Sandite Baseball Splits With Broken Arrow

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The hunt for the 6A-3 district title is still wide open as the Charles Page High School baseball team (11-5, 4-2) split a district series with Broken Arrow (13-3, 5-1) last week.

“One of our goals every year is always to finish in the top two and host a Regional,” says head coach Matt Brown.

“We’ve put that opportunity right in front of us. When we go and play how we’re supposed to play, we’re going to end up in a good place at the end of the year.”

The Sandites have now split series with two of the top three teams in the district, making next week’s games against district-leading Jenks (12-6, 6-0) crucial. Sand Springs will play the Trojans at home on Monday and Tuesday on the road.

“Jenks hasn’t lost a district game yet so obviously they’re good,” says Brown.”And we’re pretty good too, so it should be some fun baseball games.”

On Monday the Sandites fell 7-1 to Broken Arrow despite an eight-strikeout effort from Eli Buxton (1-3). Rhen Rutledge scored the lone run on an RBI single from Schlehuber in the bottom of the first.

Schlehuber (3-0) got the win in Tuesday’s rematch with Easton Webb recording the save in a shootout.

“We’re really deep on the mound,” says Brown. “We’ve got a lot of experience on the mound and I think that’s our strength. We’re really pretty well rounded.”

The teams combined for 23 hits as the Sandites scored the most runs of any Broken Arrow opponent this season.

After falling behind 2-0 in the first, the Sandites took the lead once and for all in the second on a two-run single from Wyatt Rutledge. Elliott and Rhen Rutledge added one-run singles to go up 5-2.

The Tigers cut it to 5-4 in the third but Rhen Rutledge added his second scoring hit in the fourth to bring in Brody Rutledge, who tripled. Dom Ornelas’s fifth homer of the year put the visiting Sandites up 8-4.

“Dom is obviously our leader offensively for sure and Rhen and Brody have pretty great years so far. We’ve worked really really hard in the weight room all year long and it’s nice to see that translate out on the field.”

Broken Arrow scored two more in the fifth but Rhen Rutledge added an insurance run in the sixth on a single from Ornelas.

The Sandites had a Thursday game against Lincoln Christian rained out before winning a 6-4 non-district battle against Muskogee (4-10) on Friday.

The Sandites stormed out to a 6-0 lead before a sixth-inning Rougher rally flipped the script from blowout to nail-bitter.

“In Oklahoma, everyone’s good,” says Brown. “Every time you show up, there’s someone in the other dugout who’s capable of beating you.”

“Everybody in 6A has good kids…You lose focus for even a second and mess around - you’ll get beat.”

Four walks, a sacrifice hit from Schlehuber, and a two-run single from Wyatt Rutledge put the home team up 4-0 in the bottom of the first.

Jackson Turney added an RBI double in the second and Brody Rutledge scored on a sacrifice fly from Ornelas after a leadoff triple in the fourth.

Gage Elliott (4-0) got the start and win on the mound, fanning four with one hit in three innings.

Jace Arnold (1-1) entered the game in the fourth and struck out five before getting in a bind in the top of the sixth. After loading the bases with two walks and a single he struck out a sixth before Doc Estes blasted a bases-clearing triple to get Muskogee on the board.

Arnold ended with seven strikeouts to three hits and two walks in three innings. Webb recorded his second save of the week to close out the game.

“I really like where our program is at,” says Brown. “I feel like we can compete with anybody. I know for sure our kids aren’t scared of anybody. We’re at a place right now where our kids show up and expect to win and it doesn’t matter who’s in the other dugout. They expect to win every single time.”

Sand Springs will host Glenpool (7-11) Thursday at 5:00 p.m. before traveling to Edmond Deer Creek (10-8) on Saturday.

Sandite Weekly Sports Roundup: Baseball Opens Season With Run-Rule Wins

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The Charles Page High School baseball team won its first two games of the season by 12-3 run rule against Shawnee on Friday and Yukon on Saturday.

The Sandites capitalized on a disastrous error-filled second inning from the Wolves to take a 6-1 lead and Northern Oklahoma College signee Dom Ornelas blasted a third-inning grand slam to put his team in run-rule territory.

Kayden Campbell got the win against Shawnee with nine strikeouts, four walks, and two hits in four innings.

Gage Elliott got the win against Yukon with three strikeouts, no walks, and five hits in four innings.

Brody Rutledge, Rhen Rutledge, and Jackson Turney totaled three hits apiece and Rhen Rutledge capped the scoring off with a three-run homer in the top of the fifth to secure the run rule.

Sand Springs wrapped up the preseason with a 6-2-1 record, beating Pryor 3-1 on Monday before falling 4-2 to Union on Tuesday.

Oklahoma State-committed freshman Easton Webb tossed eight strikeouts in three innings with only two hits against the Tigers.

Ornelas hit a solo homer against the RedHawks and Eli Buxton struck out eight in four innings.

The Sandites will kick off district play Monday at defending State Champion Owasso (2-0), before hosting the Rams Tuesday and Victory Christian (1-1) on Thursday.

Girls Powerlifting

The CPHS girls powerlifting team took third place at the OGPCA North Regional Tuesday in Miami, qualifying seven for the State Championship.

Senior heavyweight Jaden Jordan won her second Regional title and fourth meet of the year, benching 165 for first place, deadlifting 405 for first, and squatting 370 for second.

Also qualifying for State are Madison Thompson, Melanie Skelly, Gracie Worthington, Olivia Alexander, Kelsi Hilton, and Kiyah Dover.

Worthington placed third at 136, Thompson placed fourth at 220, Alexander placed sixth at heavyweight, Dover placed seventh at heavyweight, Hilton placed seventh at 136, Skelly placed ninth at 150, and Thompson placed 11th at 108.

The State meet will be held Monday, March 6th, at the Choctaw Event Center in Durant.

Dance

The Sandite dance team advanced to the finals in both Pom and Hip Hop at the NDA High School Nationals in Orlando, placing third in Hip Hop and fifth in Pom.

Sandite Weekly Sports Roundup: Basketball Sweeps Roughers, Athletes Sign LOIs

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Sandite basketball swept the Muskogee Roughers Friday night with the varsity boys winning 72-65 while the girls won 63-41.

The 6A-East No. 6 Lady Sandites (12-5, 5-3) never trailed against No. 14 Muskogee. It was still a close game at 39-31 entering the fourth but the Sandites steamrolled the Roughers 24-10 in the final stanza.

Hailey Jackson scored 24 points to lead all scorers, Taiona “Yanni” Morris added 13, Sakauri Wilson had 9, and three different Sandites scored 5 apiece.

“We’re starting to play better as a unit,” said head coach Josh Berry. “We have more people stepping up.”

Sand Springs will have to cover six games over the final two weeks after meetings with Bartlesville and Booker T. Washington were postponed due to weather. This is the second time the Washington game has been rescheduled.

“This is our second game in 17 days,” said Berry. “It’s a bit different from when we start the season out with eight games in like 14 days.”

“We’re rested and we’re ready to go. It’s nothing that we can control so we just try to get better.”

The No. 11 Sandite boys (9-8, 2-6) snapped a five-game conference skid and got back above .500 overall with a win over the No. 15 Roughers (3-13, 0-9).

The Sandites led 34-27 at halftime but a seven-point run put the Roughers up 45-44 entering the final stanza.

Jamarian Ficklin tied it for the final time at 52-52 but Kooper Kelly hit a pair of free throws and layed up on a steal to put his team ahead for the final three minutes of the game.

Kelly tied his career-high with 20 points to lead all scorers while Luke Hooper also had a career night with 15 points.

“Any conference win, especially on the road, is a good feeling,” said head coach Eric Savage.

“In the past we’ve kind of lost our composure. A couple of times this wear we gave up the lead and never got it back. We showed some growth tonight and were able to weather the storm and get back in control late in the fourth quarter.”

Sand Springs will travel to Bixby on Tuesday and Bartlesville on Thursday before hosting Sapulpa Friday night.

Signing Day

School may have been canceled, but the festivities couldn’t be stopped Wednesday morning at the Ed Dubie Field House. Sand Springs celebrated 10 student-athletes who signed letters of intent to continue their careers at the collegiate level.

Many of the players will get to enjoy Sand Springs connections on their new rosters.

Kyle Morrall, Jacob Blevins, and Drake Fain signed with Northwestern Oklahoma State University to play Division II football. There they will be reunited with former Sandite assistant coach Jason Medrano, who recently took over as Offensive Coordinator for the Rangers.

Brody Rutledge signed to play Division II football at Northeastern State University. There he will join former Sand Springs teammates Gabe Brown, Landon Hendricks, and Blake Jones.

Dominic Ornelas and Jabe Schlehuber signed to play junior college baseball together at Northern Oklahoma College in Enid.

Carson Sargent signed to play Division II soccer at Rogers State University, where she will join former teammates Ali Day and Karsen Lynch.

Payton Robbins signed to play NAIA volleyball at Friends University in Kansas, where she’ll be reunited with Sandites Tehya Johnson, Charley Fahland, and Kasidy Holland.

Madori Bland signed with the stunt team at Drury University, a Division II program in Missouri.

Coleman Hight signed to play NAIA golf at Southwestern College in Kansas.

Baseball

Freshman quarterback Easton Webb has been getting lots of attention as a football prospect, but on Friday he announced his commitment to Oklahoma State University as a baseball player before ever playing a varsity minute.

Sand Springs will kick off the preseason with a home scrimmage against Sapulpa on the 16th at 4:30 p.m.

Girls Powerlifting

The Sand Springs girls powerlifting team took second place at the All-American Lift-a-thon in Shawnee Saturday with two champions. The Sandites had 137 team points, just behind Choctaw with 141.

Madison Thompson won the 220 weight class, sweeping all three events. She benched 140, squatted 285, and deadlifted 295.

Jaden Jordan won at heavyweight, taking first in squat at 335 pounds, first in deadlift at 375, and third in bench at 155.

Melani Skelly placed third, Gracie Worthington placed fourth, and Bailey Doughty and Kiyah Dover placed fifth.

Sandite Sports Weekly Roundup: Sand Springs Hosts First-Ever Girls Wrestling Tournament

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The Charles Page High School boys wrestling team (13-4) suffered a pair of tough losses last week, falling 35-21 to No. 4 Broken Arrow (9-2) on Tuesday and 62-10 to No. 2 Stillwater (11-1) on Thursday.

The Sandites will travel to No. 11 Owasso (4-7) on Tuesday before wrapping up the regular season at the Glenpool Warrior Classic over the weekend.

Sand Springs hosted its first ever girls wrestling tournament Friday at Clyde Boyd Middle School, drawing 22 varsity programs and 18 junior high squads.

Springdale Har-Ber won the inaugural high school tournament while Perry won the junior high event. Sand Springs placed sixth in varsity and fifth in junior high.

Bailey Copeland won the Sandites’ lone gold medal, pinning both of her opponents in the junior high 82-pound bracket.

In junior high: Rylee Allen placed second, Sawyer Briscoe and Ananiah King were fourth, Camden Carrison and Cailey Miller were fifth, and Lyla Waldren and Stefane Ortiz placed sixth.

Gracie Young and Kelsi Hilton led the varsity girls with runner-up performances. Laila Mirza placed fourth, Addily Shotwell was fifth, Madison Chambers placed sixth, and Kreedence Behnke was eighth.

The junior high boys took second place in a tight three-way race at the Ted Anderson Tournament in Edmond on Saturday. The Sandites finished only 13 points behind Bixby while edging out Broken Arrow by 1.5 points.

Kaden Pope and Hudson Sheppard won their brackets; Ryley Kester, Brady Moore, and Jaxon Grigsby were runners up; Kasen McAffery placed third; and Issac Sensintaffer finished fourth.

The Keystone Kids placed seventh out of 100 teams at the OKUSA Youth Wrestling State Championship with four champions and four runners-up.

Brackton Upton, Hagan Wolfenberger, and Jaxon Trotter all won their divisions while Hudson Waag, Karson Waag, and Bryson Pope were runners up. Kydon Harness was a double-finalist, winning in Beginner and placing second in Open.

Ryker Dawes, Collin Randall, Maddix Spencer, and Ayreson Reiss placed third. Brenntly Taylor, Eric Foust, Mason Londo, and Maddox Pope placed fourth.

Baseball

Sandite catcher Dominic Ornelas announced his commitment to Northern Oklahoma College at Enid Tuesday on Twitter. Also headed to NOC-Enid is pitcher and second baseman Jabe Schlehuber, who committed in November.

Football

Sand Springs seniors Kyle Morrall and Jacob Blevins announced their commitment to Northwestern Oklahoma State University. There they will be reunited with former Sandite assistant coach Jason Medrano, who recently took over as Offensive Coordinator for the Rangers.

Brody Rutledge, the Sandites’ leading receiver, committed to Northeastern State University on Tuesday. There he will join former Sand Springs teammates Gabe Brown, Landon Hendricks, and Blake Jones.

Sandite Weekly Sports Roundup: Wrestling Dominates Season-Opening Duals

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The Ty Bowling era opened with a bang this week as the No. 13 Sand Springs wrestling team won its first two duals convincingly Thursday at the Ed Dubie Field House before placing sixth out of 35 teams at the Mid America Nations in Enid over the weekend.

In the first dual of the season the Sandites rolled to a 49-18 win over 5A No. 8 Duncan (1-1), going 10-4 in individual matches with six wins by fall.

The teams traded blows to an 18-18 tie after seven matches before Mitchell Smith won a 10-1 major decision to kick off a seven-match win streak.

That streak carried over into the next dual as the Sandites opened with three-straight wins in a 60-12 romp against the defending Arkansas Dual State Champions from Rogers Heritage (4-2)

Colt Hood won a 9-2 decision against defending State Champion Ethan McCrary at 120 pounds to take a 12-0 lead before the visitors got on the board.

The Sandites only lost three matches, all by close decisions, two of which were to returning State placers.

Jaden Allen and Mason Harris both pinned returning State placers and the Sandites totalled eight wins by fall.

At the Enid tournament the Sandites finished with four wrestlers in the top four of their brackets.

David Ritchey placed third at 113 with two pins, Smith placed third at 150 with three pins, Mason Harris finished third at 285 with five pins, and Ethan White finished fourth at 165 with four pins.

Jaxon Trotter placed 7th, Jayden Pait 10th, Ali McCoy 11th, Dawson Briscoe 18th, Allen 18th, Hood 18th, Jackson Burdge 19th, Preston Reyna 22nd, Jace Simms 23rd, Brody Ensten 25th.

The Keystone Kids wrestling club placed third at the Rumble in the Jungle tournament in Coweta over the weekend.

Hudson Waag, Hagan Wolfenberger, Sutton Hawley, Ryder Richardson, Ayreson Reiss, Ryker Dawes, Collin Randall, Brackton Upton, and Kydon Harness all won their brackets.

Dance

The Charles Page High School dance team took second place in 6A Small School Hip Hop at the OSDTDA State Championship on Saturday and the JV/JH team won its division.

Baseball

Sand Springs varsity baseball coach Matt Brown was recognized as the OBCA Region 7 Coach of the Year following the Sandites’ 31-8 season in 2022.

“Coach of the Year awards don’t happen without the best assistant coaches, great players, amazing families, and supportive administration,” tweeted Brown.

Football

Brody Rutledge was named the 6A-II District 2 Wide Receiver of the Year after catching 51 passes for 748 yards and eight touchdowns this season, averaging 14.7 yards per pass. He also had 18 carries for 131 yards and a score.

Jacob Blevins was also named an All-District receiver with 47 catches for 659 yards and four total touchdowns.

Drake Fain was named an All-District linebacker with 101 tackles. RJ Smittick was named an All-District defensive back with 64 tackles and two fumble recoveries.

Dominic Ornelas and Charles Gaylord made the All-District defensive line. Ornelas had 14 tackles for loss and 7.5 sacks. Gaylord had 33 tackles and two fumble recoveries.

Jabe Schlehuber (WR/DB) and Cody Cramer (DB) received Honorable Mentions. Schlehuber had 27 catches for 369 yards and three touchdowns, as well as two interceptions. Cramer also had two interceptions to go with 57 tackles.

Kenneth Page scores 5 TDs in 35-21 win over Sapulpa

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This story was originally written for the Tulsa World.

Junior running back Kenneth Page blasted his way into the history books Friday night with 205 yards and five touchdowns to lead Sand Springs past Sapulpa, 35-21, in the American Heritage Bank Highway 97 Rivalry. 

The game was played before a maximum capacity crowd of over 3,500 at George F. Collins Stadium, with a state-wide broadcast from Cox YurView, and the Sandites took their first lead in the series since 1943.

It’s been 100 years since the two teams first met, and the Sandites now lead the series 46-45-5.

“A lot’s going through my head right now,” said Page. “My line did their job. I’m thankful they did their job. Without them, I wouldn’t have that.”

Highway 97 Rivalry football games are defined by chaos, and the 96th installment didn’t disappoint with five fumbles, two interceptions, and lots of big momentum swings.

On the third play from scrimmage, the snap bounced off Sandite quarterback Marek Matheson’s hands and was immediately recovered by Isaac Shelton.

One play later and Colton Howard found Marco Smith for a 37-yard touchdown and an early lead. 

Sand Springs responded with a methodical 15-play, 75-yard drive to score on Page’s 2-yard plunge. 

Chieftain quarterback Colton Howard put his team back ahead on a 15-yard scramble after shaking off a near-sack to end the first quarter 14-7.

The home team would only get three opportunities to make a play in the second quarter after an 18-play, 89-yard Sandite drive ate more than 9 minutes off the clock, capped by another 2-yard dive from Page.

A sack from Cash Lucas gave Sand Springs a quick three-and-out and they threatened again but Noah Ferguson picked off Matheson to end the half.

Jabe Schlehuber picked off Howard to give his team a red-zone opportunity in the third quarter but the Chieftains forced a turnover on downs to keep it tied. 

Sapulpa’s next drive was unsuccessful, however, and the Sandites took their first lead on a 5-yard Page run, set up by a 51-yard run on the first play of the drive. 

Smith tied it up for the final time on a 15-yard run, but Page added scores of 15 yards and 54 yards in the final stanza. 

“He’s only scratched the surface of what he can do,” said Sandites head coach Bobby Klinck. “He’s got a lot to work on, but there’s a lot to work with. I was very proud of him.”

The Sandite defense came away with eight tackles for loss, led by senior linebacker Drake Fain with 12 tackles. 

“He’s the leader of our defense,” said Klinck. “Him and Dominic Ornelas. We’re counting on those guys and we’re only gonna get better.”

Matheson also impressed in the fourth quarter, shaking off his early interception and completing two incredible Mahomes-ish completions to Jacob Blevins, including a crucial fourth-down conversion that set up the go-ahead score.

Matheson finished the night 11-of-21 for 154 yards. Howard was 7-of-13 for 111 yards for the Chieftains.

Despite Page’s performance, the Sandites were far from a well-oiled machine. 

“We’ve got to get better,” said Klinck. “Just got to clean some stuff up. I think we’re gonna be a good football team, but we’ve got to get a lot better in a hurry in the next couple of weeks before our next opponent.”

The next opponent being 6A-1 No. 3 Bixby (1-0), who is riding a 50-game win streak. The Sandites will get a bye week before traveling to Bixby Friday, September 9th.