For the first time in five seasons, the Sapulpa Chieftains are playing an 11th football game.
With the 48-24 victory Friday night over Ponca City, the Chieftains secured their seventh win of the season and the 3rd seed in District 6A II – 2.
It’s been since the 2013 season that Big Blue has made the playoffs, but Coach Rob Borgstadt had a pretty good feeling about this team when we talked to him on the second day of practice.
“If we roll off the first three in a row then we might go win seven games. We’re looking forward to it and I know what we got coming back and I know what the other teams don’t have coming back, so I feel pretty good about where we’re at,” said Coach Borg back in early August.
That’s exactly what happened.
The Chieftains opened up with three straight wins – Edison, Claremore, and East Central – before they started district play and rolled off another four victories.
Sapulpa finished the regular season 7-3, two more victories than the total wins from the previous four seasons combined.
In the quarterfinals, the Chieftains will travel to Midwest City to face the Bombers, the second seed in 6A II – 1. MWC finished the season 8-2 but hasn’t lost since Week 5 when it fell to undefeated Stillwater.
The Bombers and Chieftains had one familiar opponent this season – Muskogee. Midwest City beat the Roughers in Muskogee, 16-14, in Week 3. Sapulpa beat Muskogee at Homecoming three weeks later, 49-48 in overtime.
An interesting fact about Midwest City that you may or may not have known, it is the last school from the west side of the state to win a 6A football championship before the long run of east side dominance. MWC won the gold ball in 1994 and 1995. After ‘95 it’s been Jenks, Union, Owasso, Bixby, and Booker T. Washington as state champions. And now, the Chieftains get their shot!
Kickoff is at 7 p.m. Friday, Nov. 9 at Midwest City. The address to the stadium is 701 E. Lockheed Drive, Midwest City, Ok, 73110. Admission for students and adults is $7 and visitors must enter the stadium via the north gate.
