photo by: John Young

Free State High senior receiver Zack Sanders lays out in the air as he tries to haul in a pass during the Firebirds' game against Shawnee Mission Northwest on Friday evening in Shawnee.

Overland Park ? Free State High senior Zack Sanders completed the touchdown trifecta in the first half, and added another score after the break to fuel the Firebirds to a 41-7 win over Shawnee Mission Northwest Friday at SM North District Stadium.

Sanders accounted for two touchdowns in a 69-second span late in the first quarter, after hauling in an 8-yard touchdown pass from Dallas Crittenden and returning an interception 23 yards for a score on the SM Northwest ensuing drive to put Free State up 14-0.

“I love the feeling because if one side of the ball is not going right, I can always count on the other side of the ball,” Sanders said. “I always want to be able to contribute on one side of the ball or another.”

The Free State senior found the end zone for a third time with 41 seconds left in the first half on a 58-yard punt return that he took back to the house to give the Firebirds a 28-7 advantage going into the break.

Sanders’ fourth and final touchdown came in the third quarter on a 29-yard pass from Crittenden, and he had a fifth score called back on his second interception due to a block in the back penalty.

“He’s out there to make plays, and he made some plays,” Free State coach Bob Lisher said. “He’s a good enough athlete in this league and hopefully at the next level to make some plays, too. We kind of count on him a lot, and sometimes a little too much.”

While Sanders served as a weapon in all three phases of the game, the Firebirds were still without one of their other dynamic players in senior running back Zion Bowlin — who was sidelined with an ankle injury that he sustained in Free State’s Week 3 loss to Park Hill.

Sophomore Jax Dineen was inserted into Bowlin’s starting spot, and did not disappoint for the most part. Dineen rushed for 107 yards and a touchdown on the ground, and also scoring on a 12-yard reception from Crittenden. The 5-foot 11-inch, 215-pound bruising back nearly had a second touchdown on the ground, but fumbled just short of the goal line.

“I’ve been a big back ever since I was a young kid,” Dineen said, “so I’ve just known how to run hard all the time and use my weight to get extra yards.”

The FSHS defense had the tall task of stopping Dineen’s counterpart — SM Northwest senior running back Xavier Perry, who entered the contest with five rushing touchdowns in three games. Free State kept Perry out of the end zone, though, and held him to 39 yards on 13 touches.

Although the Firebirds’ front seven was able to bottle up Perry, SM Northwest receiver Hayden Goodpaster presented some problems to an inexperienced Free State secondary.

The Cougar wideout gashed the Firebirds for 176 yards on 12 receptions, and fellow SM Northwest receiver Devonte Smith hauled in a 41-yard touchdown catch for the home team’s only score.

“We’ve got to get a little bit better play in our back guys, our safeties. We’ve got to get over the top of those routes, and we didn’t get over the top of them,” Lisher said. “We’ve got to improve some angles and do some things differently. We’ve just got to do a little better job of reading pass, where they’re hitting us and who has got to stay over the top.”

Free State 41, SM Northwest 7

FSHS SMNW

First downs 19 9

Rushes-yards 47-297 20-26

Passing yards 128 227

Total offense 425 253

Fumbles-lost 2-1 3-1

Penalties-yards 7-65 7-42

Score by quarters

FSHS 14 14 6 7 — 41

SMNW 0 7 0 0 — 7

Individual statistics

Rushing

FSHS: Jax Dineen 14-107 TD; Dallas Crittenden 5-67; Tanner Cobb 1-10; Zack Sanders 2-12; Gage Foster 11-54; Jalen Nash 6-13; Dylan Edmonds 4-13; Jordan Preston 3-21; Matthew Georgie 1-0.

SMNW: Xavier Perry 13-39; Jamie Alexander 0-0; Spencer Stewart 5-negative 22; Reid Stimach 2-9.

Passing

FSHS: Crittenden 10-18 128 3TD INT.

SMNW: Stewart 15-26 227 TD 2 INT.

Receiving

FSHS: Sanders 3-42 2TDs; Foster 3-33; Noah Kema 2-25; Cobb 1-16; Dineen 1-12 TD.

SMNW: Hayden Goodpaster 12-176; Devonte Smith 2-47 TD; Peyton Carder 1-2.

HOW THEY SCORED

First quarter

5:09 — Zack Sanders 8 pass from Dallas Crittenden. Kameron Lake kick. (FS 7, SMNW 0.)

4:03 — Sanders 23 interception return. Lake kick. (FS 14, SMNW 0.)

Second quarter

8:18 — Jax Dineen 4 run. Lake kick. (FS 21, SMNW 0.)

5:23 — Devonte Smith 41 pass from Spencer Stewart. Preston Killingsworth kick. (FS 21, SMNW 7.)

0:41 — Sanders 58 punt return. Lake kick. (FS 28, SMNW 7.)

Third quarter

2:29 — Sanders 29 pass from Crittenden. Lake kick no good. (FS34, SMNW 7.)

Fourth quarter

11:10 — Dineen 12 pass from Crittenden. Lake kick. (FS 41, SMNW 7.)