Leavenworth ? Will Malcolm is back at 100 percent, and that’s good news for Free State High’s football team.

Malcolm, a senior running back, ran for 148 yards and three touchdowns as the Firebirds trampled Sunflower League cellar-dweller Leavenworth, 42-16, Friday night at Abeles Field.

“Will’s a threat,” Free State coach Bob Lisher said, “and we need him to be a threat. We’re very pleased to have him back.”

Because of a staph infection in his elbow, Malcolm really hasn’t been at full speed all season. Until Friday night, that is.

“I worked really hard to get my wind up,” said Malcolm, who ran like the wind against the league’s worst defense against the rush. “This is the first game I was 100 percent, guts out.”

Malcolm scored on runs of 2, 8 and 36 yards. He carried just 14 times, averaging better than 10 yards a trip. Lisher spread the ball-carrying around. Senior fullback Cole Douglas also went into triple digits with 103 yards on 15 carries.

The Firebirds steamrolled the Pioneers with 69 rushes for 465 yards. Free State added 59 yards in Caleb Harvey-to-Dain Dillingham passes for a season-high 524 yards of total offense.

Those numbers would have been much higher, but Lisher used mostly sophomores in the fourth quarter. Even Samantha Houston, the only female on the roster, played a couple of downs at wide receiver in the waning minutes.

“We wanted to establish the line of scrimmage and we did that,” Lisher said. “That was our goal. Then we wanted to play some defense and get out of here.”

Free State's Will Malcolm smashes into Leavenworth's Robert Renfro during the first quarter. Malcolm had three touchdown runs -- of 2, 8 and 36 yards -- in the Firebirds' 42-16 rout Friday night in Leavenworth.

Lisher was expecting an aerial circus from the Pioneers and that’s exactly what he saw. Junior quarterback Adam Booth threw 39 times, completing 17 for 192 yards and a touchdown, but Booth also threw three interceptions to bring the Pioneers’ season theft total to 20 in just five games.

“Defensively, I thought we did a good job of not giving up the big play,” Lisher said.

Free State’s pass thefts were by Arvelle Trotter, Brett Lisher and Onyema Anyanwu. Lisher and Anyanwu are sophomores.

Lisher, the coach’s son, also gained 50 yards in 8 carries while subbing for Malcolm. Jamie Resseguie, Douglas’ back-up, contributed 63 yards in 7 carries against the Pioneers’ paper defense.

¢ 6Sports video: Free State racks up a win against Leavenworth

“I’m pleased we got everyone in,” Lisher said. “That’s always a goal.”

Malcolm, who suffered a split chin that required stitches late in the third quarter, also kicked all six extra points to finish with 24 points. But it was running with the ball that Malcolm enjoyed the most.

“You can’t beat this kind of game,” the 5-foot-10, 190-pound senior said. “This is a game where we needed to work hard and finish drives and we did.”

Free State’s offense was so potent that the Firebirds weren’t hurt by two lost fumbles, an interception and a glaring 101 yards in penalties. Most of the flags came in the late-going, however, when Lisher had flooded the field with sophomores.

Free State, 3-2, will meet Olathe North next Friday at Memorial Stadium. Kickoff will be at 7 p.m.

Free State High's Jamie Resseguie sneaks past a Leavenworth defender. Resseguie had seven carries for 63 yards in the Firebirds' 42-16 victory Friday night in Leavenworth.