Season Primer: Sandite Football Kicks Off Friday vs. Sapulpa

SAnd Springs hosts the highway 97 rivalry trophy after a 2022 road victory at sapulpa.

Since 1952, Sand Springs and Sapulpa have been connected by State Highway 97, but since 1922 something else has connected the two Tulsa suburbs.

Blood, sweat, pigskin, and gridiron have been bringing the two communities together for 30 years longer than the rivalry has had a name - and for the 97th time in the past 102 seasons, Sandites and Chieftains will be at each other’s throats on Friday, August 25th at Memorial Stadium

Both Charles Page High School and Sapulpa High School will open their seasons in Zero Week in the American Heritage Bank Highway 97 Rivalry.

The defending 97 Champs? Sand Springs by way of a 35-21 road win that saw now-senior running back Kenneth Page lit up the scoreboard to the tune of 205 yards and five touchdowns.

With their eighth win in the past nine years, the Sandites finally took their first series lead since 1943 at 46-45-5.

Both teams are looking to take a big step this season. After three consecutive seasons with playoff wins, the Sandites aim for their first State Finals berth since 2015. Sapulpa is coming off back-to-back winning seasons and is looking for its first playoff win since 2005.

Both teams will be eager to start the season on the right foot with a win against their chief rivals before a packed house on statewide television.

The Sandites started the year with a 21-7 half-game loss to Choctaw at the Jenks Football Preview on Friday, August 18th. The Yellowjackets took a 14-0 lead before Easton Webb connected with Wyatt Rutledge, the latest in a long line of Rutledge football stars.

“We were a little bit tired towards the end of that scrimmage, which is natural,” said fourth-year head coach Bobby Klinck, who owns a 22-14 record since arriving at Sand Springs.

“You can run and sprint and do all that stuff, but football shape is different. You’ve got to be ready for it. So I thought there were some plays that we left out there, but for the most part, when we watched film and went back and looked at it, I thought we’re a much-improved football team from last year and I look forward to showing that on Friday.”

Klinck isn’t one to gently test the water toes-first. Choctaw was last year’s State Runner-Up, beating the Sandites 48-29 in the quarterfinals. His team will also take on defending 6A-I State Champion Bixby in the second game of the season.

The Sandites’ strength this season will be their offensive line. Six-foot-four sophomore Ryley Kester is already receiving Division I offers, checking in at 270 pounds. 275-pound senior Tyler Smith stands six feet fall, as does 280-pound senior Marcus Sims. At center, State Tournament-placing wrestler Mason Harris will provide six feet and 260 pounds of intensity.

“Combine that with Ali McCoy and Kenneth Page, we’re looking to run the football,” said Klinck. “There’s no doubt we should be able to. I’ve always told the O-line that we’ll go as far as they go.”

Page was the workhorse for the Sandites last year, carrying the ball 210 times for 1022 yards and 17 touchdowns. McCoy also showed off his speed with 53 carries for 297 yards and 7 TDs.

Klinck expects to split the workload pretty evenly between the two this year. “Those guys love it because they understand that when they’re fresh, they’re a lot better."

Also taking advantage of that powerful line will be 6’4” sophomore quarterback Easton Webb, who was 127-of-203 passing last season for 1,564 yards and 13 touchdowns after winning the starting job in week four.

But despite the football hype, Webb’s primary sport is baseball. In fact, he was recruited by and committed to Oklahoma State University as a freshman before he had ever played a varsity minute.

“In the summer, when you’re that type of athlete, you’ve got to juggle your time between baseball and football,” said Klinck. “And he needs to do that because he excels at both. We’re happy now that it’s coming up on fall and we get him full time.”

“His command, his physicality, the way he’s grown physically. Obviously we’re looking for great things from him.”

Webb also shows strong potential as a dual threat, carrying the ball for nearly 200 yards and four touchdowns last year.

“He’s a lot faster than what people think,” said Klinck. “He definitely wants to throw, but he’s not afraid to tuck it down and put his shoulder pads down when he has to. He’s an all-around type of player and we’re looking for him to make major strides this year.”

Untested for the Sandites will be their receiving corps after graduating their top four from last season.

“Wyatt Rutledge has really come on,” said Klinck. “I think (Caleb) Goodman is going to show some things this year. It’s a bunch of guys that are unproven but we feel that they have the talent to get it done. They’ve just got to prove it on Friday night.”

Defensively, the Sandites will be returning only a handful of their top guys from last season, but Klinck expects big things nonetheless.

“This is a group that they’ve been in the system for a minute and they’re playing fast. We’re going to be aggressive this year. We think that’s kind of our mentality and our nature.”

Gatlin Gunn, Keagan Gilman, Dallas Elifrits, Waylon Jeffers, and Alex Dudley are all expected to make a big impact as some of the top returning tacklers from last season.

As for the leadership this season, the team captains will be Harris, Sims, Dudley, and Gillman.

“We vote team captains. I allow the players to do that,” said Klinck. “They’ve done an unbelievable job. When it’s hot, when guys want to get testy, they’re the ones stepping in saying ‘we can’t be doing this, we’re on the same team.’”

“At the end of practice Alex Dudley’s telling all the scouting guys ‘thank you so much for helping us, it’s a big deal what you’re doing.’ It’s the old adage, ‘when players lead, those are the best teams.’ They’re doing it right now; it’s exciting.”

Sand Springs is hoping to #Sellout97 in what would be the first sellout crowd at Memorial Stadium since it was expanded to a 6,700-seat capacity in 2007. Fans who don’t like crowds will be able to tune in on Yurview (Cox Channel 3). The game will start late at 8:00 p.m. to help dodge the sun.

For game coverage, follow @SSEmigh on X (formerly known as Twitter) during the game. Check in on SanditePride.com for the game story and consider subscribing for only $4.00/month to support local, independent coverage of all things Sand Springs.

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).

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 stuns Collinsville 17-0 in preseason scrimmage

A version of this story was originally published in the Sand Springs Leader.

Anytime a team graduates 27 players, including a top receiver, a top running back, several top defenders, and almost the entire offensive line, they might be sweating their ability to reload the next year.

But not Sand Springs. After watching their Friday-night scrimmage against Collinsville, a person might reasonably conclude that this was a veteran group.

In two quarters of action, the Sandites blanked 5A Collinsville 17-0. Despite being a lower classification, the Cardinals are a no-joke program that was unanimously voted by the coaches in its district to repeat as district champs. They went 11-1 last season, only falling in the playoff semifinals to eventual champion Carl Albert.

The Sandites forced two punts, Alex Turner returned a pick 45 yards, and the Cardinals’ two other drives ended with the clock. Meanwhile the home team scored on three of their four possessions and only punted once. 

Senior quarterback Ty Pennington was 7-of-11 passing for 192 yards and two touchdowns behind a fairly young offensive line. Keaton Campbell stole the show at receiver, scoring both touchdowns on three catches and racking up 154 yards overall, and backup QB Brody Rutledge had three catches for 30 yards. 

The offensive line is a younger unit as well after the team graduated five linemen with starting experience. Mason Harris, Matthew Shelton, Morgan Eubanks, Owen Higgins, and Marcus Sims will anchor the offensive front this time around.

“We’ve got a lot of young guys,” said Head Coach Bobby Klinck after the game. “Coach Medrano has come in here and just done an unbelievable job. That goes for the rest of this coaching staff. This is the least amount of work I’ve ever done getting ready for a season. I told them, this camp, practice, and everything in this scrimmage - man we’ve been on point. I’m very proud of this coaching staff, and we’ve got some good football players on this team. 

Jason Medrano is leading the Sandites’ offensive line this season after a two-year stint as Catoosa’s Head Coach. Lee Kizzar is taking over as offensive coordinator after Stephen Hogan returned to his hometown of Greenwood, Arkansas for the same position there. Kizzar previously coached tight ends for the Sandites. 

Not much has changed on the defensive side of the ball, and defensive coordinator Shane Ingram’s unit looks ready to go, based on their performance Friday night. 

Brooks Dudley, Drake Fain, Landon Hendricks, Turner, Conner Light, Gabe Brown, and Dom Ornelas are among the names to look for on the defense this season.

It won’t be an easy road. Bixby is the odds-on favorite to repeat, having won three-straight titles and six of the last seven. Choctaw, last year’s State Runner-Up, and Booker T. are also in the same district as the Sandites. The Washington Hornets are the only other team besides Bixby to win a Class 6A-II title.

The Sandites remain loaded at the skill positions. Top running back Blake Jones returns after amassing 484 yards and seven TDs in an injury-riddled campaign. Campbell and Jacob Blevins will give Pennington options at receiver as both posted over 600 yards apiece and combined for ten TDs last year. Ryan Shoemaker also showed skill at tight end, collecting 226 yards. 

Pennington is already ranking among the top QBs in Sandite history with over 3600 yards passing and 27 TDs, as well as 744 yards rushing and 14 TDs in the past two seasons.

“Keaton Campbell’s a two-sport star,” said Klinck. “Our quarterback’s a two-sport star. These are guys that are going to make big plays all year, and college recruiters need to start waking up a bit.”

Despite their success, the team wasn’t flawless. They gave up a handful of penalties, had a three-and-out, and stalled in the red zone on their first drive.

“We’ve got a lot of things to get better at in terms of penalties,” said Klinck. “We scored points on big plays, we have that capability. I’d like to see more sustained drives. I’d have liked for us to have finished that first drive instead of kicking a field goal.”

The Sandites are coming off a 7-5 mark in their first season under Klinck. Last year they won their rivalry game at Sapulpa, dealt Shiloh Christian their only loss of the season, finished fourth in the district, and won a playoff game against Deer Creek before falling to powerhouse Stillwater on the road.

Prior to that, they went 10-21 over the previous three seasons, but were perennial playoff contenders from 2012 to 2017, including a State Runner-Up performance in 2015. 

The Sandites will start their season Friday at 7:00 p.m. with the 95th installment of Highway 97 Rivalry when they host Sapulpa. Sapulpa leads the series with a 45-44-5 record, and the two teams have met annually since 1930.