Sandites Drop District Opener to Muskogee

It was a tale of three games Friday night at Memorial Stadium. The No. 6 Muskogee Roughers improved to 4-0 for the first time since 2019 with a 48-26 win at No. 7 Sand Springs (2-2) to open district action. 

Muskogee stormed out to a 27-0 first quarter lead that could easily have turned into a blowout, but it was only 27-26 to start the fourth quarter.

Then the wheels came off the wagon for the resurgent Sandites who committed five penalties in the fourth quarter, surrendered an onside kick, and threw two interceptions. 

“I was very happy with our kids,” said second-year Muskogee coach Travis Hill, whose Roughers were 2-8 last season.

“They showed a lot of composure. It was a little emotional because when you work with a bunch of kids you get in environments that they have failed in before. So when they don’t fail, it’s very exciting.”

“Kudos to our kids, that’s what it’s all about. That’s what we’re all here for. It’s for those guys to go out and continue to grow up and use football as a tool to make them better people.”

Sophomore star Jamarian Ficklin ended the night 16-of-29 for 269 yards passing, with six touchdowns to one interception. 

“He’s special,” said Hill. “Jamarian Ficklin’s a quarterback. He’s not just an athlete. He’s the leader of our football team. Very, very special person. Not just a special football player, but a special person. Go look at his grades, go look at what he does off the field in the community.”

The Roughers forced three-and-outs on the Sandites’ first three possessions while scoring on their first four drives for a stunning 27-0 lead in the first quarter.

Ficklin scored on a 7-yard screen to Anthony Watson, a 61-yard strike to Kayden McGee, and a 51-yard throw to Brandon Tolbert. Ondraye Beasley added an 85-yard run for the only touchdown not thrown by Ficklin.

He then added a 61-yard scoring strike to McGee and a 51-yard touchdown to Tolbert to make it 21-0.

Jayden Bell’s two-point pass was broken up, however, and the Sandites began to build momentum.

Kenneth Page cashed in on a 17-yard run, then Kyle Morrall recovered a muffed kick to set up a two-yard scoring dive from Page.

Cody Cramer snagged a pick on the Roughers’ second-half opening possession and Easton Webb connected with Brody Rutledge soon after on a 26-yard touchdown.

Webb kept on a fourth-down one-yard plunge with six seconds left in the third, but Muskogee got back to its winning ways in the fourth.

Ficklin tossed a 62-yard score to Jayden Bell, then Sandite penalties resulted in an onside kick from the 30-yard line. 

Tolbert recovered the kick and Ficklin found Watson from nine yards out. Soon after he added a 20-yard strike to Beasley for the final points of the game.

Beasley ended the night with 103 yards on only four carries to go with 13 yards on two receptions. Bell led the Rougher receivers with three catches for 95 yards.

Sandite freshman Webb was 18-of-27 for 251 yards and three interceptions in his first varsity start and Page had 31 carries for 147 yards. Rutledge had five catches for 105 yards to lead the receiving corps. 

Sand Springs will return to action Friday at Tahlequah (2-2, 1-0) in its first meeting with the Tigers since 2007. Muskogee will host Putnam City West (2-2, 0-1) Friday.

Muskogee;27;0;0;21–;48
Sand Springs; 0;13;13;0–;26

1Q: Muskogee - Watson 7 pass from Ficklin (Armstrong kick), 7:39
1Q: Muskogee - McGee 61 pass from Ficklin (Armstrong kick), 6:06
1Q: Muskogee - Tolbert 51 pass from Ficklin (Armstrong kick), 3:28
1Q: Muskogee - Beasley 85 run (pass failed), 0:03
2Q: Sand Springs - Page 17 run (kick failed), 9:21
2Q: Sand Springs - Page 2 run (Daniels kick), 5:43
3Q: Sand Springs - Rutledge 26 pass from Webb (Daniels kick), 7:22
3Q: Sand Springs - Webb 1 run (pass failed) 0:06
4Q: Muskogee - Bell 62 pass from Ficklin (Armstrong kick), 10:29
4Q: Muskogee - Watson 9 pass from Ficklin (Armstrong kick), 9:40
4Q: Muskogee - Beasley 20 pass from Ficklin (Armstrong kick), 5:37

TEAM STATISTICS

First downs: MUS 9, SS 22. C-A-Y-I: Rushes-Yards: MUS 27-314, SS 50-161. Comp-Att-In: MUS 16-29-1, SS 18-27-3. Passing Yards: MUS 269, SS 251. Total Yards: MUS 460, SS 416. Fumbles-Lost: MUS 3-3, SS 5-3. Penalty Yards: MUS 65, SS 150. Punts-AVG: MUS 2-25.5, SS 3-42. Records: MUS 4-0 (1-0), SS 2-2 (0-1). 

Sand Springs Football sabotages Muskogee Homecoming 48-34

A version of this story was originally written for the Sand Springs Leader.

It’s hard to say if a Sand Springs football player had ever returned a kick 99 yards for a touchdown before Friday night. But the loyal Sand Springs fans who traveled to Muskogee on October 1st almost got to see the rare feat twice.

With the game tied up at 13-13 early in the second quarter, junior return-man Jabe Schlehuber took the ball from the one-yard line to the house, but had it called all the way back for holding at the 16-yard line.

“I was mad,” said Schlehuber. “We went and scored though on that drive. It was alright, it made up for it. But I had to get redemption, I had to get another one.”

So, on the opening play of the second half, he did it again, and this time it held up. The Sandites took a 34-20 lead en route to a 48-34 win at the Indian Bowl, and all three sides of the ball made their way onto the scoreboard.

Class 6A-II No. 5 Charles Page High School improved to 5-0 for the first time since 2012, and more importantly, they’re 2-0 in district play. Unranked Muskogee dropped to 1-4 overall and 1-1 in district action.

Since kicks can’t be returned from the end zone in high school ball, it’s safe to say Schlehuber at the very least tied the school record for longest kick return. It’s certainly possible he’s the only Sandite to have done so. “That’s crazy,” he said after the game. “That’s my first varsity touchdown, that’s kind of cool.” 

He wasn’t the only star on the night, however. The always lethal Sandite offense put up huge numbers, and the defense made their way onto the scoreboard for the second straight week.

Ty Pennington was 14-of-18 passing for 192 yards and two touchdowns, with 13 carries for 94 yards and two more touchdowns. 

Jacob Blevins led the receiving corps with five catches for 71 yards and one touchdown, and Ryan Shoemaker had three catches for 34 yards and two scores. Blake Jones had 23 carries for 138 yards and one catch for 45 yards. Brody Rutledge had three catches for 36 yards and also threw a 26-yard touchdown strike to Blevins.

6’4” defensive end Landon Hendricks led the defense with seven tackles, including three for negative yards, two sacks, a pass deflection, and a forced fumble. The senior has recorded three forced fumbles in the past two games, and two have been returned for touchdowns. This time it was Gabe Brown who scooped it up and carried it 75 yards for a 48-27 lead.

“What an unbelievable play,” said Sandites head coach Bobby Klinck. “And then Gabe Brown picking that up, he looked like a dang running back scooping that thing up.”

Muskogee didn’t look like a team that was coming off only its first win in two seasons, however. In their first under head coach Travis Hill they appear to be trending in the right direction. 

“I’ve coached at Muskogee and those kids are horribly talented and they’re coached very well by Coach Hill and his staff,” said Klinck. “So I knew it was going to be a dogfight. We were just lucky that we had a few more plays than them.”

Freshman quarterback Jamarian Ficklin looked like a veteran, passing 18-of-28 for 355 yards and three touchdowns. 

“I’m not going to look forward to playing him the next three years,” said Klinck. “They’re a young football team and each week they get better and better.”

Jayden Bell led the Muskogee receiving corps with five catches for 123 yards and two scores, followed by Anthony Watson with five catches for 117. Kayden McGee and Isaiah Givens also caught touchdown passes, and Walker Newton aired out a 74-yard touchdown pass to Bell on a trick play. 

“That whole dang team is going to be back next year,” said Klinck. “They’re doing things really well over here at Muskogee. We’re very fortunate to come away with a win and we’re looking forward to the next challenge.”

“Wins are like plane landings, there’s no such thing as a bad one. That’s the way we look at it. That was a huge win for districts. Competition is really going to start ramping up. We knew Muskogee was going to be good, it was going to be a good test and to get us ready for this next stretch of probably the top three teams in the state right now.”

Things will only get rougher from here for the Sandites, who will host No. 3 Booker T. Washington (4-1, 1-1) next Friday. The Hornets are fresh off a 66-0 shutout of Bartlesville. Then they travel to No. 1 Bixby (5-0, 2-0) before returning home against No. 2 Choctaw (4-1, 2-0).