The pieces were in place even if the experience wasn’t.

Senior-to-be Craig Rosenstengle, with his size and speed, seemed like a worthy replacement for the dynamic Ryan Murphy at quarterback.

Junior Chucky Hunter had enough toughness and speed to make him a solid choice to replace Brian Murphy at running back.

And a strong group of linebackers, led by Ryder Werts, Mike Santee and Caleb Gress, figured to be enough to overcome the loss of three similar starters from the Firebirds’ 11-1 team.

The biggest question mark for the Firebirds entering the encore to 2006 figured to be the offensive line.

“Absolutely,” Free State coach Bob Lisher said. “We were concerned about our offensive line. We knew we had some players there, but putting the pieces together in the right places took some time. It took us three or four weeks to get there, but we got there.”

After trying a handful of faces in different places, Lisher and the Firebirds found a formula that worked. The young Firebirds dropped two of their first four games, but chemistry along the line led to a 7-2 finish and a home playoff game Friday night.

While guys shuffled in and out of the lineup, one player remained constant. Senior guard Scott Williams was a starter on last year’s line. He became a leader this year.

“He shows up on tape every week,” Lisher said of the 5-foot-11, 230-pound right guard. “He’s not the loudest guy out there, but he leads by example.”

Whether that’s by hitting the field first, staying the longest or demonstrating the proper way to handle himself at all times, Williams has taken his responsibility seriously this season. A big reason for that: the things he carries with him from last year’s experience.

“They were a great line last year,” Williams said. “They taught me a lot. Hopefully I’m doing the same for these guys.”

All signs point to that being the case.

“During the week, (Williams) doesn’t take plays off,” said sophomore center Michael Lisher, the youngest member of Free State’s O-Line. “The coaches tell us every week that the game will be won or lost by how we play, and Scott shows us the right way to get it done.”

The sophomore Lisher and senior Williams are joined in the trenches by a trio of juniors. Doug Bittinger (6-1, 215) plays left guard, Matt Frantz (6-3, 230) starts at right tackle, and Grahm Saunders (6-4, 235) protects quarterback Craig Rosenstengle’s blind side at left tackle.

In addition to enjoying the benefits that come with watching his offensive line grow together this season – benefits that include paving the way for a 1,000-yard rusher in Hunter and Rosenstengle’s 1,600-plus yards of total offense – Bob Lisher becomes animated when talking about the future.

“We need guys to continually and consistently do their assignments and play fundamentally sound football,” the coach said. “We finally got that after a few weeks, and it’s been paying off ever since. We had some very experienced (offensive linemen) last year, and this group being around that group is paying dividends.”

Third-seeded Free State (7-2) plays host to sixth-seeded Olathe South (6-3) at 7 p.m. Friday night at Haskell Stadium. The Falcons defeated the Firebirds, 34-27, on Aug. 31 in the season opener.