Free State High football coach Bob Lisher just wanted one thing Monday afternoon.

Another week of football. Or two, or three weeks. Anything to keep playing.

“I wish we were still practicing,” Lisher said. “It’s always over too soon.”

Lisher’s crew ended its season with a heartbreaking 21-17 loss to Shawnee Mission East on Friday in the first round of the Class 6A state playoffs. The Firebirds, who tied the 1999 team for the best mark in school history at 7-3, were stung by a last-minute Lancer touchdown. FSHS never trailed until that 35-yard score with 29 seconds left.

It wasn’t the way Lisher envisioned the season ending, but – pardon the pun – that’s the way the ball bounces.

“It was just a game where we missed some opportunities,” Lisher said. “Our kids really played well. There were just a couple of plays that we needed to make. If we won the game, we’d still be talking about those plays.”

Even with a sour-note ending, it was hardly a sour season for the Firebirds. They opened 5-0, made a return trip to the playoffs, finished tied for third in the Sunflower League, won their first game at Olathe District Activity Center and were ranked among the top five teams for most of the year.

“Starting the season, we said if we could go into that Olathe North game 4-1, we’d be having a pretty good year,” Lisher said. “And we go in 5-0. That was a pretty impressive start.”

For Free State to have another season like this, the coaching staff has to hope their numbers swell in the coming years. At the start of the season, FSHS had 64 players on its roster. It ended with 49.

Lisher said the quality of this year’s team was the key to offsetting its lack of depth, but he knows he can’t always count on that. He needs more players.

“What we have to do now is make sure all our incoming sophomores come out,” Lisher said. “We have kids now that came back and said, ‘I made a mistake and want to play.’ That’s fine, but they’re a year behind. They can still help our program, but it would be better if they were out all three years. There’s a lot of things to learn from junior high to high school.”

This year’s senior class was an example of that.

With 20 players – 13 of which were starters – to build around, the seniors certainly drove the Firebirds’ season, starting with quarterback Matt Berner.

He completed 104 of 195 passes for 1,543 yards, along with 17 touchdowns – all school records. He’s also the career record-holder with 2,545 yards and 24 TDs, easily breaking Matt Heider’s mark of 1,881 yards.

His targets – seniors Bijai Jones, Cole Cruse, Ben Gray, Matt Lane and junior Dain Dillingham – were among the best around, particularly Jones and Dillingham.

Jones was fifth in the league with 36 grabs, totaling 545 yards and six touchdowns. Dillingham, who had 28 catches, topped out at 582 yards and a league-best 20.1 yards per catch.

David Allen was Free State’s top rusher most of the season, with 102 carries for 479 yards, though he didn’t play the final two games and missed most of the Lawrence High game. Junior Cole Douglas finished as the top gainer, with 71 carries for 494 yards.

“I’m proud of the fact that our kids that stayed with us all three years worked so hard and were able to have success,” Lisher said. “They worked pretty long and pretty doggone hard.”

This year also was a team that lost two of its best defensive players early in the season. Without middle linebacker Kyle Berthold and defensive tackle Jeremy Bustamante, the FSHS defense struggled at times in the second half of the season.

Still, it was a season that will stick with Lisher, not only for the success, but also because of his team.

“The fun part was the players,” Lisher said. “They were so coachable. We never had any problems with them. We just had a great time together.”