Bob Lisher didn’t hesitate when asked what he first noticed about Shawnee Mission East’s football team.

“They’re very solid defensively,” Lisher, Free State High’s football coach, said. “I think they’re the fourth-ranked team in the league, and they’re very sound and fundamental in everything that they do.”

Lisher, who basically adopts a Jon Gruden-like mentality of dissecting game film, said the Firebirds had studied tapes of the Lancers since Saturday. Free State (9-0) will take on SM East (5-4) in the first round of the Class 6A playoffs Friday night at Haskell Stadium. Kickoff is 7 p.m.

SM East has surrendered only 17 points per game, good for fourth in the Sunflower League. By comparison, Free State is second in the league, giving up an average of 12.5 points per game.

“Defensively, we have linebacker Dillon Goins, who’s definitely the leader,” SM East coach John Stonner said.

Goins is a moving headache for opposing offenses. He has 96 tackles on the year – that’s more than 10 per game.

Then, factor in the league leader in interceptions in senior Bobby Miller, and SM East fields a well rounded defensive unit. Miller, a free safety, has five interceptions.

“The defensive line has been doing great things to allow him to make some plays,” Stonner said of Miller.

SM East’s defense will receive its most difficult test of the year Friday against Free State’s high-powered spread offense.

“I think we’ve been pretty aggressive all year,” Lisher said of the Firebirds’ offensive play-calling. “We’ll continue to be that way. I think when you go against a team like Shawnee Mission East that’s so sound and can mix things up a little bit, that you have to be more aggressive and look to make a few big plays as well as drive the football.”

More aggressive might not be possible with Free State, which has been an offensive juggernaut this season. Free State’s offense averages 436 yards per game. That might not mean much on first glance, but when you take into account Shawnee Mission West is second in the league with 347 yards per game, it shows how dominant the offense has looked.

Offensively, SM East ranks eighth in the league. Stonner said his big-play guy on offense was Miller, also a wide receiver. He has seven touchdowns on the year.

Lisher said from watching film, he would also make it a priority to stop sophomore running back Marcus Webb.

“He has a tremendous amount of speed,” Lisher said. “I think he was a 100-meter champion or close to it last year in the state. Our guys are going to have to do a nice job of filling in gaps and fitting where they’re supposed to fit.”