From left, Free State's Sam Skwarlo, Bryce Torneden and Drew Tochtrop celebrate Torneden's interception return for a touchdown during their game against Wichita Northwest Friday night in Wichita.

Wichita ? Free State High football players didn’t want to get into a shootout with Wichita Northwest in the Class 6A quarterfinals on Friday.

After the two teams combined for 41 points in the first quarter, the Firebirds knew their defense needed to step up.

Free State’s defense responded by forcing five straight punts, and the offense never stopped rolling in a 52-34 victory at Northwest Stadium. The Firebirds will go on the road to play Derby (10-1) in the semifinals Friday.

The top-seeded Grizzlies (10-1) drove down the field for 169 yards and three touchdowns in the first quarter. On their next 10 drives, the Firebirds held them to four first downs and caused five turnovers.

“Well, what was going through my mind? Panic, basically,” FSHS coach Bob Lisher said of the high-scoring first quarter. “We made some adjustments, and the kids carried them out.”

The Firebirds (8-3) traded punts with the Grizzlies throughout the second quarter until senior quarterback Bryce Torneden found junior receiver Zack Sanders with a wide-open 29-yard touchdown pass over the middle of the field with 45 seconds left before halftime.

On the ensuing kickoff, sophomore Tanner Cobb recovered a fumble at the eight-yard line. On the next play, the Firebirds went with a trick play, with a direct snap to senior running back Sam Skwarlo, who flipped the ball to senior receiver Jack Flynn, and Flynn tossed a pass under pressure to a wide-open Torneden in the end zone.

In the final minute of the first half, the Firebirds turned a one-point lead into a 35-20 advantage.

“To go up 15 points prior to halftime, that was huge,” Lisher said. “That kind of sucked the life out of them.”

Torneden added of the trick play: “We’ve been working on that all season. We just didn’t know when to pull it out. We didn’t want to pull it out too early, and that was the perfect time.”

In the second half, the Firebirds only turned up their defensive pressure, calling on blitzes up the middle. Linebackers Jay Dineen, Drew Tochtrop, Gage Foster, Paul Bittinger and Skwarlo all delivered big hits on Northwest quarterback Kevin Folsom.

On Northwest’s second drive of the second half, Torneden grabbed an interception and returned it 21 yards for a touchdown. The Grizzlies entered Friday averaging 49 points per game, the second-most in the state.

“I think they kind of popped us in the mouth,” Torneden said. “I hate to say that. We showed out and we definitely changed some things at half.”

The Firebirds continued their defensive dominance in third quarter, forcing a turnover on downs when Foster and Torneden broke up passes. At the end of the quarter, junior lineman Noah Kema grabbed his team’s third interception.

Early in the fourth quarter, Dineen drilled Northwest senior receiver Alex Bott on a reverse to force a fumble, and Tochtrop recovered, leading to a 27-yard field goal by freshman kicker Kameron Lake.

“I don’t think we’re too surprised about it,” said Tochtrop, who missed three practices this week after straining his back in the weight room and grabbed an interception in the second quarter. “We knew we were capable of doing this.”

The Firebirds scored on quick strikes in the first quarter, with a 63-yard touchdown run by Torneden, a 54-yard run by Skwarlo and another 41-yard run by Torneden.

Skwarlo added a 34-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter when the Firebirds handed the ball to him on seven straight plays.

After starting the season with three straight losses, the Firebirds have dominated with their defense, and their offense has followed.

“This was huge,” said Torneden, who scored four touchdowns and also threw one. “This is the greatest I’ve felt after a game.”

FS WNW

First downs 9 16

Rushes-yards 40-285 46-147

Passing yards 117 222

Total offense 402 369

Return yards 95 81

Fumbles-lost 1-1 3-2

Penalties-yards 3-30 6-45

Score by quarters

Free State 21 14 7 10 — 52

Northwest 20 0 0 14 — 34

Individual statistics

Rushing

FS: Sam Skwarlo 24-157 2 TD, Zion Bowlin 4-21, Bryce Torneden 11-108 2 TD, Paul Bittinger 1-(negative) 1.

WNW: Kevin Folsom 23-74 2 TD, Jahlyl Rounds 12-47 TD, Antonio Joyner 10-31 TD, Alex Bott 1-(negative) 5.

Passing

FS: Torneden 7-13-109 TD, Jack Flynn 1-1-8 TD.

WNW: Folsom 14-37-222 TD and 3 interceptions.

Receiving

FS: Zack Sanders 3-55 TD, Flynn 2-34, Torneden 1-8 TD, Noah Kema 1-12, Logan McKinney 1-8.

WNW: Joyner 3-44 TD, Alex Bott 3-27, Martese Mullins 5-89, Rounds 3-62.

HOW THEY SCORED

First quarter

10:52 — Bryce Torneden 63 run. Kameron Lake kick. (FS 7, WNW 0.)

8:26 — Kevin Folsom 2 run. Jeremy Deckinger kick. (FS 7, WNW 7.)

4:23 — Jahlyl Rounds 4 run. Deckinger kick. (WNW 14, FS 7.)

3:05 — Sam Skwarlo 54 run. Lake kick. (FS 14, WNW 14.)

1:32 — Antonio Joyner 18 run. Deckinger kick failed. (WNW 20, FS 14.)

0:24 — Torneden 41 run. Lake kick. (FS 21, WNW 20.)

Second quarter

0:45 — Zack Sanders 29 pass from Torneden. Lake kick. (FS 28, WNW 20.)

0:25 — Torneden 8 pass from Jack Flynn. Lake kick. (FS 35, WNW 20.)

Third quarter

5:54 — Torneden 21 interception return. Lake kick. (FS 42, WNW 20.)

Fourth quarter

9:15 — Lake 27 field goal. (FS 45, WNW 20.)

7:52 — Joyner 35 pass from Folsom. Deckinger kick. (FS 45, WNW 27.)

4:26 — Skwarlo 34 run. Lake kick. (FS 52, WNW 27.)

2:48 — Folsom 1 run. Deckinger kick. (FS 52, WNW 34.)