Stillwater Throttles Sandites 58-7 on the Gridiron

The top-ranked Stillwater football team looked like a well oiled machine when it rolled into Memorial Stadium Friday night. The Pioneers dominated No. 6 Sand Springs to the tune of 58-7 to improve to 6-0 on the season.

“In the first half we played really well,” said Stillwater head coach Tucker Barnard. “Really good on both sides of the ball.”

A mild understatement. The Pioneers scored on six of seven possessions while holding the Sandites to only 24 yards of offense for a 44-0 halftime lead.

“Threw the ball really well, protected really well. Pretty pleased with that,” said Barnard. “Defense was pretty dominant in the first half. Just gotta finish. I think we came out a little flat in the second half

Senior quarterback Gage Gundy was 21-of-31 passing for 309 yards and only played two series in the second half, scoring five total touchdowns.

Junior star Heston Thompson helped his already exceptional quarterback look even better with 134 yards and four touchdowns in the first half alone.

“He’s a great player,” said Barnard. “He’s got great speed. He’s getting better and better as far as being a receiver. He’s running great routes, he’s continuing to improve there. He’s a kid that’s always been, on grade level, better than everybody else around him. Now in high school he’s really learning how to be better at the craft.”

Thompson scored on receptions of 27, 19, 49, and 5 yards, while Josh Ford added a 6-yard scoring reception in the first half.

Julius Talley also got on the board, tackling Jonathan Daniels for a safety after the Sandite punter lost a high snap over his head late in the second quarter.

Noah Roberts scored on a pair of one-yard runs and ended the night with 12 carries for 93 yards, while Ondre Long also had a one-yard touchdown dive.

The Sandites moved the ball fairly well in the second half behind Kehlan Corbbrey, who ended the night with 18 carries for 96 yards. The freshman running back averted the shutout with a 5-yard plunge late in the third.

“Coach (Bobby) Klinck has things heading in the right direction for sure,” said Barnard. “They’re playing with a ninth grader at quarterback. They’re playing the second half with a ninth grader at tailback. The future’s really good here.”

Stillwater will play its last home game of the regular season Thursday against No. 9 Bartlesville (3-3, 2-1) before going on the road for the rest of the season.

“We’re a long way from perfection,” said Barnard. “We’ve got a lot of work to do and it doesn’t get easy. So we’ve got to keep our foot on the gas.”

“Little bit of road warrior mentality right now, but that’s okay. I don’t love it. We wouldn’t have set it up that way on purpose, but it’s probably good for us to have a test on the road a little bit. We’re going to have to win on the road in the playoffs.”

Sand Springs will host Putnam City West (2-4, 0-3). The Sandites lead the Patriots 4-0 all time.

Stillwater;14;30;14;0–;58
CPHS;0;0;7;0–;7

First Quarter
ST - Thompson 27 pass from Gundy (Grant kick), 10:36
ST - Thompson 19 pass from Gundy (Grant kick), 5:09

Second Quarter
ST - Ford 6 pass from Gundy (Grant kick), 11:54
ST - Thompson 49 pass from Gundy (Grant kick), 9:57
ST - Thompson 5 pass from Gundy (Grant kick), 5:36
ST - Talley safety, 3:47
ST - Roberts 1 run (Grant kick), 2:31

Third Quarter
ST - Roberts 1 run (Grant kick), 8:39
ST - Long 1 run (Grant kick), 4:29
CPHS - Corbbrey 5 run (Daniels kick), 1:50

Team Statistics

First Downs: ST 21, CPHS 15. Rushes-Yards: ST 28-157, CPHS 43-137. Comp-Att-In: ST 27-41-0, CPHS 10-18-2. Passing Yards: ST 373, CPHS 39. Total Yards: ST 530, CPHS 176. Fumbles-Lost: ST 1-0, CPHS 4-3. Penalty Yards: ST 70, CPHS 30. Punts-AVG: ST 2-45.5, CPHS 5-39.6. Records: ST 6-0 (3-0), CPHS 3-3 (1-2).