Overland Park ? In last week’s season-opening loss to Olathe South, Free State High junior tailback Chucky Hunter accounted for nearly 300 total yards, including a 99-yard kickoff return for a touchdown and a 61-yard scamper from scrimmage on the first play of the game.

But this week, as the Firebirds hit the road to take on Shawnee Mission South at 7 tonight, Hunter will have two fewer quarters to accumulate his stats.

Hunter, who missed practice Monday but returned for the rest of the week, will suit up but isn’t expected to see the field in the first half against the Raiders. Senior Ryder Werts will carry the ball for the Firebirds in his place.

Werts, a straight-ahead runner who logged one carry for five yards last week and two carries total in 2006, said he was confident in his ability to handle the load but made sure to point out that he isn’t likely to unleash any game-breaking runs.

“I’m comfortable with my role and comfortable with the offensive line,” Werts said. “I just run north and south. People call me the bruiser back there. I’m no Chucky Hunter by any means, but I think I can get the job done.”

Getting the job done is the name of the game for the Firebirds this week. They came oh-so-close to knocking off preseason Sunflower League favorite O-South in the opener and now are fixated on getting over the hump against Shawnee Mission South.

“There is a sense of urgency from the kids to play better than we did last week,” Free State coach Bob Lisher said. “We came close last week, but we didn’t finish. I don’t know if you call it hunger or just wanting to get better, but we got better as the week went on.”

A return to fundamentals and the chance to see themselves on film allowed the Firebirds to locate what went wrong in Week 1 and work to correct the problems.

On offense, Free State hopes to do a better job of sustaining its blocks this week. That should allow quarterback Craig Rosenstengle to develop a rhythm in the passing game. In an attempt to solidify the blocking, Lisher tweaked the offensive line.

Michael Lisher and John Bergman swapped spots at left guard and center, Scott Williams moved from right tackle to right guard and Brandon Mailand took over at right tackle. Only left tackle Graham Saunders remained in the same position.

“It wasn’t anything that anybody did wrong,” Lisher said. “We just wanted to get some more beef up there.”

That beef could come in handy this week against a SM South club that Lisher said is strong up front. The Raiders opened the season with a 19-13 loss last Thursday at SM Northwest.

The Raiders are at home this week and Free State is the team playing on the road. But Lisher said none of that matters when it comes to the main objective.

“It’s just a longer bus ride, and the jersey color is different,” he said. “We’re not worried about all of that other stuff. What we’re focusing on is making ourselves better. I don’t care who we’re playing or what they’re ranked. If we’re going to become the kind of team I think we can become, we have to focus on getting better each week.”

Werts, who also starts at linebacker, said the defense took that to heart this week. Free State currently ranks last in the league in total defense. The goal this week is simple.

“We’re not trying to come out and beat Shawnee Mission South,” Werts said. “We’re trying to come out to crush them. We need to come out and make a statement.”