Free State's Sam Skwarlo eludes a tackle on his way to the end zone for a score in the first half during the Firebirds 24-20 loos to Olathe North Friday at ODAC.

Olathe ? With under two minutes to play Friday night, Free State High’s football team only needed one more first down to seal a victory against Olathe North.

Then disaster struck, and all of the cheering on the sideline turned into shock.

Free State senior running back Sam Skwarlo fumbled, and O-North senior safety Isaiah Simmons scooped the ball up and took it 65 yards to the end zone for a touchdown with 1:26 left, giving the Eagles their game-winning score in a 24-20 victory over the Firebirds at the Olathe District Activity Complex.

The Firebirds tried to go 62 yards in the final 86 seconds — boosted by a pair of defensive-pass-interference penalties — but FSHS senior quarterback Bryce Torneden’s throw in the final seconds fell to the ground near the end zone.

“We were talking ball security the whole time, and (Skwarlo) had both hands on it, and the doggone thing popped out,” FSHS coach Bob Lisher said. “I don’t know. It’s just one of those things that we have to work on and correct. We’ve got to do a better job in a lot of areas.”

The Firebirds (0-2) were in position to run out the clock after Skwarlo, at linebacker, stuffed O-North running back Vinson Shabazz at the line of the scrimmage on a fourth-and-one at midfield on the Eagles’ previous possession.

Skwarlo, who ran for 196 yards and a touchdown on 23 attempts, had three rushes of more than 40 yards, showing his speed and strength fighting through arm tackles.

However, the late fumble turned his dream game into a nightmare.

“Sam was running his (butt) off all night,” junior linebacker Jay Dineen said. “To see him do that at the end of the game, it hurts. It hurts a lot because he’s a helluva running back. He’s a strong runner. It’s hard to take that man down. It just hurts.”

Some of the mistakes that hurt the Firebirds in their season-opening loss last week, showed up again on Friday.

They had two touchdowns called back because of holding penalties.

They were called for a safety when a snap went over punter Drew Tochtrop’s head and through the back of their own end zone.

Skwarlo also lost another fumble in the second quarter, and the Eagles turned it into a 19-yard touchdown run by quarterback Matt Wright just two plays later.

Despite the mistakes, the Firebirds had an opportunity to win the game in the final minutes.

“It’s very tough,” Dineen said. “We had that game all the way through, and then just a couple of mistakes beat us. They didn’t beat us. We beat ourselves.”

Trailing by three points in the middle of the fourth quarter, Torneden connected with junior receiver Zack Sanders on a post over the middle of the field, and Sanders ran past the defense for a 67-yard touchdown.

Sanders said he saw how the Eagles were covering him throughout the game, and knew the post would be open.

In the fourth quarter, the Firebirds didn’t allow a first down during three O-North (1-1) possessions.

Yet, they couldn’t celebrate at the end of the game because of a few costly mistakes.

“We’ve got to play better offense, better defense and stop making stupid mistakes that hurt us,” Lisher said. “We made enough tonight to lose a football game.”

Olathe North 24, Free State 20

ON FS

First downs 10 12

Rushes-yards 47-257 46-220

Passing yards 44 114

Total offense 301 334

Return yards 43 36

Fumbles-lost 2-1 4-2

Penalties-yards 13-105 9-70

Score by quarters

Free State 8 0 6 6 — 20

O-North 0 8 9 7 — 24

Individual statistics

Rushing

ON: Matt Wright 16-116 TD, Vinson Shabazz 28-134 TD, Deion Poindexter 1-2, Isaiah Simmons 1-2, Kelvys Gonzales 1-3.

FS: Sam Skwarlo 23-196 TD, Bryce Torneden 22-23 TD, Zion Bowlin 1-1.

Passing

ON: Wright 6-14-44.

FS: Torneden 6-11-114 TD.

Receiving

ON: Alex Schoenhals 2-4, Storey Jackson 3-33, Dylan Less 1-7.

FS: Jack Flynn 1-6, Zack Sanders 2-84 TD, Drew Tochtrop 3-19.

HOW THEY SCORED

First quarter

6:26 — Sam Skwarlo 49 run. Skwarlo run. (FS 8, ON 0.)

Second quarter

6:39 — Matt Wright 19 run. Vinson Shabazz run. (FS 8, ON 8.)

Third quarter

7:59 — Bryce Torneden 7 run. Skwarlo run failed. (FS 14, ON 8.)

5:29 — Shabazz 38 run. Riley Alderman kick good. (ON 15, FS 14.)

3:41 — Safety. Free State snap out of end zone. (ON 17, FS 14.)

Fourth quarter

5:08 — Zack Sanders 67 pass from Torneden. Torneden run failed. (FS 20, ON 17.)

1:26 — Isaiah Simmons 65 fumble recovery. Alderman kick good. (ON 24, FS 20.)