Free State's Camren Torneden (1) scrambles for yards Saturday in the 6A championship game in Topeka against Junction City on Saturday November 29, 2008.

Camren Torneden started at wide receiver in Free State High’s football opener and wound up as the Sunflower League’s best quarterback.

Torneden, along with teammates Michael Lisher and Grahm Saunders, and Lawrence High’s Aaron Rea were first-team selections on the mythical All-Sunflower squad chosen by league coaches.

Although standing only 5-foot-6 and weighing 150 pounds, Torneden led the Sunflower League in total offense. He rushed for 1,362 yards and nine touchdowns and threw for 1,028 yards and nine more TDs.

Toss in the 10 receiving yards Torneden had in the Firebirds’ opener and he accumulated 2,390 yards overall.

After quarterback Cameron Schmidt injured his throwing shoulder in the opener, Free State coach Bob Lisher gave tryouts to wide receivers Torneden and Matt Green while seeking a replacement.

Torneden sparkled in the trial so Lisher started him the next week against Shawnee Mission South and the diminutive junior rushed for 143 yards and passed for 33 more.

A week later, in a 34-27 loss to SM Northwest, Torneden exploded for 179 rush yards while throwing for 200. And so it went for the remainder of a remarkable season that didn’t end until Junction City edged Free State, 19-14, in the Class 6A championship game.

Michael Lisher, the coach’s son and a two-year starter at center, will also return next season, but Saunders, a bulwark on the Firebirds’ defensive line, is a senior.

Rea, also a senior, led the Lions in receiving with 26 catches for 470 yards and four touchdowns.

Five more Firebirds and three more Lions earned second-team berths. Among them was the 6-4, 240-pound Saunders, who was tapped as a second-team offensive lineman for the second straight year.

The other Firebirds on the second team are running back Chucky Hunter, tight end Taylor Stuart, linebacker Eric Franz and safety Preston Randolph.

Curiously, Hunter was a first-team pick as a junior last year even though he had better stats this season. The 5-9, 180-pound senior rushed for a school-record 1,704 yards in 12 games, missing one game with an ankle injury. Last year, Hunter rushed for 1,090 yards in 10 games.

Hunter also wound up as Free State’s career leader in receptions. He caught 44 passes as a soph, 13 as a junior and 14 this season, finishing with 71 catches for 784 yards.

Lawrence High’s second-team selections are running back Clifton Sims, offensive tackle Jay Baker and linebacker Darren Sorem.

Sims, who led the Lions in rushing with 915 yards, is a senior. Baker is a junior and Sorem a sophomore.