Free State's Ryder Werts stars on both sides of the ball

Lawrence High's Clifton Sims returned from injury and sparked the Lions last week.

Here’s the thing about the football rivalry between Free State and Lawrence High: The coaches and players can say it’s just another game all they want, but the fact remains that this game means more.

The two city schools will get the opportunity to prove just how much more at 7 tonight at Haskell Stadium.

“There is a little more incentive to win this game,” Free State coach Bob Lisher admitted. “You want to beat your brother. You don’t want anyone else to beat him, but when you play him, you want to beat him.”

The family analogy is a great way to describe this intra-city showdown that pits friends against friends, former colleagues against former colleagues.

While many aspects of the rivalry remain constant, this year’s game has plenty of elements that make it unique from those that came before it.

For starters, it marks the first time both quarterbacks will take the snaps from center, as LHS junior Clint Pinnick is making his first start in the city showdown while Free State QB Craig Rosenstengle is making his first start as the quarterback.

Rosenstengle started at wide receiver in last year’s game and helped the Firebirds trounce LHS, 49-15, with 134 receiving yards, including an 88-yard touchdown catch.

This year, Rosenstengle hopes to be on the other end of that kind of scoring strike but will have to manage without the Firebirds’ top receiving threat, junior Preston Randolph.

Randolph, who leads the Firebirds in receptions (8), receiving yards (169) and touchdown catches (2), will miss tonight’s showdown because of an ankle injury he suffered during Free State’s 34-7 victory over Topeka High last week.

“That’s a big loss for us,” Lisher said. “Preston was a two-way starter and, in addition to being a threat in the passing game, was playing well on defense, doing an excellent job of supporting the run. We’ll have to have some guys step up to replace him.”

Senior Marcus Holman will start in Randoph’s slot at receiver. After a slow start, Holman has shown plenty of big-play ability in recent weeks and is one of the fastest Firebirds.

Junior Cameron Schmidt is slated to fill Randolph’s spot in the secondary, and the FSHS coaches indicated that junior Camren Torneden would be called upon to fill in for Randolph on both sides of the ball, as well.

While Free State figures to feel the loss of Randolph, the Firebirds remain in a better position than the Lions when it comes to injuries. LHS will be without its top two receiving threats tonight, while Pinnick and junior tailback Clifton Sims will be playing in just their second game since returning from injuries.

The influx of injuries has forced the Lions to put several faces in several places throughout the season, but Lisher said he didn’t expect that to make the Lions more difficult to prepare for.

“We’re familiar with the guys they have, both the guys who have been injured and the guys who have filled in for them,” Lisher said. “They’ve all done a good job, and we’re going to have to be ready for all of them.”

Both camps have admitted that the city rivalry is emotional. But for the victor, it provides an advantage toward winning a district championship. That’s something Lisher and the Firebirds consider to be the top priority.

“As coaches, we’ve emphasized all week that this is not a rivalry but the second game of district,” Lisher said. “We have an opportunity to move to 2-0 in the district and to get a big leg up toward making the playoffs and playing that first playoff game at home.

“The problem with this game is, if you let your emotions run wild, things can get out of control, and it can be tough to get going,” Lisher added.

Just another game, or the showdown of the century? Regardless of how it’s perceived, tonight’s game is huge for both teams.