photo by: Richard Gwin

LHS senior JD Woods (11) looks for running room in a 63-7 victory over Olathe South on Friday, Oct. 9, 2015, at LHS.

In the final week before district play, Lawrence High and Free State football teams saved some of their best football for last and both schools cruised to blowout victories.


The Lions jumped to another quick start with a touchdown run from JD Woods on the first play from scrimmage and rolled to a 63-7 victory against Olathe South, with Woods accounting for 225 yards and six touchdowns.


With the victory, the Lions (6-0) won a share of the Sunflower League title for the first time since 1993 and own their first undefeated record heading into district play in the last 22 seasons.


In the Lions’ last three games, they’ve allowed a combined 19 points with stout run defense and strong secondary.


Free State’s football team played dominant defense and scored on its first four possessions on its way to a 56-6 rout over Shawnee Mission South.


It’s hard to believe this team started 0-3 this season with the way the Firebirds have played during their three-game winning streak. Their defense only allowed 35 yards and three first downs in the first half last week.


The Firebirds (3-3) own the worst record in their district, but might be the most dangerous team with the way they’ve played.


Now for a look ahead to next week:


Lawrence High at Olathe Northwest on Thursday at 7 p.m. at CBAC — The Ravens (5-1) will be the first team to play the Lions with a record over .500 this season. With the exception of their loss to SM West, the Ravens haven’t played any teams with winning records, either. ONW is led by running backs Brendan Watkins (573 yards and 8 TD this season), Darius Henderson and Ashton Avery, WR Kyle Rinck and QB Easton Crupper, who has tossed for more than 450 yards and six touchdowns.


Free State at Washburn Rural on Friday at 7 p.m. — The Junior Blues (5-1) suffered their only loss two weeks ago against Junction City. They are led by senior running back Matthew Williams, who ranked second in the Topeka area in rushing yards (567) and fourth with nine touchdowns, as of last week. Washburn Rural also features RB Hunter Browning and QB Mitchell Schurig.

photo by: Richard Gwin

LHS senior JD Woods (11) looks for running room in a 63-7 victory over Olathe South on Friday, Oct. 9, 2015, at LHS.

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In case you missed it, we’re copying one of the popular features of KUsports.com, “Keegan’s Ratings,” where Sports Editor Tom Keegan ranks KU football and men’s basketball players after every game he attends. These individual rankings are just one person’s opinion, but it’s a good way to look at how each person impacted each game. Last week, I was at Free State and Chris Duderstadt covered Lawrence High.

Lawrence High football

1. JD Woods, RB — After 225 rushing yards and touchdowns against Olathe South, Woods eclipsed the 1,000-yard mark with 1,005 through six games. For the third time this season, Woods found the end zone on the first play from scrimmage. He has 22 total touchdowns – 21 on the ground and one through the air – going into district play.


2. Alan Clothier, QB — Woods did the bulk of the damage offensively, but Clothier was efficient in the passing and running game. Clothier completed 7-of-9 passes for 135 yards, and wasn’t afraid to air it out with throws of 30-plus yards to tight ends Price Morgan and Konner Kelley. The dual-threat quarterback also carried it for 68 yards on nine attempts.


3. Amani Bledsoe, DE/RT — Bledsoe took advantage of Olathe South’s undersized offensive and defensive lines, clearing the way for Woods and stuffing opposing running back DaeVonte’ Nance and anyone else in his way in the OS backfield. Bledsoe had one sack of Olathe South quarterback Andras Glenn for an 11-yard loss. Fellow linemen Trey Georgie, Jacob Unruh, Nathan Koehn could easily go in this spot as well.


4. Peter Afful, RB — Afful made a key block to spring Woods free for a 48-yard touchdown on the first play from scrimmage. Afful’s energy affected the game on special teams, too. The Falcons had a hard time handling a squib kick, and Afful hustled down field to recover the fumble and set the Lions up for a short scoring drive.


5. Konner Kelley, LB/TE — After the JD Woods show took a brief intermission in the second quarter (he had four touchdowns in the first 14 minutes), Clothier caught the Falcons off guard as he found Kelley over the middle for a 35-yard touchdown reception. Kelley and the Lions’ linebacking corp played a big role in keeping Nance in check, limiting him to 40 yards from scrimmage after rushing for 245 against the Lions in 2014.


6. Price Morgan, LB/TE — The Lions did not need Morgan to make many big plays at tight end or linebacker after they took control early, but he did anyway. On one of the few times that Clothier was forced out of the pocket, he threw the ball deep to Morgan, and the LHS tight end used his 6-4, 210-pound frame to get up and make the grab for 31 yards at the OS 20-yard line. Like Bledsoe, Morgan also came through the Falcons’ offensive line unblocked with a chance to sack Glenn for a double digit loss. Glenn was able to throw the ball away, but Morgan made him pay for it.


7. Cole/Ross Brungardt, K — The Brungardt brothers combined to make all nine PATs – Cole with six and Ross with three. Kickers at the college and professional level have struggled this year from short distances, so going 9-for-9 from 20 yards isn’t exactly a given these days.


8. Dante’ Jackson, RB — Jackson didn’t get many chances in the punt or kick return games since the Falcons kicked it away from the speedster. While Jackson didn’t have many return yards to show for, OS punter Ben Smith gave the Lions good field position for most of the night on short punts out of bounds. Jackson did get a chance to turn on the after-burners on a 41-yard screen pass.


9. James Reeder, RB — Woods, Bledsoe and LHS coach Dirk Wedd all commended Reeder and fellow backup running back Hunter Krom for not only making the most of their time on the field against the Falcons, but their work in practice to prepare the Lions’ starters each week. Reeder came in after Woods’ night was done and rushed for 47 yards and a touchdown on five carries.


10. Hunter Krom, RB — Much like Reeder, Krom battled hard for yards with the game well in hand. Krom shed multiple Falcons’ defenders on his way to a 15-yard touchdown run.


• Next up: Thursday at Olathe Northwest (at CBAC). Record: 6-0.

Free State football

1. Sam Skwarlo, RB/LB — Skwarlo finished with 118 rushing yards and two touchdowns — with all but seven yards coming in the first quarter. He broke loose for a 52-yard score and a 23-yard touchdown run. He also played well at linebacker, making two straight tackles in the backfield on the Raiders’ second possession.


2. Bryce Torneden, QB/S — Didn’t matter if Torneden was running or throwing, he was making big plays. He had 74 rushing yards and a touchdown, and tossed for two touchdowns and 170 yards — all in the first half. He also made a couple of plays around the line of scrimmage on defense.


3. Zack Sanders, WR — When teams play with two-high safeties, Sanders takes advantage with post routes over the middle of the field. He had a 49-yard touchdown reception on Free State’s first possession. In the third quarter, he opened with a 36-yard punt-return touchdown, running past would-be tacklers.


4. Chase Houk, LT — Running to the left side of the offensive line was effective for the Firebirds, going for 45 yards on the first four attempts that way. Houk was a big reason with big blocks and a number of pancakes against some smaller defensive linemen.


5. Bo Miller, LB — Along with his fellow linebackers, Miller was making tackles all over the field, including a nice tackle on a SM South punt return. In the second quarter, Miller combined on a sack with Darian Lewis, forcing a three-and-out.


6. Zion Bowlin, RB/S — You could tell Bowlin wasn’t quite right at the beginning of the season, running on an injured ankle. Not anymore. Bowlin finished with 32 yards and a touchdown on five carries, and made some nice tackles around the line of scrimmage on defense. He nearly grabbed an interception, too.


7. Jack Flynn, WR — Who knew golfers could also score touchdowns? Flynn caught a pass near the Free State sideline, shook a tackler and ran 70 yards for his first varsity touchdown reception.


8. David Johnson, LB — I don’t know how many varsity snaps he’s taken this season, but he made the most of them on Friday, scooping up a fumble and running it back 26 yards into the end zone.


9. Kameron Lake, K — The freshman kicker is on a roll in the past two weeks. He tied a school record last week with eight successful extra points, set by Nate Vail in 1999.


10. Peter Rupnicki, DB — The Firebirds’ offense set the tone on offense with a touchdown on their first drive. Defensively, the 5-foot-6 Rupnicki set the tone with a huge hit on the first SM South kick return.


Honorable mention: Garrett Swisher — Congratulations to the homecoming king, who made a grand entrance at halftime by running out the locker room to the middle of the field when his name was called.


• Next up: Friday at Washburn Rural. Record: 3-3.

photo by: John Young

Free State junior receiver Zack Sanders (11) pulls down a reception in traffic during the Firebirds' game against Shawnee Mission South Friday evening at FSHS.

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Here’s quick look at the district standings that Free State and Lawrence High are in:


District 4:


Lawrence High, 6-0, 0-0


Olathe North, 6-0*, 0-0 (lost to Rogers-Heritage (Arkansas) in Week 1, but Rogers-Heritage later forfeited the game because of an ineligible player.)


Olathe Northwest, 5-1, 0-0


Olathe East, 3-3, 0-0


District 5:


Topeka High, 6-0, 0-0


Washburn Rural, 5-1, 0-0


Manhattan, 4-2, 0-0


Free State, 3-3, 0-0
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