Shortly after the Free State High football team’s 10-6 victory over Olathe North last Friday night, I asked head coach Bob Lisher where the win ranked on the program’s all-time list. Lisher barely hesitated and seemed to be leaning towards calling the win over the Eagles the best ever before Free State athletic director Mike Hill spoke up from a few feet away. “It’s the best,” said Hill, answering the question he’d overheard. Lisher’s response? “Well, if Coach Hill says it’s the best then I guess it’s the best,” Lisher said. If it’s not, it’s certainly close. The Firebirds played a near-flawless game on Friday, racking up a revenge victory for the second straight week. In Round One, FSHS knocked off SM Northwest, which had won 34-27 in the schools’ previous meeting in Week 3. And Friday, despite the fact that Olathe North had rolled 35-7 in Week 6 of the regular season, the Firebirds made it 2-for-2 with the four-point win. Highlights from the win over Olathe NorthAlthough the Firebirds have been a fixture in the Class 6A state playoffs since 2001, success has been tough to come by. Two of the program’s four playoff victories came during the magical run of 2006, in which Free State reached the semifinals before falling to Shawnee Mission West. There must be something about even-numbered years then, because here it is, 2008, and the Firebirds have won two more playoff contests and are back in the semis. We’ll have much more on-line and in the Journal-World throughout the week previewing this Friday’s semifinal showdown with Blue Valley. But before we look ahead to the match-ups, I thought now would be a good time to look back at Free State’s playoff success. The following is a list of all of Free State’s playoff wins and losses: Which games stand out for you as the most memorable? Where does Friday’s victory over Olathe North rank in school history? _Free State High football playoff appearances_ 1999 30-10 L vs. Blue Valley Northwest, finished 7-3
2001 48-0 L vs. Olathe North, finished 3-7
2002 21-17 L vs. SM East, finished 7-3
2003 55-16 L vs. Olathe East, finished 5-5
2004 26-20, OT L vs. SM West, finished 3-7
2005 40-18 L vs. SM West, finished 4-6
2006 20-9 W vs. SM East
2006 32-19 W vs. Olathe East
2006 31-14 L vs. SM West, finished 11-1
2007 46-29 L vs. Olathe South, finished 7-3
2008 41-21 W vs. SM Northwest
2008 10-6 W vs. Olathe North
2008 ?????? vs. Blue ValleyStill searching for Hidden Heroes_Have you seen someone go out of their way to help make the local high school sports scene click recently? Have a story about a super fan, a player or a devoted parent who has helped any of the local high school teams in some extraordinary way? We want to hear about it._Check out The Dividing Line’s Hidden Heroes blog and clue us in about the person you’ve seen who makes Lawrence’s high school sports scene spectacular.