Firebirds drop heartbreaker to SM West, 41-40

photo by: John Young

Free State's defense led by Gage Foster (5) and David Johnson (31) look to bring down Shawnee Mission West quarterback Zach Witters during their game Friday night at FSHS. The two teams went back and forth all night, but the Firebirds came up short, falling 41-40, when the Vikings connected for a 14 yard touchdown pass with 28 seconds remaining in the game.

Expecting a defensive battle in their season opener, Free State High football players watched it turn into a battle of who had the ball last.

With 28 seconds left, Shawnee Mission West quarterback Zach Witters connected on a game-winning, 14-yard touchdown pass to senior Jason Meeker on a wheel route out of the backfield, handing the Firebirds a 41-40 loss Friday night at the Cage.

The Vikings started their game-winning drive with 99 seconds left at their own 30-yard line and survived with two key plays on fourth down. After a sack by Free State junior linebacker Gage Foster helped force 4th-and-17, Witters scrambled out of the pocket and broke a few tackles in open space for a 50-yard gain.

Following the miraculous run and three straight incomplete passes, Witters found Meeker wide-open in the end zone on fourth down for the final score.

“It’s very disappointing,” Free State senior cornerback/receiver Zack Sanders said. “We made too many mistakes and you can see the outcome of that. We just need to do our jobs. Like coaches said, if you do your job, these things won’t happen.”

The Firebirds (0-1) scored twice in the final six minutes to fight back from an eight-point deficit. Sophomore running back Jax Dineen, 5-foot-11, 215 pounds, completed a 12-play drive with an 11-yard touchdown run up the middle.

After failing to convert on the two-point conversion, trailing 35-33, Free State’s defense recovered a fumble and forced a three-and-out to give its offense an opportunity for the go-ahead score.

With 1:39 remaining, FSHS senior quarterback Dallas Crittenden found Sanders with a long pass over the middle. Sanders shook off a defender and raced past a safety on his way to the end zone for a 49-yard touchdown reception and a 40-35 lead.

All game long Crittenden, a transfer from Topeka Hayden playing in his first game in a FSHS uniform, connected with Sanders on passes. Sanders finished with a school-record 13 catches for 239 yards, while Crittenden, a strong pocket passer, completed 19 of his 29 attempts for a school-record 300 yards with two interceptions.

But all of those cheers on the sideline turned into disappointment when they watched Witters and the Vikings’ offense run down the field in the final minute.

“There were so many things throughout that game: penalties, turnovers, missed extra points, you name it. There’s a lot of things that we have to correct and we have to get the discipline to correct it.” Lisher said. The Firebirds finished with 10 penalties for 117 yards.

“I thought our team played well and that team played well,” Lisher added. “That was a battle of two heavyweights. Those are two pretty good football teams going at it. I think we just made a few more mistakes.”

After trailing 14-0 in the first quarter, the Firebirds scored three straight touchdowns, including a 97-yard run up the middle by senior running back Zion Bowlin. Dineen finished with 58 yards on eight carries and two scores while Bowlin had 15 carries for 136 yards.

“He’s a beast,” FSHS senior Jay Dineen said of his younger brother. “He’s going to carry us a long way come November. If Zion and Jax run like that, there’s nobody in the state that can stop them.”

But each time the Firebirds gained momentum on offense, the Vikings (1-0, ranked No. 5 in Class 6A by Kpreps.com) drove down the field with big plays. Witters, who threw for 306 yards and ran for 217, completed four passes longer than 40 yards, taking advantage of Free State’s inexperienced secondary.

“They are learning, but as they learn, they are going to take some lumps,” Lisher said. “That quarterback was a great quarterback.”

Shawnee Mission West 41, Free State 40

SMW | FS

First downs 16 | 14

Rushes-yards 39-258 | 30-211

Passing yards 306 | 300

Total offense 564 | 511

Fumbles-lost 2-2 | 1-0

Penalties-yards 8-69 | 10-117

Score by quarters

SM West 14 7 7 13 — 41

Free State 7 14 6 13 — 40

Individual statistics

Rushing

SMW: Jason Meeker 10-17, Zach Witters 21-217 3 TDs, Korey Belcher 1-9, Kirby Grigsby 6-13 TD, Siris Manning 1-2.

FS: Zion Bowlin 15-136 2 TDs, Jax Dineen 8-58 2 TDs, Dallas Crittenden 6-13 TD, Gage Foster 1-4.

Passing

SMW: Witters 12-30-306 2 TDs.

FS: Crittenden 19-29-300 TD and 2 INT.

Receiving

SMW: Cole Fletcher 1-56, Kyle Harris 3-71, Jonah Stremel 2-56, Isreal Watson 3-43 TD, Montell Madlock 1-(-1), Jason Potter 1-67, Jason Meeker 1-14 TD.

FS: Zack Sanders 13-239 TD, Daniel Bryant 3-56, Noah Kema 1-1, Keenan Garber 1-4, Jax Dineen 1-0.

HOW THEY SCORED

First quarter

9:43 — Zach Witters 1 run. Alex Villa-Jasso kick. (SMW 7, FS 0.)

3:36 — Kirby Grigsby 6 run. Villa-Jasso kick. (SMW 14, FS 0.)

1:53 — Jax Dineen 32 run. Kameron Lake kick. (SMW 14, FS 7.)

Second quarter

6:10 — Dallas Crittenden 10 run. Lake kick. (FS 14, SMW 14.)

2:08 — Zion Bowlin 97 run. Lake kick. (FS 21, SMW 14.)

0:07 — Isreal Watson 24 pass from Witters. Villa-Jasso kick. (FS 21, SMW 21.)

Third quarter

7:55 — Bowlin 15 run. Lake kick failed. (FS 27, SMW 21.)