The Free State defense clears the ball against Spring Hill. The Firebirds dominated, 10-0, Tuesday at Free State.

With 24 minutes and 12 seconds left in the second half of Free State High’s boys soccer opener, the game came to an abrupt stop. Tyler Hatesohl had just scored to make it 10-0, and that spread signaled the official end of the match against Spring Hill.

On a hot and breezy afternoon, the Firebirds blew out the Broncos, playing their inaugural varsity soccer match, thanks in part to three goals by senior forward Alex Clayton and two more off the boot of senior midfielder Andrew Heck.

It wasn’t until after the game that the Firebirds learned they had played against a program in its infancy.

“I had no idea what to expect,” Clayton said. “I didn’t know if these guys were going to be total pushovers or a real good team.”

The fourth-year Firebird starter said it was a good thing coach Jason Pendleton kept that tidbit from his players because the Firebirds, in the past, sometimes played down to their competition.

Whether or not Pendleton withheld that information from the players as a ploy, he said Spring Hill was in a tough spot because the Broncos suited up a handful of players with competitive soccer experience while the Firebirds had five seniors who could play college soccer.

“We’re an established program with some talented kids coming back, and they’re getting a first taste of competition,” Pendleton said.

Nevertheless, the coach said his players were happy to be get the season started and do it in such fashion.

“It beats practicing against ourselves and hopefully sets the tone for the sort of offensively aggressive mentality we want our team to have throughout the year,” Pendleton said.

While Alex Clayton and Heck scored half of Free State’s goals, five other Firebirds – Jesse Clayton, Diego Gonzalez, Tyler Hatesohl, Nathan Ideus and Erik Slan – contributed to the scoring as well.

“Obviously, it’s great to score goals – that’s always a great feeling,” Alex Clayton said after netting a hat trick. “It’s good to see that a lot of people got on the score sheet.”

What’s more, the Firebirds had assists on eight of the goals.

“At times we played very, very fast and it showed,” Alex Clayton, who assisted Heck on the game’s opening goal, said.

Just over a minute after that score, Slan scored on a pass from the team’s lone freshman, Gonzalez.

Heck scored his second goal with 19:12 remaining in the first by deflecting a shot Gonzalez fired into the box.

Following a Spring Hill timeout, it took 20 seconds for Alex Clayton to make the score 4-0, and the rout was officially on.

Alex Clayton scored again after crossing up a Bronco defender with 10:04 left in the first half, and Jesse Clayton gave Free State a 6-0 lead heading into the half when he controlled the ball in the congested box and shot it through traffic into the back of the net.

Less than two minutes into the second half, Alex Clayton pounded a waist-high pass from Heck for his third goal.

Gonzalez weaved through Broncos defenders before scoring the eighth goal a few minutes later.

Senior midfielder Ideus calmly placed another score past overworked Spring Hill goalkeeper Zach Boyle to make it 9-0 with 30:54 on the clock.

Although the Firebirds dominated in their opener, Pendleton said they had some things they still need to work on. He said they need to be more physical, play faster and be more efficient on scoring opportunities because they won’t come as easily in future games.

The Firebirds will next get to demonstrate those skills when they travel to Bonner Springs Thursday for a 4:30 p.m. match.

Free State 10, Spring Hill 0

Free State

Goals: Alex Clayton (3), Andrew Heck (2), Jesse Clayton, Diego Gonzalez, Tyler Hatesohl, Nathan Ideus, Erik Slan.

Assists: Andrew Heck (3), Alan Hornbaker (2), Alex Clayton, Diego Gonzalez, Nathan Ideus.