Free State senior running back Sam Skwarlo (5) breaks through the Leavenworth defense on his way to a 60 yard first quarter touchdown during their football game Friday night in Leavenworth.

Leavenworth ? It wasn’t always pretty, and Free State football coaches weren’t always happy, but, at long last, the Firebirds earned their first win of the season.

The Firebirds had a few big plays on offense in the first half and eventually found their rhythm for a 43-7 rout against Leavenworth on Friday night at Pioneer Stadium.

After opening the game with a punt and a turnover at midfield, Free State senior running back Sam Skwarlo ripped off a 60-yard touchdown run, running up the middle then cutting to the right sideline.

“Bryce (Torneden) had a good read on it,” said Skwarlo, who finished with 93 yards rushing — all in the first half. “The cutback was there, and it was a wide-open lane. I had one guy I had to beat, and you have to beat that one guy.”

The Firebirds (1-3) didn’t give up a first down in the opening quarter, which helped set up the offense with strong field position. Late in the first quarter, Torneden connected with senior receiver Drew Tochtrop on a slant route, and Tochtrop ran untouched for a 56-yard touchdown.

“(The ball) barely got in there,” Tochtrop said. “When I got it, they tried to grab me and missed me, and I was wide open from there.”

At the end of the first half, the Firebirds drove down the field in a two-minute drill — highlighted by a 43-yard reception from senior receiver Logan McKinney — and finished with a one-yard touchdown run by Torneden for a 22-0 halftime advantage.

But the Firebirds weren’t thrilled with their performance in the first half, with missed assignments on the offensive line and costly holding penalties.

The Pioneers (0-4) scored on the first possession in the third quarter, with the drive extended by a late-hit penalty on the Firebirds, when Leavenworth senior QB Drew Sachen dove over the goal line on a three-yard sneak play.

After three losses by a combined 14 points this season, the Firebirds weren’t going to let anything slip away. They scored on their first two drives in the second half, both touchdown runs by Torneden, and took a commanding 36-7 lead.

Sophomore backup quarterback Gage Foster added the final touchdown in the fourth quarter on a 14-yard run to the end zone.

“Definitely a giant monkey off our back,” said Torneden, who ran for 56 yards and three touchdowns with 161 passing yards. “But we’re definitely not settled. That first half we didn’t compete the way we wanted to. Second half, we really stepped it up, and I’m really proud of that.”

Free State’s defense contained Leavenworth’s top playmakers, Sachen and running back Wade Jackson. The Firebirds allowed only five first downs and 131 yards of total offense, with tackles in the backfield by linebackers Jay Dineen and Skwarlo, a sack by Tochtrop, and senior safety Torneden.

“This is a confidence boost for us,” FSHS coach Bob Lisher said. “We didn’t play great on offense, but we still won the football game handily. Defensively, we held some pretty good athletes in check so we were obviously doing some good things.”

The Firebirds even had some strong moments on special teams. Entering Friday without a successful PAT kick, freshman kicker Kameron Lake drilled a 29-yard field goal in the second quarter and made the next four PAT kicks.

Free State sophomore Craig Travis also recovered a kickoff on an FSHS pooch kick, stealing a possession away from the Pioneers, and junior lineman Sam Hambleton recovered a muffed punt to keep a drive alive in the second quarter.

Once the final horn sounded, the Firebirds finally had a chance to celebrate their victory.

When Skwarlo was asked how nice it felt, the senior paused for four seconds.

“Amazing,” he said with a laugh. “It’s about time.”

Free State 43, Leavenworth 7

FS LV

First downs 14 5

Rushes-yards 43-294 36-89

Passing yards 161 42

Total offense 455 131

Return yards 17 26

Fumbles-lost 3-2 1-1

Penalties-yards 9-80 2-15

Score by quarters

Free State 12 10 14 7 — 43

Leavenworth 0 0 7 0 — 7

Individual statistics

Rushing

FS: Sam Skwarlo 9-93 TD, Bryce Torneden 14-56 3 TDs, Zion Bowlin 8-45, Zack Sanders 1-11, Jack Flynn 2-5, Gage Foster 7-65 TD, Gabe DelValle 1-12, Peter Rupnicki 1-7.

LV: Wade Jackson 17-48, Drew Sachen 12-20, Clifford Robinson 1-6, Adrian Perez 5-19, Vershaun Adams 1-(negative) 4.

Passing

FS: Torneden 8-14-161 TD.

LV: Sachen 2-6-42.

Receiving

FS: Sanders 3-34, Drew Tochtrop 1-56 TD, Jack Flynn 2-23, Daniel Bryant 1-5, Logan McKinney 1-43.

LV: Avery Bartlett 1-6, Clifford Robinson 1-36.

HOW THEY SCORED

First quarter

4:39 — Sam Skwarlo 60 run. Will Cook kick failed. (FS 6, LV 0.)

1:29 — Drew Tochtrop 56 pass from Bryce Torneden. Garrett Hodge kick failed. (FS 12, LV 0.)

Second quarter

5:45 — Kameron Lake 29 field goal. (FS 15, LV 0.)

0:11 — Torneden 1 run. Lake kick good. (FS 22, LV 0.)

Third quarter

6:32 — Drew Sachen 3 run. John Buckley kick good. (FS 22, LV 7.)

2:32 — Torneden 17 run. Lake kick good. (FS 29, LV 7.)

0:31 — Torneden 10 run. Lake kick good. (FS 36, LV 7.)

Fourth quarter

1:23 — Gage Foster 14 run. Lake kick good. (FS 43, LV 7.)