves that no matter who we’re playing, you have an opportunity.”

Klinck doesn’t shy away from giants, hence why the Sandites eagerly scheduled Jenks in the preseason and 6A-1 No. 3 Bixby in the second game of the year. 

“We’re never going to back down and I want our guys to know what that looks like and feels like,” said Klinck.

“We’ve just got to keep grinding, keep pushing. We’re going to keep getting better. I’m never satisfied, but we’re gonna keep getting better.”

The Sandites enter next week’s season opener ranked fifth in Class 6A-2 at 5A No. 9 Sapulpa in the 96th installment of Highway 97 Rivalry. 

It still remains to be seen who will be under center for Sand Springs. 

The obvious front runner is Kiefer move-in Marek Matheson. The 6’2”, 225-pound senior showed confidence and promise as he led his new team on their first four series. 

Matheson was 2-of-4 passing for 15 yards and was sacked twice while the team primarily leaned on Kenneth Page’s 9 carries for 26 yards.

On the final drive of the game, they turned to freshman Easton Webb, who methodically led a 12-play, 65-yard scoring drive against a Trojan unit that had swapped out many of the starters. 

Webb was 6-of-9 for 43 yards and connected on a 14-yard touchdown to Brody Rutledge to avert the shutout. 

“(Matheson)’s been getting the majority of the reps with the ones, but just like anything, whoever’s the week one starter doesn’t mean they’ll be the starter the next week. That’s for every position. It’s a constant, competitive deal every week.”

Jenks’ quarterback Ike Owens was 7-of-10 passing for 98 yards and one score while Jaiden Carroll carried the ball nine times for 79 yards and two touchdowns. 

“We’ve got to become better tacklers, be more physical, and come better mentally prepared,” said Klinck. 

The Trojans scored on each of their drives in the two-quarter game that didn’t allow punt returns or rushing the kicker, and each team started their possessions at the 35-yard line in lieu of a kickoff. 

Jonathan Daniels averaged 38 yards per punt for the Sandites while Drake Fain, Carder Hoffman, Dallas Elifrits, and Dominic Ornelas led the defense. 

The Sandites played a clean game with no penalties or fumbles. 

“I think Kenneth (Page) did a better job running the ball and you know we’ve got two of the best receivers,” said Klinck, referencing Rutledge and Jacob Blevins.

“If we can give our quarterbacks time to get the ball off, we’ve got opportunities in jump ball situations. They’re going to make great catches for us this year.”

Sand Springs is coming off an 8-4 campaign and will see some new faces in district action. The Sandites’ district replaced Bixby, Ponca City, and Choctaw with Stillwater, U.S. Grant, and Tahlequah, while retaining Booker T. Washington, Muskogee, Bartlesville, and Putnam City West. 

The first home game of the year will be September 16th in a non-district battle against Ponca at 7:00 p.m.

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. 

Sandite Football Season Ends in 20-17 Semifinal Loss to Deer Creek

This story was originally written for the Tulsa World.

It goes without saying that one team’s victory is inevitably another team’s heartbreak, especially when it comes to the playoffs. Sand Springs has taken some losses this season, but none hurt quite like the Sandites’ 20-17 semifinal battle with No. 4 Edmond Deer Creek (10-2)

“It’s alright if it hurts,” Charles Page High School head coach Bobby Klinck told his team after the game. “I’m feeling it too. It’s okay to feel upset, it’s okay to hurt, that means you gave it all you had. There’s a lot of things that’ll hurt a lot more than this, and you’ll look back and think that this was a hell of a ride.”

“You guys gave everything. This team is the foundation of what we’re fixing to do around here. You set the standard for what we’re doing here.”

Just two seasons removed from a 2-8 campaign, this group of Sandites has advanced in the playoffs each of the last two years, and their 8-4 mark this season is the best Sandite record since 2014. 

But it wasn’t enough to advance to the State Finals for the first time since 2015.

The Sandites rallied from a 13-3 halftime deficit and led 17-13 late in the third quarter, but key mistakes caught up with them and Deer Creek survived the momentum swing to score on an 11-yard touchdown pass from Brett Pense to Berkley Dalton with 1:54 remaining.

“Our guys, they give relentless effort every play,” said Antlers head coach Wade Standley. “Those guys continue to fight, continue to go. We survived the momentum swing and we found a way to win at the end. I’m so proud of these young men.”

It was quite the momentum swing.

Sandite quarterback Ty Pennington scored on a 1-yard push to open the half, then Gabe Brown strip sacked Pense deep in Sandite territory to set up a nine-play 85-yard drive where Pennington scored again on a two-yard run.

The Sandites forced a punt, then Jacob Blevins picked off a deflected Pense pass to set up a short field march.

Then the wheels came off the wagon.

At third and goal from the four-yard line, a bad snap pushed the Sandites back to the 17, and Jonathan Daniels’ field goal was blocked. 

Deer Creek scored the go-ahead touchdown on the ensuing drive, and the Sandites’ last-hope possession was derailed by two more bad snaps and Brittain Brewer sacked Pennington for a turnover on downs to seal the victory.

“It’s disappointing that we couldn’t finish,” said Klinck. “Hats off to Deer Creek man, that’s a heck of a football team. I wish we could have found a way to get it done at the end there.”

Uncharacteristic penalties by the Sandites led to much of the Antlers’ first-half success, as the Sandites gave up five first downs on 75 penalty yards. They also struggled to finish offensively, despite out-gaining the Antlers in yardage.

Daniels’ 20-yard field goal was their only score of the first half. Meanwhile the Antlers scored on a 5-yard run by Pense and field goals of 39 and 35 yards by Grayson Miller. 

The storied career of Pennington ended with a 21-of-36 passing performance with 280 yards, as well as 57 yards on the ground. Pennington re-wrote the record books for the Sandites throughout his three-year career as the starter. 

“He’s an unbelievable football player and he’s going to be sorely missed,” said Klinck. “I’m going to miss just seeing him in the facility, more than all the great plays that he made. And that goes for all these seniors. They’ve done such an unbelievable job. I’m just upset that we couldn’t get it done for them.”

“There’s so many guys that I’m going to remember. The first time I got here, I just asked them to trust me and to buy into what we’re selling, and they’ve done an unbelievable job. They’ve set a foundation here. People didn’t think a lot of this team going into the season, except us. We’re just a score away from making the State finals. So, unbelievable job by those seniors and everybody else.”

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.

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.”

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.