Turns out a shortened week of practice was a good thing for Free State High’s football team.

The Firebirds surprised Olathe South, 27-12, last Thursday and avoided the bad weather that postponed several area games on Friday. While other schools, including Lawrence High, were scrambling to set playing times for Saturday, the Firebirds were already preparing for this Friday’s game against Shawnee Mission West, which will be played at Shawnee Mission South.

“I guess it was a good week to have a short week,” FSHS coach Bob Lisher said. “It didn’t interfere with our routines. We didn’t have to worry about warming up for a game and doing it again.”

The extra time also gave Free State a chance to enjoy its first win against Olathe South since 1999, and its first win at Olathe District Activities Center.

Oh, it’s also the first time the Firebirds have been 2-0.

“It’s a pretty exciting time for our program,” Lisher said.

Lawrence High, on the other hand, is just trying to forget Saturday’s 39-28 loss to Shawnee Mission North.

The Lions were up 28-26 with 8:03 remaining but couldn’t hold on. They watched film before Monday’s practice, leaving coach Dirk Wedd optimistic heading into Friday’s game.

“We learned a lot from the film,” he said. “Offensively, we have to learn to stick the dagger in. On defense, we just have to become better tacklers and cover people better.”

For the second week, LHS had trouble with the opponent’s skill players.

Indians quarterback Brooks Faddis had 218 yards passing, while wideouts Tim Berndt and Drew Morrell both had more than 100 yards receiving. The biggest problem, though, was containing running back Bryan Bennett, who racked up 203 yards rushing on 18 carries, including three touchdowns.

“We’ve got to get better at matching up with guys that are more talented,” Wedd said. “The effort was good, that wasn’t the problem. The results just weren’t what we wanted.”

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Clipped Firebird: Senior Nick McGovern will likely miss Friday’s game because of an injured left ankle. McGovern, a running back, hasn’t been able to have X-rays yet because of swelling, so he’s unsure if it’s a sprain or a broken bone.

“I’ll be off the crutches Wednesday,” he said. “But we don’t know what it is.”

FSHS is also dealing with illness. Lisher said about four players had strep throat last week.

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Mending Lions: Juniors Taylor Parker and Brett Urban, who had severe cases of the flu last week, played sparingly against SMN. Both attended Monday’s practice, but Wedd was cautious about taxing them too much.

“Getting healthy’s gonna help us a lot,” Wedd said. “You can’t have your secondary sitting on the sideline.”

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Big plays: The Lions were scorched by the Indians’ long touchdowns, but did a fair amount of scoring themselves. Senior Chris Fulton had touchdown runs of 47 and 78 yards, while senior Brandon McAnderson had a 54-yard and a 35-yard run. Those helped LHS assume the top rushing spot among Sunflower League schools, with 335.5 yards per game. McAnderson leads the league with 373 yards in two games. Fulton is fifth, with 210 yards, but he’s averaging a whopping 16.2 yards per carry.

“We might not be a big-play offense all the time, but we have those capabilities,” Wedd said.

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Playing with big boys: Free State’s matchup with Shawnee Mission West has Lisher concerned about the Vikings’ size.

SMW hung with Olathe North at times in a 22-2 loss last weekend, and Lisher said the Firebirds have to be physical if they want to improve to 3-0.

“Not too many teams have been that close to Olathe North recently,” Lisher said. “(SMW) are an awfully big, physical football team. Pads were popping during that game.”

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Quick-strike offense: Lisher’s team has been among the league’s most explosive offenses, and the Firebirds’ defense hasn’t been too shabby either.

They lead in total offense, averaging 398.5 yards a game, while the defense is behind only Olathe North, allowing 200.5 yards per game. It’s not just the passing game either. FSHS is among the top three rushing teams as well, averaging 179 yards a game.