Sapulpa is coming off of back-to-back losses against Putnam City North and Muskogee to finish out the regular season on Friday against Sand Springs, where they hope to land a spot as the number three team in the district.
There is a three-way tie for third seed between Sapulpa, Sand Springs, and Putnam City North. To land the No. 3 spot, Sapulpa must beat Sand Springs by 7 points or more.
Sapulpa’s loss to Muscogee last Friday was a tough pill to swallow at 57-7, especially given that it was the largest loss for the Chieftains this season, and by a lot. The 50-point gap dwarfs the next closest loss, which could be Tahlequah or Grove, both of which the Chieftains lost by ten points. The difference is that neither of those losses were district games.
Tanner Gregory, who has been running sports commentary with Braden Ward for the Chieftain TV YouTube Channel, says the best thing the team can do to prepare for this week is to forget all about last week.
“Muskogee is the number one team in the state. They were the state champs last year,” he said. “Sapulpa has a chance to be really competitive if they’ll just forget about last week’s loss.”
Despite losing the game against Putnam City North two weeks ago, the fact that Sapulpa held them to a 7-3 score shows the capabilities of the Chieftains Defense, which will be what they need to see a successful win over the Sandites on Friday.
Sapulpa’s Head Coach Tim Holt, Jr. said that he believes they’ll have the motivation they need to put this game in the win column. “It’s going to be the last time we play some of these guys at home against Sand Springs,” he said. “It’ll be Senior Night. They’ll be motivated to win. We just need to take better advantage of the times when we have the ball.”
Sapulpa’s Highway 97 Rivalry has been going on for over 100 years, with the first recorded game in 1922. It currently lists 45 wins for Sapulpa, 47 for Sand Springs, and 5 ties. Sapulpa has lost four out of the last five games played against the Sandites, with last year’s loss at just 10 points, 64-54.
Kickoff will be at 7:00 pm at Collins Stadium.
