Free State High's football team might have escaped Shawnee Heights with a victory, but it couldn't escape the injury bug.
"This game could have been called the 'Game of the Sprained Ankle,'" FSHS coach Bob Lisher said.
In all, three Firebirds -- senior running back-linebacker Jeff Frenya, senior cornerback Tay Ogunnowo and senior wide receiver Jeff Dougherty -- suffered ankle injuries. Dougherty and Frenya both seemed OK during Monday's practice, Lisher said.
Senior lineman Jeremiah Feurt, who twisted an ankle during practice Wednesday and didn't suit for Friday night's 28-12 victory, still was hurting Monday. Free State senior running back-linebacker Jake Lawrence also was slowed Monday by an injured toe.
Injuries aside, the Firebirds (2-1) were pleased with Friday's effort.
"I thought we executed pretty well, it's just a matter of hanging on to the football," Lisher said. "Had we done that, the game may have been settled a little earlier than it was. But we're going to work on that this week so maybe we won't have the same problem again."
Free State fumbled the football six times Friday, losing four. The Firebirds also had a pass intercepted and a punt blocked.
Despite the miscues, Free State held Shawnee Heights to 156 yards total offense and 12 points. The Thunderbirds' second touchdown came via a punt block return.
"Our defense needed to step it up and I think we did that very well," said FSHS senior cornerback Bo Blevins, who snagged his team-high second interception. "We've got a few things to work on, but that was our main goal in practice -- for our defense to step it up.
"It seems like we accomplished that feat."
Free State senior running back-linebacker Chris Wheatley also stepped it up. Coming into the game Wheatley had been averaging 2.9 yards a carry with no touchdowns. On Friday, Wheatley had 24 carries for 180 yards and two touchdowns.
"The last couple games, I don't even know what's been going on," Wheatley said. "But I think this is a game that kind of cleared my head."
After two games, Wheatley and Lawrence actually had almost the same number of carries -- 30 and 29 respectively -- but Lawrence had received all the glory, thanks to seven TDs and an average of 11.0 yards per carry.
"I think Jake and I are pretty 50-50," Wheatley said. "Coach calls the plays and we've been switching up a little bit more, but what happens is what happens. That makes me happy when Jake scores or I score. I think we've both been putting in pretty much equal work."
Not only was Free State able to overcome five turnovers Friday night, but also seven penalties for 80 yards -- including one that erased senior Kenny Ogunnowo's 40-yard punt return for a touchdown.
"It wasn't picture-perfect, but we came out on top," Lisher said. "We can learn from the things that we did wrong, correct them and go on. We corrected a lot of defensive faults this week. If we can correct those turnovers, we should be OK."
Free State returns home to face Olathe East on Friday. Kickoff is 7 p.m. at Haskell Stadium.
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