HWY 97 ALUMNI FOOTBALL GAME SET, CPHS NEEDS PLAYERS

Will the Sandites make it three-straight wins or will the Chieftains tie the series at 2-2? That will be decided at 6 p.m. Sunday, July 30 at George F. Collins Stadium at the 4th Annual HWY 97 Alumni football game. Sapulpa won the first game, 20-7, but Sand Springs came back with two-straight wins, and they won both games at Memorial Stadium. Last year, the game was moved back to Sand Springs because the Sapulpa stadium was being renovated. Now, the game is at Sapulpa again where they won the first game of the series. The two teams get together to play a game that benefits both high school football programs. The gate is split down the middle, and the home team keeps whatever concessions they sell. After the 13-point loss in 2014, the Sandites started recruiting much younger alumni. Sapulpa didn’t get the memo, and it resulted in a 35-0 thrashing by Sand Springs in 2015. Last year, the game was much closer, and Sand Springs won, 20-14. The highlight of the game was Sapulpa’s J.R. Romine and Sand Springs’ Pedro Negron. The two were considered two of the top players in the state when they played against each other in the late 1990s, and the two got to line up across from each other again. They are actually linked together due to a horrible injury. In 1997, Romine, who played nearly every position, was chasing down Negron, stopping a sure touchdown. However, Romine blew out his knee on the tackle, ending his high school career. He went on to play D-I football at the University of Missouri and Oklahoma State University. Over the past three years, Sandite greats like Cody Hale, Cody Hilderbrandt, Znick Ferrell, Davey Thayer, Lane Freeman, Delvin Jordan Sr., Michael Brown, Mitchell Brown and Tommy Rogers, just to name a few. Sand Springs head coach Dustin Kinard said there is no age limit for players. “We used to say 40 (years old) was the cut off, but we’ve had guys older than that want to play,” he said. Right now, around 10 players have signed up and Kinard would like anyone interested to sign up early instead of waiting until the week of practice. However, they can still sign up that week. Players are required to pay a $25 sign-up fee, and practice starts Monday, Aug. 24 at Memorial Stadium.