Sandites Throttle Tigers 41-7, Abbi Elder Named Homecoming Queen

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Abbi Elder was named Homecoming Queen and Mason HArris was Kissing Captain. Photo: Charity Emigh.

Tahlequah tried to set the tone early in its Friday night road game at Sand Springs. On fourth-and-one near midfield, the Tigers handed the ball off to Darryn Spahr and the senior back ran into a wall named Owen Floyd.

Two plays later Ali McCoy took the ball 57 yards to the house. Tone set.

McCoy ran for over 200 yards in the first half as the No. 5 Charles Page High School football team (3-2, 1-1) steamrolled to a 41-7 win over No. 6 Tahlequah (1-4, 0-2) on Homecoming.

“It wouldn’t be possible without the five guys up front,” said McCoy, who ended the night with 10 carries for 213 yards and two touchdowns.

“I expected us to do good on the ground, but I didn’t expect that outcome. It feels good sharing this moment with our seniors. We’ve been working really hard.”

One of those seniors was Kenneth Page, who had 12 carries for 132 yards and three scores. Another was wildcat quarterback Jace Arnold who ran the ball six times for 43 yards and another score.

When the clock finally ran dry the Sandites had amassed 392 yards on the ground, averaging a first down with every snap.

“I really like how we came out after a disappointing performance last week,” said head coach Bobby Klinck, referencing a 51-13 loss to No. 1 Muskogee.

“(The offensive line) is the heart and soul of our football team and they’re getting better each week.”

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Kenneth Page scored 3 touchdowns against Tahlequah on Homecoming. Photo: Charity Emigh.

As dominant as the offense was, the defense was equally in control, recording two takeaways, seven tackles for loss, and two turnovers on downs. The Sandites forced four punts on the night and only allowed 79 yards in the second half.

“It was really good to see our secondary as a whole just continue to get better,” said Klinck. “Our secondary hadn’t been our strong point defensively, so for them to kind of lead and do some big things, I’m very happy with them.”

That secondary stepped up time and time again with Landyn Barnes breaking up a pass to force a punt on the Tigers’ second possession before intercepting Cash McAlvain on their third possession.

The pick was crucial for keeping momentum on the Sandites’ side as Tahlequah’s Jacob Morrison had just intercepted Easton Webb on the previous drive.

Two plays later, McCoy had another mad dash for a 49-yard touchdown.

Spahr got the visitors on the board with a 14-yard run to open the second quarter, but Page responded with a 19-yard run, the Tigers went three-and-out, and Arnold scored his 10-yard run to make it 27-7 after a failed PAT.

Two Tiger penalties set the Sandites up for a kickoff from deep in Tahlequah territory and they used the opportunity to practice their onside kick.

Dawson Puckett’s first attempt only traveled eight yards before going out of bounds, but that kick was nullified as the Sandites had lined up offsides and got a re-do.

This time it was flawlessly executed and recovered by Cooper Guardado to set up a 33-yard touchdown run by Page.

Tahlequah successfully moved the ball 61 yards on its next drive before Mason Harris sacked McAlvain and forced a fumble that was snatched up by Keagan Gilman with 42 seconds in the half.

The Sandites nearly punched in another but ran out of time after driving 52 yards on five plays to enter the red zone.

The starters got one more drive to open up the second half and Page scored his third touchdown on a one-yard plunge for the final score of 41-7.

From there, both teams played mostly backups and took turns exchanging punts till the clock ran out.

Sand Springs will take to the road next week with a key district match-up at No.4 Stillwater (3-2, 2-0), who prevailed 48-13 over No. 8 Booker T. Washington in their Week 5 game.

The Pioneers have won their past two meetings with Sand Springs and lead the series 32-12 all-time.

CPHS 41 Tahlequah 7
1Q: CPHS 14-0.
2Q: CPHS 20-7.
3Q: CPHS 7-0.
4Q: 0-0.
First Downs: CPHS 14, Tahlequah 15.
Fumbles-Lost: CPHS 1-0, Tahlequah 3-2.
Penalties: CPHS 9-85, Tahlequah 7-80.
Passing: CPHS 7-11-97-1, Tahlequah 16-25-128-1.
Rushing: CPHS 36-392, Tahlequah 32-114.
Offense: CPHS 47-489, Tahlequah 57-242.

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 Weekly Sports Roundup: Two Sandites Medal at State Wrestling Tournament

The Sand Springs boys’ wrestling team took tenth place at the OSSAA 6A State Tournament with two placers in their best finish since 2020.

Mitchell Smith took fourth place at 150 pounds to end his career as a four-time State qualifier and two time placer with a 108-35 record.

Mason Harris took fourth place at heavyweight and finished his junior year with a team-best 40-9 record.

The Sandites went 3-3 in the wrestle-in round and 3-3 in the quarterfinals with Jayden Pait, Jaxon Trotter, and Ethan White earning their way into the main bracket.

Smith, Harris, and Kase Skaggs all advanced to the semifinals before taking their first losses. Skaggs and Trotter were both eliminated one win short of the podium.

Sand Springs will graduate Smith and White but will return 12 starters and seven state qualifiers next season.

Soccer

The CPHS boys soccer team improved to 2-0-1 in preseason action while the girls fell to 2-1-0.

The boys won 3-0 against Collinsville on Tuesday with goals from Elias Villanueva, Zac Ritter, and Elgin Hernandez, with Brian Boyles recording an assist. They battled to a 1-1 draw against Sapulpa with Eli Bise scoring the lone goal.

The girls fell 2-1 against Collinsville, with Alyssa Cunningham scoring the lone goal on an assist from Ava Watts. On Thursday they defeated Sapulpa 4-1 with two goals from Watts and one goal apiece from Avery Miller and Ashley Feigenbaum.

The Sandites have one more scrimmage scheduled Tuesday against Glenpool before opening the regular season Friday with home matches against Tulsa NOAH at 6:00 p.m.

Bowling

The CPHS girls bowling team of Tabby Hicks, Olivia Alexander, Zoe Butler, and Kyeara Owens finished as Regional Runners-Up on February 18th in Sapulpa, advancing to the State Tournament Saturday in Enid.

At State they sat in second place after eight games of qualifying, but were eliminated in the first round of bracket play.

“I’m so proud of this team,” said coach Shawn Judy. “Three out of the four girls on the team, this is the first year they have competed in high school bowling. I believe we overachieved every expectation that anybody put on us.”

Baseball

Sandite baseball improved to 5-1-1 in preseason games, losing 6-7 at Owasso on Monday before winning 9-6 Tuesday against Bartlesville and 13-0 Thursday against Glenpool. On Saturday they beat Edmond Santa Fe 2-0 and tied Noble 3-3.

The Sandites will travel to Pryor on Monday and will host Union on Tuesday to conclude the preseason.

The regular season will kick off Thursday at 11:00 a.m. against Greenwood, AR with a home game Friday at 6:00 p.m. against Shawnee. Sand Springs will travel to Yukon Saturday at noon.

Sandite Weekly Sports Roundup: Girls Powerlifting Wins Meet, Wrestling Qualifies 9 for State

The Sand Springs boys wrestling team took fifth place at the OSSAA 6A-East Regional Championship Saturday in Jenks, their highest mark since 2020.

The team qualified nine wrestlers for this weekend’s State Championship, the most since 2018.

The Sandites had a tough regional with nationally ranked Stillwater and Bixby, as well as perennial powerhouse Broken Arrow leading the pack. Owasso edged out the Sandites for fourth place with 147.5 points to 141.5.

Kase Skaggs was the lone finalist with a 6-0 semifinal upset against second-seeded Ponca City junior Jimmy Swenson to avenge a district loss at 106. In the finals he fell to nationally ranked Aydan Thomas from Stillwater.

Mitchell Smith took third place at 150 pounds, winning a 2-1 overtime tiebreaker against Broken Arrow’s Garrett Stinchcomb in the placement round.

Mason Harris placed third at heavyweight with a 4-2 sudden victory takedown against Broken Arrow’s Michael Cook.

Jaxon Trotter placed fourth at 157, losing only to nationally ranked LaDarion Lockett from Stillwater before medical forfeiting the placement round.

David Ritchey, Jayden Pait, Jesse Moore, Ethan White, and Hudson Sheppard placed fifth.

The State tournament will be held Friday and Saturday at Jim Norick Arena at the State Fairgrounds in Oklahoma City.

The Lady Sandites didn’t have any State qualifiers in their first year, placing 42nd out of 64 schools at the OSSAA East Regional.

The Keystone Kids had several top performers at the OKWA Youth State Championship, placing third in Open 8U and ninth in Open 15U.

Hudson Waag, Hagan Wolfenberger, and Ryley Kester won State titles; Sutton Hawley was runner-up; Mason Londo, Karson Waag, and Jace Simms placed third.

Girls Powerlifting

The Lady Sandite powerlifting team won its second meet of the season at Chandler, beating the home team 161 to 110 in team points.

Jaden Jordan won her third meet of the year at heavyweight, taking first in bench at 160 pounds, first in deadlift at 390, and second in squat at 360.

Madison Thompson was runner-up at 220, placing second in squat at 305, second in bench at 150, and fourth in deadlift at 315.

Addily Shotwell was runner-up at 181, placing second in squat at 235, second in bench at 125, and fourth in deadlift at 270.

Gracie Worthington placed third and Olivia Alexander, Bailey Doughty, Kelsi Hilton, and Melanie Skelly placed fourth.

The girls will compete at the Regional Championship in Miami on Tuesday the 28th.

Soccer

The CPHS soccer teams started the preseason with a scrimmage sweep at Grove.

The boys won 4-0 behind two goals from Brian Boyles and one goal apiece from Eli Bise and Dawson Puckett. The girls won 3-0 with a hat trick from Ava Watts.

Both teams will return to action with home scrimmages against Collinsville Tuesday at 5:00 p.m.

Baseball

The Sandite baseball team won its first two scrimmages of the year 6-0 against Mannford and 18-10 against Westmoore.

Gage Elliott and Wyatt Rutledge combined for a nine-strikeout one-hitter against the Pirates on Friday and Rhen Rutledge went 1-of-2 at the plate with a triple, 3 RBI, and a run.

Jackson Turney, Dom Ornelas, and Alex Dudley had two hits apiece against the Jaguars, with Ornelas scoring a 3RBI homer.

The Sandites will travel to Owasso, Glenpool, and Edmond Santa Fe next week and will host Bartlesville on Tuesday and Bixby on Friday.

Sandite Wrestling Falls 59-12 to Bixby at Dual State

The Charles Page High School wrestling team ended the dual season with a 59-12 loss to nationally ranked Bixby (18-3) in the first round of the Dual State tournament Friday in Enid.

The Spartans took a 35-0 lead before heavyweight Mason Harris won a 2-0 decision against Garrett Ritter. Kase Skaggs won a 5-1 decision against Chase Dyer and David Ritchey pinned Tucker Clark to make it 35-12, but the Spartans won the final four matches by fall.

The Sandites ended the year with a 13-5 record, their best mark since 2019.

Sand Springs will return to action at the OSSAA 6A-East Regional Friday at Jenks. The Sandites placed sixth in Regionals last season and will be looking to crown their first Regional Champion since 2019.

Youth

The Keystone Kids wrestling club competed at the OKWA Northwest Regionals in Newkirk on Saturday and won the Open 15U category. The Keystone Kids had ten total champions, including several members of the Charles Page High School team.

Ayreson Reiss, Preston Reyna, Jace Simms, Hagan Wolfenberger, Isaac Sensintaffar, Hudson Waag, Na’Kya Canady, Karson Waag, Sutton Hawley, Ryley Kester all won their divisions.

Kason Wolfe, Ryker Dawes, Trey Tunnell, and Kydon Harness finished as runners-up; Mason Londo, Audree Robinson, and Rowdy Ash placed third; Holden Yingst, Maddix Spencer, Carsten Reiss, and Hunter Fields placed fourth; Ethan Schueler placed fifth; and Joshua Compton placed sixth.

All top-eight finishers qualified for the 45th annual OKWA State Championship that will be held February 17-18 at the Tulsa Fairgrounds Pavilion.

Sandite Wrestling Wins Glenpool Warrior Classic with 4 Champions

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The Charles Page High School wrestling team earned its first tournament title of the Ty Bowling era Saturday, crowning four champions at the 5th Annual Glenpool Warrior Classic.

The Sandites went 4-3 in the finals with Kase Skaggs, Mitchell Smith, Jaxon Trotter, and Mason Harris earning gold. No. 7 Sand Springs earned 219 team points to beat out No. 9 Owasso with 179.

“I think we finished the regular season strong,” said Bowling.

“We really wanted to go to (the Yukon tournament two weeks ago) but we were kind of beat up and we’d been going for a few weeks in a row so I felt like we needed to take that off and we really needed to get this one in right before the postseason started.”

Coincidentally, Bowling was previously the head coach at Glenpool, though this was the first time one of his teams would win the tournament

Skaggs breezed through the 106 bracket with three pins and 10-1 major decision in the finals against Owasso’s Elijah Cherry.

Smith won at 150 with five pins and a tech fall, outscoring his foes 45-8. He pinned Glenpool’s Michael Lohr in the finals and also reached a big milestone in the quarterfinals when he pinned Glenpool freshman Kevin Gruse for his 100th career victory.

“I watched all these other guys grow up and do it so it feels nice,” said Smith.

The senior has been battling a knee injury since the Jenks tournament but doesn’t see that slowing him down in the postseason.

“I’m feeling good, healthier, a lot better now. I’m excited about that too.”

Trotter didn’t give up a single point till the 157-pound finals, where he earned a 5-3 decision over Sapulpa’s Blake Hurt.

Harris was equally dominant at heavyweight, only giving up one point in the whole tournament before winning a 6-0 decision against Enid’s Seth Melvin.

David Ritchey, Jayden Pait, and Ethan White finished as runners-up. Colt Hood, Ali McCoy, and Connor Diaz placed fourth. Landon Castro and Jaden Allen placed fifth. Luke McGehee placed sixth.

The Sandites were also missing several starters in Hudson Sheppard, Zander Grigsby, Jesse Moore, and Matthew Moore, making the team title even more remarkable.

“The ones we brought, they were the ones who stepped up and wrestled hard,” said Bowling.

“Coach (Earl) Shockley does a good job of setting up JV duals and JV tournaments, so those guys are constantly wrestling. It’s a next-man-up mentality.”

Smith says the team spirits are high and feels confident going into Dual State and Regionals.

“We’re a lot happier than we have been in the past, more of a team than anything else.”

“He’s a great team leader,” Bowling said of Smith. “How he goes, that’s how the rest of the team’s gonna go. He sets the tone for us. He’s the leader in the room and out of the room so he’s a good one to have.”

Junior High

The Sand Springs boys placed seventh at the Junior High Allstate Tournament in Oklahoma City.

Ryley Kester and Kaden Pope placed third, Isaac Sensintaffar placed fourth, and Jaxon Grigsby and Kasen McAffrey placed sixth.

For the girls: Rylee Allen placed fourth and Stefanie Ortiz placed sixth.