It seemed like the Free State High and Lawrence High rushing offenses switched places last week.

Of course, the opponents were slightly different, but the results were strikingly different.

The Firebirds, one of the top passing teams in the Sunflower League, rushed for a season-high 365 yards on 49 carries in their 34-23 win against Leavenworth last Friday.

It was exactly what FSHS coach Bob Lisher was looking for.

“I thought our offensive line grew up quite a bit,” he said. “Our guys came off the ball and moved them quite a bit, so we were pleased with that.”

The Lions came into last Thursday’s game against Olathe North leading the league at 356 yards a game. The Eagles came in as the league’s top defensive team, allowing just 66 yards rushing.

And the Eagles dominated, allowing just 19 yards on 28 carries in a 20-6 win.

“We just have to go back and get better at playing fundamental football,” LHS coach Dirk Wedd said. “We’ve got to get a little tougher up front.”

The Lions, 3-2, travel to Shawnee Mission East in hopes of re-establishing their running game. While some may look at the North loss as a moral victory  the Lions were only down 14-6 until late in the fourth quarter, and missed a scoring opportunity on their opening drive  Wedd doesn’t see it that way.

“There’s no such thing as a moral victory,” Wedd said. “Bottom line is, if we would’ve played better, we would’ve had a chance to win the game.”

It was the opening drive that was the biggest blow  a mammoth 19-play, 67-yard drive that culminated with senior Brandon McAnderson being stopped on 4th-and-goal from the 1-yard line. It took up more than seven minutes and accounted for 22 of the Lions’ total rushing yards. Wedd believes if the Lions would have scored on that drive, the outcome may have been different.

“You put those things together, you give up points in the last second of the half and you give up a 70-yard run and you don’t have a chance to win the game,” Wedd said.

Free State, 5-0, plays Olathe North this Friday at the Olathe District Activities Center. If its newfound running game can succeed against the Eagles’ dominating rushing defense, then Free State won’t have to worry about its passing struggles against Leavenworth.

Firebird quarterback Matt Berner completed seven of 15 passes for 65 yards, but tossed two interceptions and never really looked sharp against the Pioneer defense. If that happens Friday, the Firebirds could be in trouble.

“Just from watching films and seeing them play a couple of times this year, we know it’s tough to find a weakness against Olathe North, especially defensively,” Lisher said.

Of course, in the playoff scheme, Friday’s matchup matters little. Districts begin next week, so the matchup of undefeated teams counts for pride and a league title. But snapping the Eagles’ 30-game winning streak also would be nice.

“When you’re on a roll like Olathe North is, you want to continue to build confidence in your team,” Lisher said. “Right now, we’re just going with the old coaching cliche of taking one game at a time.”

Injury updates

The Firebirds are still without linemen Jay Taylor and Jeremy Bustamante for at least another week, and receiver Stanley Redwine will miss Friday’s game because of a concussion suffered against Leavenworth. Receiver Cole Cruse is questionable because of an ankle sprain. The biggest loss may be tight end/linebacker Kyle Berthold, who will miss the rest of the season because of a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee.

“That’s a big loss defensively for us,” Lisher said. “That means a lot of young kids are going to have to step up big for us.”

The Lions are still without running backs/linebackers Brian Seymour and John Davis, who will likely return for the district opener against Washburn Rural.

“We would love to have him and Davis back this week so the district game isn’t their first game back, but that’s not going to happen,” Wedd said.

Lineman Bobby Brubaker also will miss Friday’s game and could miss the district opener as well, and linebacker Will Thomas is out for the season after having knee surgery last week.