Lawrence Free State's Sam Skwarlo stiff arms Washburn Rural's Braeden Ingold to break free Friday.

Topeka ? When Free State High senior running back Sam Skwarlo found open space against Washburn Rural on Friday, he couldn’t be stopped.

Skwarlo rushed for 256 yards and five touchdowns to lead the Firebirds to a 35-7 victory at Bowen-Glaze Stadium in their first district game.

It was one of the most dominant performances in school history. Skwarlo finished two yards short of tying the single-game school record set by Camren Torneden in 2008, and it was the first 200-yard game since Kyle McFarland ran for 202 yards in 2011.

On the fourth play from scrimmage, the 6-foot, 210-pound Skwarlo took an option pitch and raced 58 yards to the end zone.

“He’s got speed, plus the fact he’s pretty intimidating to tackle,” FSHS coach Bob Lisher said. “He’s a pretty strong kid. Once you hit him once, sometimes you don’t want to hit him again.”

After Skwarlo was stopped on a fourth-and-short at midfield in the first quarter, he took his first handoff of the second quarter up the middle and bounced to the left sideline for a 56-yard touchdown.

Later in the second quarter, Skwarlo added a 54-yard touchdown run on another option pitch and finished a nine-play drive before halftime with a two-yard touchdown plunge. Free State coaches noticed a tendency by Washburn Rural to blitz on the weak side of the field, so Skwarlo took advantage on quick option-pitches to the outside, running untouched to the end zone.

“Definitely the line came through and made some big blocks,” Skwarlo said. “Like coach always says, ‘You have to get downhill and good things will happen.'”

When Skwarlo wasn’t running for long touchdowns, he was driving his shoulders into tacklers and picking up several yards on each play. Skwarlo, who missed all but one game last year with a Lisfranc injury in his foot, had 231 of his 256 yards in the first half.

“A lot of well-set edges by our tackles,” FSHS senior center Garrett Swisher said. “Good movement upfield by our guards. Had a couple spots there where we didn’t keep our feet, didn’t make the right blocks. But a lot of it comes from our backfield, Sam and Bryce (Torneden) going 100 percent every play.”

Free State’s defense was just as dominant as Skwarlo’s running abilities in the first half. The Firebirds allowed only 38 yards in the first two quarters, forcing six straight three-and-out punts.

On the defensive line, seniors Jalen Galloway and Darian Lewis plugged up running lanes with a strong push off of the ball. That helped linebackers Skwarlo, seniors Drew Tochtrop and Paul Bittinger, junior Jay Dineen, and sophomore Nathan Spain fly around the field for tackles in the backfield.

Free State senior cornerback Logan McKinney added an interception at the end of the third quarter, and it set up Skwarlo for a 10-yard touchdown run, giving the Firebirds a 35-0 lead.

But the Firebirds (4-3) were disappointed when they failed to secure their first shutout since 2012 by allowing a touchdown in the fourth quarter. After the Junior Blues (5-2) ran down the field with long runs by running backs Ben Harrison and Khalfani Scroggins, quarterback Mitchell Schurig found receiver Jovon Hall with a 20-yard fade pass in the end zone.

“We were playing good defense,” Lisher said. “They hadn’t done anything against us all night. Then in the fourth quarter we got a little bit tired, we got a little complacent and let them punch it in on us. That’s not something that we can allow to happen, especially in district play when the state puts the 21-point rule in there. We have to guard that.”

The late touchdown left the Firebirds with a sour taste, but they couldn’t complain about their four-game win streak.

“Coach (Spencer) Bonner actually told us, ‘Winning is contagious,’ and that’s definitely been the case for us,” Swisher said. “Hopefully it continues.”

Game Summary

FS WR

First downs 14 5

Rushes-yards 55-353 29-90

Passing yards 22 34

Total offense 375 124

Return yards 116 65

Fumbles-lost 2-1 1-0

Penalties-yards 6-53 5-40

Score by quarters

Free State 7 21 0 7 — 35

Washburn Rural 0 0 0 7 — 7

Individual statistics

Rushing

FS: Sam Skwarlo 26-256 5 TD, Bryce Torneden 12-29, Zion Bowlin 7-26, Paul Bittinger 5-21, Gage Foster 5-21.

WR: Hunter Browning 9-14, Matthew Williams 8-12, Ben Harrison 7-32, Khalfani Scroggins 5-32.

Passing

FS: Torneden 2-7-22.

WR: Mitchell Schurig 4-12-34 TD and INT.

Receiving

FS: Daniel Bryant 1-10, Logan McKinney 1-12.

WR: Harrison 1-9, Browning 2-5, Jovon Hall 1-20 TD.

HOW THEY SCORED

First quarter

10:07 — Sam Skwarlo 58 run. Kameron Lake kick. (FS 7, WR 0.)

Second quarter

11:49 — Skwarlo 56 run. Lake kick. (FS 14, WR 0.)

3:59 — Skwarlo 54 run. Lake kick. (FS 21, WR 0.)

0:09 — Skwarlo 2 run. Lake kick. (FS 28, WR 0.)

Fourth quarter

10:51 — Skwarlo 10 run. Lake kick. (FS 35, WR 0.)

6:23 — Jovon Hall 20 pass from Mitchell Schurig. Grant Kayser kick. (FS 35, WR 7.)