MUSKOGEE — It was a rough time to be a Rougher last Thursday in Muskogee. Thunder rolled on the western horizon, but down on the field, lightning struck in the form of the Sand Springs Sandites, who played like the playoff contenders they are in their 49–28 win over the Muskogee Roughers.
Quarterback Easton Webb, along with his his flight crew and ground crew, put on a show from the opening whistle. Webb completed 19 of 28 passes for 212 yards and two touchdowns, while junior running back Tristian Birmingham added 125 yards and two TDs of his own.
“Offensivelywearepeaking at the right time,” said Sand Springs Head Coach Bobby Klinck. “All our receivers are doing their part, the O-line is really starting to gel, and our running backs are doing a great job finding the holes.
After Muskogee’s opening drive stalled at the 18, Webb went to work and it didn’t take long for him to launch a 44-yard strike to Dominic Forbes for Sand Springs’ first touchdown. Less than a minute later, the Roughers answered loud with a picksix by Jamie Beasley.
Klinck’s Sandites shrugged it off. Still in the first quarter, taking advantage of a fumble recovery that left Sand Springs a short field, Tristian Birmingham burst through the line late for a 10-yard TD to make the score 14-6, Charles Page.
Muskogee’s dual-threat quarterback Kason Delgado answered with a secondquarter touchdown to make the score 13-14.
Then, the shot heard around the world, well around Muskogee at least, Tristian Birmingham’s number was called and he lit the afterburners and ran the ball 41 yards to the house to make it 21-13.
“Tristian’s touchdown definitely gave us some juice. He is a homerun threat in the backfield,” said Klinck.
But with three minutes remaining in the first half, the Roughers thought they’d make it a ball game and scored their own TD to make it 19-21, Sand Springs. A twopoint PAT was successful and the Muskogee side of the stadium erupted as their boys knotted the game at 21.
The Sandite’s composure never wavered. With under a minute left in the half, Easton Webb, cool as the EZ Ice freezer outside Joe Stephenson’s Gas and Grocery, floated a 21-yard touchdown pass to Paxton Salazar, who finished with 46 receiving yards and a TD. That lightning strike sent Sand Springs into halftime up 28-21, and sent the shellshocked Muskogee fans to the concession stand for nacho therapy.
Charles Page opened the third quarter like they were shot from a cannon. Senior Chaves Williams powered in from seven yards out, extending the lead to 35-21. When Muskogee threatened again, the defense dug in — Adryan Mathis logged a late sack, and young linemen Aiden Rhine and Brock O’Dell collapsed the pockets in the final half.
By the time the fourth quarter rolled around, the Sandites were having fun. Birmingham added another rushing touchdown, and Williams put the icing on the victory with a five-yard score with two minutes left. Senior kicker Tanner Copeland was a machine — seven for seven on PATs.
Klinck was beaming. “We had great momentum, and I thought we were getting some great push up front. So I wanted to let our kids go win the game,” he said.
With the win, Sand Springs improves to 6-2 overall and a perfect 5-0 in 6A-II-2, keeping pace with Sapulpa atop the district standings. Muskogee (4-4, 4-1 district) drops to third.
“Muskogee has gotten a lot better from the beginning of the year,” Klinck said, “but our kids were ready for this game.”
Junior Dominic Forbes hauled in five passes for 101 yards and two touchdowns, while Salazar, Logan Wright, and Gevauri Hill each added key grabs. Williams and Birmingham combined for 156 rushing yards, and the offensive line of Smittick, Rhine, and O’Dell controlled the trenches.
The Sandites scored in every quarter, out gaining Muskogee nearly two-to-one and proving why Klinck says his team is “peaking at the right time.”
If Thursday night was any indication, that peak needs to hold on to give the Sandites a decisive district lead and some home stadium advantages moving forward into the playoffs.