Free State High's football team would like to avoid a repeat of last year's shoot-out when it faces Shawnee Heights tonight.
Then again, the Firebirds would like to avoid a repeat of last week's shoot-out for that matter.
After a nerve-racking 56-45 win over Olathe South last week at home, Free State has allowed an un-Firebirds-like 33.5 points a game, 262.5 rushing yards a game and 162 passing yards a game.
The Firebirds -- 1-1 overall and tied for fifth in the state in the recent AP consensus rankings -- are determined to slow down the Thunderbirds' offense tonight. Kickoff is 7 p.m. at Shawnee Heights' Wetter Field.
"We've worked extra hard on it (defense) this week to try to remedy some of our problems, but I don't think we're going to remedy them all in one week," FSHS coach Bob Lisher said. "But I would like to have a stronger defensive performance this week. We're not about talking shutouts. We're not talking about holding people to a certain amount of yardage. We're just talking about playing solid defense again."
Much like last week's win over the Falcons, defense was virtually nonexistent in the Firebirds' 38-35 win over the Thunderbirds last year at Haskell Stadium.
The two teams combined for 730 total yards as the Firebirds pulled out a last-minute victory on quarterback Matt Heider's 12-yard scamper with 45.4 seconds remaining.
Shawnee Heights (1-1) had overcome a 31-20 deficit in the final five minutes by finding wide receiver Isaiah Tetuan for touchdowns of 36 and 61 yards.
"The one thing that I remember about them from last year is they have that receiver back -- Isaiah Tetuan," Lisher said. "He caught three long passes on us last year, two of them late in the game for touchdowns. He's got some speed and great hands."
So far this year Tetuan has been held in check, managing only four catches for 60 yards and a touchdown.
In fact, as a team the Thunderbirds were limited to a mere 147 yards total offense -- including 25 rushing yards on 22 carries -- in last week's 28-14 loss to Washburn Rural.
On the other side of the ball, Shawnee Heights has allowed only 35 points in two games and allowed just one touchdown in its season-opening 47-7 win over Kansas City Wyandotte.
Last week, senior defensive end Jim Kilmartin led the way with four tackles for losses and blocked a punt.
"Defensively they're pretty solid," Lisher said. "They always have been. They make people work for points and yards."
One of the biggest questions for the Firebirds is whether there will be a letdown following back-to-back games against ranked teams.
"I'm not worried about a letdown. I'm worried about our kids just showing up and playing defense and playing offense the way they're capable of," Lisher said. "It's a little different this year in the fact that we're kind of a marked team because we're getting a little notoriety in the state rankings.
"We have to show up because we're going to get everybody's best shot so we have to be ready to play every week. There's no room for letdowns."
Senior Will Skepnek probably will start at left guard tonight for senior Jeremiah Feurt, who is questionable to play after twisting his ankle during Wednesday's practice. Senior center Thomas Champion (ankle) and senior right guard-linebacker Jimmy Hahn (shoulder) both are hurting, but should play tonight.
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