Lawrence Free State's Sam Skwarlo stiff arms Washburn Rural's Braeden Ingold to break free Friday.

Free State and Lawrence High football teams won their first district game by the same score. Both schools saw a dominant performance by their running back. And both teams weren’t satisfied with how they played.


The Firebirds were disappointed that they couldn’t hold onto their first shutout since 2012 after a 35-7 victory at Washburn Rural. Senior running back Sam Skwarlo ran for 256 yards and five touchdowns, the most rushing yards in a game by a Free State player since 2011.


Free State’s defense only allowed 38 yards in the first half, which includes a harmless 11-yard run by Washburn Rural on the last play of the first half.


“Their defense is extremely physical and very fast,” Washburn Rural coach Steve Buhler told the Topeka Capital Journal. “Them controlling the ball on the ground, and us getting behind seven, then 14 points, you can’t start chucking the ball all game.”


It was the first touchdown allowed by the Firebirds’ defense in 10 quarters, starting from the second half against Shawnee Mission East. With a dominant defense, it just puts that much more pressure on opponents to stop Skwarlo and dual-threat quarterback Bryce Torneden.


Lawrence High had four turnovers and still cruised to a 35-7 win against Olathe Northwest, led by 286 yards and four touchdowns by senior running back JD Woods.


In the past three games, Woods has rushed for 768 yards and 14 touchdowns. It’s even more impressive when you know opponents are setting up game plans to stop him.


But just as impressive is the performance by Lawrence’s defense this season. The Lions have given up just 9.4 points per game and have never allowed more than two touchdowns in one game.


Now for a look ahead to next week:


Olathe North at Lawrence High at 7 p.m. Friday — The Eagles (7-0) split a share of the Sunflower League regular-season championship with the Lions this year. Olathe North lost its first game, 35-33, to Rogers (Ark.) but was awarded the victory because Rogers used an ineligible player. The Eagles are led by dual-threat quarterback Matt Wright, who ran for three touchdowns longer than 50 yards last week and tossed for two more touchdowns. They also have RB Vinnie Shabazz, who is among the league leaders in yards and touchdowns, and WR/FS Isaiah Simmons, who is rated as the No. 3 recruit in Kansas with offers from KU, K-State, Arizona State, Nebraska, Missouri, Iowa, and others.


Manhattan at Free State at 7 p.m. Friday — The Indians (4-3) are on a two-game losing streak after losing in overtime against undefeated Junction City, and struggling to create much offense against undefeated Topeka High. Manhattan is led by junior dual-threat quarterback Ian Trapp, a transfer from Ellsworth. In last week’s 41-14 loss to Topeka last week, Trapp ran for 97 yards and a touchdown, and threw for 89 yards and a touchdown. Last week was the first time Manhattan has allowed more than 21 points in a game this season.

Lawrence Free State's Sam Skwarlo stiff arms Washburn Rural's Braeden Ingold to break free Friday.

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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.

Lawrence High football

1. JD Woods, RB — I don’t think Olathe Northwest defenders will mind if they never have to face Woods again. In the past two seasons, Woods has rushed for 580 yards and seven touchdowns against the Ravens. His latest 286-yard, four-touchdown effort helped him break the school record for career rushing yards, with Woods now at 3,289 yards in his career.


2. Alan Clothier, QB — The Ravens focused on stopping Woods in the first half, so Clothier took advantage with his legs. Clothier ran for 101 yards in the first two quarters, including a 22-yard scramble for a touchdown in the final minute before halftime.


3. Amani Bledsoe, DE/RT — With the Lions only leading by seven points at the beginning of the second quarter, the Ravens were in the red zone and at the 14-yard line. Then on 3rd-and-6, Bledsoe zoomed into the backfield for a huge sack. The Ravens missed a field goal on the next play and the LHS offense scored on its next two possessions. Huge momentum swing.


4. Trey Georgie, DE/LT — Georgie made some big blocks, helping open holes for Woods and Clothier. On defense, he added a couple of tackles around the line of scrimmage.


5. Price Morgan, LB — Morgan made his presence known early with a tackle on the first play of the game. When the Ravens tried to run on first down, Morgan was there to meet ball carriers at the line of scrimmage.


6. Ivan Hollins, CB — On the first play of the fourth quarter with Olathe Northwest in the red zone, Hollins picked off a pass, ending a lot of the Ravens’ momentum. Hollins also had some big tackles to stop ONW’s run game and he made some nice blocks near the sidelines for Woods.


7. Konner Kelley, LB — Kelley gave the Lions a ton of momentum and great field position with an interception ONW’s second drive of the game. He added several tackles throughout the night, chasing down ONW’s running backs.


8. Nate Koehn, DT — Olathe Northwest only ran for 164 yards on 43 carries (3.81 yards per play), and a big reason was Koehn stuffing runs in the middle of the field. Koehn had a couple of tackles at the line of scrimmage.


9. Tanner Green, LB — Along with his fellow linebackers, Green was stuffing running lanes throughout the night. He made some big tackles at the line of scrimmage, forcing ONW into long second and third downs.


10. Santino Gee, SS — He made a couple of tackles, but his biggest play was recovering a surprise onside kick in the third quarter. It was a well-executed play by the Ravens, but Gee made a nice grab in traffic.


• Next up: Friday vs. Olathe North. Record: 7-0.

Free State football

1. Sam Skwarlo, RB/LB — In one of the most dominating rushing performances in school history, Skwarlo just couldn’t be stopped. He ran for five touchdowns, including three of more than 50 yards. Skwarlo ran for 256 yards, two yards shy of the single-game school record. He was just as impressive on defense, bottling up Washburn Rural running backs with tackles at the line of scrimmage.


2. Jay Dineen, LB — The Junior Blues featured one of the top rushing attacks in the Centennial League before Friday. Dineen led the Firebirds with plenty of tackles around the line of scrimmage, holding Washburn Rural to just 90 rushing yards and 124 total yards.


3. Darian Lewis, DT/TE — On Washburn Rural’s second drive, which started near midfield, Lewis had two straight tackles in the backfield to force a punt. It’s only his first year playing on the defensive line, but it didn’t look like with the way he found ways to get into the backfield.


4. Bryce Torneden, QB/FS — Washburn Rural focused on stopping Torneden’s running abilities, and if you only judge by the box score, it was a success. Torneden only ran for 29 yards, but he shined in some big moments. On 4th-and-7 before halftime, he scrambled for a 13-yard pickup — which ended with a Skwarlo TD run. He did the same with a 12-yard run during the third quarter on a 3rd-and-11. His only negative was a fumble in the red zone in the first half.


5. Chase Houk, LT — Free State coaches noticed a tendency on film by Washburn Rural to blitz on the weakside. The Firebirds countered with quick-pitch option plays and Houk made sure they worked like a charm, helping Skwarlo run for two long touchdowns in that direction.


6. Tanner Liba, RT — The Firebirds finished with 353 rushing yards on 55 carries (6.4 yards per play) and Liba was a big reason for that. He punished defensive linemen with big blocks off of the ball.


7. Zion Bowlin, FS/RB — Despite playing in the secondary, Bowlin had some big tackles in the backfield or at the line of scrimmage. He also defended well on pass plays and ran for 26 yards at running back.


8. Paul Bittinger, LB/RB — Bittinger almost looks like Jerome Bettis when he runs the ball, just driving over would-be tacklers. He also played well at linebacker, breaking off blocks to make tackles.


9. Logan McKinney, CB/WR — Made a nice catch near the sideline to help the Firebirds move near the red zone in the second quarter. He added an interception right before the start of the fourth quarter.


10. Drew Tochtrop, LB — Along with sophomore linebacker Nathan Spain, Tochtrop provided pass pressure and made key tackles in the run game.


• Next up: Friday vs. Manhattan. Record: 4-3.

photo by: Nick Krug

Lawrence High quarterback Alan Clothier catches a block as lineman Jake Unruh (52) pushes aside Olathe Northwest defensive back Charles Elvin (20) during the third quarter on Thursday, Oct. 15, 2015 in Olathe.

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


District 4:


Lawrence High, 7-0, 1-0, +21 point differential


Olathe North, 7-0, 1-0, +21


Olathe Northwest, 5-2, 0-1, -21


Olathe East, 3-4, 0-1, -21


District 5:


Topeka High, 7-0, 1-0, +21


Free State, 4-3, 1-0, +21


Washburn Rural, 5-2, 0-1, -21


Manhattan, 4-3, 0-1, -21


The top two teams from each district advance to the state playoffs.
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