Free State defenders swarm Shawnee Mission South quarterback Jack Roberts (8) during the Firebirds game against Shawnee Mission South Friday evening at FSHS.

When Free State’s football team was looking for a knockout punch against Shawnee Mission South on Friday, junior running back Jax Dineen was more than happy to step up.

Looking for one more score at the end of the first half, Dineen took the ball and raced toward the right sideline. Once the 5-foot-10, 225-pound Dineen saw some defenders in front of him, he reversed to his left. From there, he was prepared to run over any defenders on his way to the end zone on a 38-yard touchdown run.

Dineen’s zig-zag touchdown, his third of the second quarter, capped a dominant first half in an eventual 49-0 victory in the Firebirds’ home opener at FSHS.

“I think he could of just run straight ahead and scored, but that’s me,” Free State coach Bob Lisher said with a laugh. “Yeah, that was a pretty good run.”

But as much success as the Firebirds (2-0, ranked No. 4 in Class 6A by Kpreps.com) had on offense, scoring seven touchdowns, the defense was even more dominant.

Free State’s defense only allowed 37 total yards and three first downs, holding the Raiders to negative-one rushing yards on 26 attempts. Linebackers David Johnson, Bo Miller, Ben Miller and Jalen Nash swarmed the line of scrimmage.

Defensive linemen Spencer Roe and Lovette Epelle recorded sacks and senior defensive back Kwinton Lassiter had an interception in the second quarter. It allowed the Firebirds to put their backups on offense for the fourth quarter.

“We had a lot of momentum,” junior safety/receiver Keenan Garber said. “Everything was going right.”

With the defense forcing SM South’s offense into three-and-out punts, the Firebirds’ offense eventually settled in and reeled off five straight scoring drives.

In his first varsity start, Free State junior quarterback Jordan Preston completed 11 of his 17 passes for 139 yards and a touchdown. He connected with Garber (four receptions, 86 yards) on a 10-yard touchdown pass at the end of the first quarter.

“I had some jitters,” said Preston, who had a three-yard touchdown run in the second quarter. “But once I got in a rhythm, I felt pretty good about it.”

In the second half, senior running back Zach Wilson scored on a 49-yard run up the middle of the field, bolting past the defense. Backup quarterback Jaxon Webb, who caught two passes at receiver, added a four-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter.

Coming out of the locker room with a 35-point lead, Free State’s defense didn’t back down, giving up only one play longer than one yard.

“We just like to hit,” said Dineen, who made a few tackles at linebacker and rushed for 96 yards.

As good as Free State’s defense performed Friday, the Firebirds thought they were better last week and have room for improvement.

“We knew we were going to have a pretty good defensively all along,” Lisher said. “We’re still making mistakes defensively that we can correct and make even tighter, which when that happens, I’m going to get very excited because we’re playing pretty good now. We can play a lot better.”

Free State 49, Shawnee Mission South 0

SMS | FS

First downs 3 | 11

Rushes-yards 26-(-1) | 43-261

Passing yards 38 | 149

Total offense 37 | 410

Fumbles-lost 0-0 | 1-0

Penalties-yards 5-27 | 7-55

Score by quarters

SM South 0 0 0 0 — 0

Free State 7 28 7 7 — 49

Individual statistics

Rushing

SMS: Marquez Briscoe 8-2, Hunter Carpenter 1-negative 1, Jack Roberts 8-negative 11, Nolan Thimmesch 2-1, Steven Ampofo 3-1, Tony Friends 4-7.

FS: Jax Dineen 12-96 3 TD, Keenan Garber 1-4, Jordan Preston 7-negative 2 TD, Bo Miller 1-7, Zach Wilson 5-78 TD, LJ Mack 1-10, Ja’Brandion Douglas 5-16, Jaxon Webb 9-50 TD, Jadyn Golder 2-2.

Passing

SMS: Roberts 7-15–38 INT.

FS: Preston 11-17–139 TD, Webb 1-1–10.

Receiving

SMS: Will Huggins 2-16, Sean Kirby 1-10, Thimmesch 4-12.

FS: Mack 2-8, Garber 4-86 TD, Jake Rittman 2-23, Jack Theisen 1-6, Webb 2-16, Jake Zenger 1-10.

HOW THEY SCORED

First quarter

0:55 — Keenan Garber 10 pass from Jordan Preston. Jake Rittman kick. (FS 7, SMS 0.)

Second quarter

8:51 — Jax Dineen 4 run. Rittman kick. (FS 14, SMS 0.)

5:15 — Preston 3 run. Rittman kick. (FS 21, SMS 0.)

3:22 — Dineen 17 run. Rittman kick. (FS 28, SMS 0.)

0:45 — Dineen 38 run. Rittman kick. (FS 35, SMS 0.)

Third quarter

6:25 — Zach Wilson 49 run. Rittman kick. (FS 42, SMS 0.)

Fourth quarter

9:26 — Jaxon Webb 4 run. Rittman kick. (FS 49, SMS 0.)