The Sapulpa Football Chieftains snapped a two-game losing streak Friday evening in convincing fashion, hammering the visiting Glenpool Warriors 50-0 in a clash between a pair of class 5A-3 squads looking to gain ground in the playoff chase.
Glenpool’s only scoring threat came on their first offensive series. What looked to be an assertive 13-play, 50-yard drive sputtered at the 3:27 mark of the first quarter on a missed 31-yard field goal attempt.
Sapulpa’s biggest drive of the game, a 98-yard, 7-play trek, ended when Sapulpa running back Marco Smith found the endzone on a 7-yard rush on 2nd and goal with 8:56 left in the 2nd quarter. Smith’s score was set up two plays earlier when Chieftain quarterback Colton Howard connected with wide receiver Jordan Clark on an 87-yard strike to set Sapulpa up with a 1st and goal at the Warrior 2-yard-line.
Sapulpa (4-3, 2-2) found the endzone on all but two of its offensive possessions, enduring only one 3-and-out series during the contest. A Glenpool (3-4, 1-3) interception in the endzone on 4th-and-goal from the Warrior 29-yard-line midway through the 4th quarter marked the only other possession on which the Chieftain offense did not find the endzone.
The Chieftains’ first score of the contest came on the game’s first possession when Smith capped a 55-yard, 6-play drive with a 3-yard scoring rush to put the home team ahead 7-0 after Cavin Pepper’s charity point at the 9:39 mark of the first quarter.
After the Chieftains’ only 3-and-out on their next possession, Glenpool’s punting squad buried Sapulpa on its own 2-yard-line after the Warrior offense failed to advance past the Chieftain 40-yard-line on their next possession. Sapulpa responded by marching 98 yards in 7 plays to open its lead to 14 at the 8:56 mark of the 2nd quarter.
Sapulpa’s next score came at the 5:58 mark of the 2nd quarter when Howard found Kylen Edwards on a 25-yard toss to cap a four-play, 52-yard drive, putting the home team up 21-0 with 5:58 left in the first half.
Sapulpa wide receiver Dakota Chaney nearly bagged a score for the Chieftain special teams when Glenpool’s next possession lurched to a halt at the Warrior 46-yard-line. Chaney burned Glenpool’s coverage for 30 yards and nearly took the return all the way to the endzone before being hauled down at the Chieftain 45-yard-line. The Chieftains needed only three plays to cover the remaining real estate and push their lead to 28-0 when Smith took the ball 38 yards to the endzone at the 3:15 mark of the 2nd quarter.
After another Glenpool 3-and-out, Howard bagged his first of two rushing touchdowns on the evening, capping a five-play, 51-yard drive with a 14-yard scoring spurt to put the Chieftains ahead 35-0 as the first half drew to a close.
Glenpool failed to gain any momentum coming out of the halftime locker room. The Warriors fumbled on the second play of their first possession of the half, with the Chieftain defense pouncing on the loose ball to set Howard and company up with good field possession at the Sapulpa 48-yard-line. Howard netted his second score of the evening on a 3rd-and-2 rush from the Warrior 5-yard-line to put the Chieftains ahead 41-0 with 7:35 left in the 3rd quarter.
Glenpool’s slippery hands struck again on the ensuing kickoff when Ethan McLane pounced on a loose ball to set the Chieftains up deep in Glenpool territory. Chieftain quarterback Eli Beck scored on a 15-yard rush to cap a 5-play, 28-yard drive putting Sapulpa ahead 48-0 with 5:15 left in the 3rd quarter.
Sapulpa’s final score of the evening came on a safety with 2:20 left in the contest on 4th-and-15 from the Glenpool 15-yard-line when Warriors punter Andrew Jensen batted the ball out of the back out of the visitors’ endzone after a bad snap sailed over his head. The safety settled the score at 50-0 for the home team.
Sapulpa’s victory was notable in that it marked the third consecutive shutout at Collins Stadium this season, with the Chieftains being the victors in two of those shutouts. Sapulpa last notched multiple shutout victories in a season during the 2018 campaign.
The Chieftains go on the road for the next two weeks, facing Tulsa Memorial Thursday evening before traveling to McAlester to take on the Buffaloes on October 27. Sapulpa concludes its 2023 regular season at home on November 3 against Tulsa East Central.
