Bob Lisher’s patience is wearing thin in a hurry.

For starters, he’s not happy that, while the rest of the field in the Class 6A football playoffs did their thing Friday, his team has to play on a Saturday – at the same time as the Kansas University-Nebraska showdown 30 miles up the road.

Even worse has been watching almost a full decade flash before his eyes without Free State High’s first postseason victory.

“This is our sixth year (of making the playoffs) of our nine-year history, and we have yet to advance past the first round. Basically, I’m tired of waiting,” said Lisher, the Firebirds’ head coach since the school opened in 1997. “It’s time this program and these kids stepped up and answered the bell here.”

The chimes will begin ringing at an unusually early hour when Free State travels for its rematch with Shawnee Mission West. Kickoff is set for noon at Shawnee Mission South’s district stadium.

The game was pushed back a day because the Shawnee Mission schools only have one available stadium, and Shawnee Mission East – by virtue of a higher playoff seed – had first choice and opted to play Friday night.

That means the Firebirds (4-5) will gather for an early team breakfast instead of a pregame dinner, and will have just a few hours instead of an entire day to mentally prepare for their biggest game of the season.

• 6Sports video: Firebirds to take on Vikings (11-04-05)

“It’s just a different atmosphere. We’re not used to it, and we’re not sure how we’ll react to it,” Free State quarterback Ryan Murphy said. “We can’t control what happened. We just have to show up and play.”

While trotting onto the field under bright sunshine instead of bright lights is likely to throw both teams for a loop, today’s game isn’t unfamiliar territory.

Last season, Free State lopsidedly lost to West in Week 4 of the regular season, then dropped a 26-20 overtime heartbreaker to the Vikings after meeting again in the opening round of postseason play.

Fast forward to this fall, where the Firebirds suffered a 52-7 setback to West on Sept. 22, then lost their next two games before rebounding to win two of three district games and nab a playoff berth.

Only to see a familiar foe.

“The first time we played them, we didn’t play very well,” said Lisher, who has no concerns about a lingering hangover from that loss.

“I think if you’ve got any competitive fire or juices in you whatsoever, you want the opportunity to show you’re better than you were that night.”

To do that, Free State must find a way to slow down an explosive West offense led by senior quarterback Tyler Lawrence, who has orally committed to play at KU. Under his guidance, the Vikings (8-1) are averaging just a shade under 34 points per game and have topped the 50-point mark twice – against Free State, and last week against SM North.

However, West may be without running back Tristan Pascal, a 1,000-yard rusher who is rumored to be battling the dreaded injury bug.

“I know he was banged up last week,” Lisher said. “We’ll just see what happens when we get there.”

As for his own squad, Lisher doesn’t plan on any big surprises come game time, insisting that the best way to grab that elusive playoff win is by the Firebirds keeping their own house in order.

“We just want to make sure we do what we do best,” Lisher said. “We haven’t added anything. We’re just trying to perfect what we do and do it better.”