DEWEY FOOTBALL ENTERS NEW ERA WITH HEAD COACH SCOTT SAPULPA
Dewey High School’s Layne Gastel (12) makes a catch during last season action. Scott Sapulpa is taking over head coaching duties for the 2025 season.
BECKY BURCH/Bartlesville Area Sports
By Mike Tupa
June 26, 2025
BARTLESVILLE AREA SPORTS REPORT
An athletic director’s life can be an adventure.
Just as it appeared the Dewey football staff was set for 2025, veteran head coach Ryan Richardson left to pursue a new opportunity. Fortunately for athletic director Travis Ruble Dewey didn’t have to look far to fill the vacancy.
The Doggers promoted assistant coach Scott Sapulpa — who has head coaching experience — to take charge of the Doggers’ rejuvenation.
Richardson had led the team from 2022-24, amassing a 5-25 mark during that stretch. The Doggers are 9-41 since 2020. They made their last winning statement — and earned a playoff spot — in 2019, finishing at 7-4. Their 7-3 regular season record that season was the program’s best in 25 years.
In the five seasons since 2019, Dewey has struggled to generate winning momentum. There’s been multiple reasons for the team’s in the 2020s — a rash of injuries to key players, a key suspension or more, challenges created by COVID policies, a wave of inexperience, some brutal district schedules, costly turnovers and just plain bad luck.
However, optimism has been growing during the offseason this Dewey mix might have the right talent and experience to turn the program around. In an interview while he was still the head coach, Richardson sounded bullish about the team’s potential.
Ruble said he believes Sapulpa brings in a fresh attitude that could bring a new dimension to the emotional side of the ledger.
“He’s new to us, that’s one thing,” he explained. “This is a fresh start. He’s highly motivated. He’s a go-getter. … The kids seem to respond to it. We’re going to fire it up. He’s excited.”
Sapulpa becomes Dewey’s third head coach in seven seasons.
“He’s had experience and the kids have responded to him,” Ruble said about Sapulpa’s interaction with the players since he came on the staff. “We’re excited about it.”