The rancid, engulfing odor of a boys high school locker room is as unmistakable as it is indescribable. Think the smell of a million tired, old wrestling mats compressed into a pill bottle and then think a million of those pill bottles released into the air of a confined room.

So much in sports has changed through the years, but that stench remains the same.

“Strangely, I’ll even miss that a little,” said Free State senior Preston Randolph, a wide receiver and safety on one of the state’s eight remaining Class 6A football teams.

His ears were being assaulted with the endless chatter of teammates giving each other a hard time, his nose was under attack by the reek of the air, and he was talking about why he doesn’t want it to end yet, why he wants to earn another week of football practice by scoring an upset victory against Olathe North at 7 p.m. today at Olathe District Activities Center.

“Just being in here with these guys is what I’ll miss most,” Randolph said.

All the camaraderie builds to game night.

“The second the bell rings and we’re out of school, everything’s exciting from there,” Randolph said. “The whole process of getting ready for the game, the process of going to it, all the warming up, all that. The kickoff is my favorite part.”

Why? That’s easy. It means he has two hours of playing football in front of him, under the lights, with every play counting and at this time of the year, with every week bigger than the last.

Randolph knows what life without football is like. He broke his ankle in the middle of last season and was done for the year. He has bounced back in impressive fashion for his senior year with 16 receptions, three for touchdowns, and a team-best 244 receiving yards. It’s as a defensive back that he has done his best work, contributing a team-leading five interceptions.

Randolph’s play has been one of the under-the-radar reasons Free State has rebounded from a 1-2 start to take a 7-3 record into today’s game. He has talked to Northwest Missouri State about the possibility of continuing his football career as a safety, but he is more interested in talking about his current teammates.

He didn’t hesitate when asked to name the best teammates in various categories.

“Josh Hill is the funniest,” he said of the Firebirds’ offensive lineman. “He’s a crazy kid. He’s always going on about something. He always has something to say.”

The most meticulous game-night dresser?

“That definitely goes to Chuck,” he said, meaning senior running back Chucky Hunter. “He definitely likes to look good on the field.”

Biggest heart?

“I would have to say Jack Caywood,” Randolph said. “He’s a little guy, and he plays the toughest position on the field on defense, and he does a good job at it, so definitely Jack Caywood. Little guy like that at nose guard, usually taking on two guys at a time. He works harder than most people I know, and the heart’s there. And he gets it done.”

The fastest?

“Keene Niemack,” Randolph said. “He’s got some wheels on him.”

So does Randolph, and he’s not ready to store them in the garage for the winter just yet.