photo by: John Young

Lawrence High's Erik Shackelford (23) and Price Morgan (81) celebrate after bring down Olathe North senior running back Vinson Shabazz (3) for a loss during their game Friday evening at LHS.

For the second straight season, Lawrence High and Free State football teams are headed to the state playoffs.


Both schools clinched spots with victories in the past two weeks, and the only drama for next week will be securing a district championship.


Lawrence High earned its spot in the state playoffs in dramatic fashion, winning on a game-winning touchdown pass with four seconds left in a 31-28 victory against Olathe North. The Lions held a 24-7 lead with just more than five minutes remaining, but three touchdown catches by Olathe North receiver Isaiah Simmons nearly handed LHS its first loss.


Credit the poise of LHS senior quarterback Alan Clothier, driving his team down the field for a game-winning drive and making some clutch throws 3rd-and-long and a 4th-down do-or-die play. Then of course, senior receiver Luke Padia made a nice catch in one-on-one coverage to score the game-winner.


It was the first time this season the Lions’ defense allowed more than two touchdowns in a game and first time they’ve trailed in the second half of a game this season.


Free State avoided some dramatics with a strong fourth quarter in a 31-14 victory against Manhattan. The Firebirds struggled on a couple of plays in the third quarter, giving up two long runs to MHS quarterback Ian Trapp.


But the Firebirds were strong in the fourth quarter, putting together a few drives and finding ways into the end zone. Free State senior quarterback Bryce Torneden found his rhythm, running for 154 yards and throwing for 129 yards and three touchdowns.


Now for a look ahead to next week:


Lawrence High at Olathe East at 7 p.m. Friday (at CBAC) — The Hawks (3-5) are on a three-game losing streak and were eliminated from the state playoffs with losses against Olathe North and Olathe Northwest. The Hawks are led by senior running back Alex Conley, who has rushed for 925 yards and five touchdowns this season while Brett Kelsh and Zac Cahill also help out in the run game. Defensively, senior linebacker Nick Zinn leads the squad with 75 tackles.


Topeka High at Free State at 7 p.m. Friday — The Trojans (8-0, ranked No. 5 by Kpreps.com) have one of the most explosive offenses in the state, scoring more than 30 points in each game. They have a huge offensive line, averaging 283 pounds, led by 6-foot-6, 305-pound senior Teven Jenkins, an Oklahoma State commit. The Trojans have a three-headed rushing attack with senior running back Mike McCoy, who has rushed for more than 1,250 yards this season, dual-threat quarterback Corey Thomas and backup running back Saylor Carraway. Along with the Firebirds, Topeka High will be in the state playoffs, no matter what happens on Friday.

photo by: John Young

Lawrence High's Erik Shackelford (23) and Price Morgan (81) celebrate after bring down Olathe North senior running back Vinson Shabazz (3) for a loss during their game Friday evening 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. I was at Lawrence High last week and Benton Smith was at Free State.

Lawrence High football

1. Alan Clothier, QB — Undefeated season on the line in the final minute, Clothier delivered huge throws — a 36-yard connection to J’Mony Bryant and a 26-yard game-winning touchdown toss to Luke Padia. Clothier had to fight for every yard throughout the night against a tough defense, and he ran for 58 yards and a touchdown, and threw for 138 yards and two touchdowns.


2. Luke Padia, WR — Padia had two catches, both for touchdowns. On each reception, he had to make play over a defender. On the game-winner, he found space behind the nearest cornerback and made a nice play in the back of the end zone. In the first quarter, he somehow jumped over a cornerback and stole the ball out of his hands, running untouched for a 58-yard TD. Unbelievable day for the senior.


3. Jake Unruh, DT/LG — Every time you looked up, Unruh was making a big play. Tackles in the backfield. Recovering a fumble. He created just enough room on the offensive line for a one-yard QB sneak touchdown by Clothier. One of his biggest stops was on the first drive of the second half, making a tackle for a 5-yard loss on 3rd down, helping force a turnover on downs.


4. Ivan Hollins, WR/CB — Playing on a special night, Hollins caught a 20-yard touchdown pass from JD Woods and made some big plays defensively. He knocked away a pass in the end zone on fourth down in the first quarter.


5. Price Morgan, LB — It was a physical game, and Morgan closed up running lanes with a few huge hits. He was strong against the run and in pass coverage, chasing down ball carriers and receivers. He added a nice 13-yard catch on the first drive, helping set up a field goal.


6. Amani Bledsoe, DE/RT — Bledsoe was dominant in the first half, fighting his way into the backfield and creating havoc for the Eagles. He made tackles in the backfield and provided heavy pass pressure. His only negative was going down briefly with apparent cramps in the fourth quarter on a play he made a tackle for a two-yard loss.


7. JD Woods, RB — On the first drive, Woods made it look easy. A 14-yard run on the first play and 12 more yards just three plays later. But Olathe North toughened up afterward, and refused to let Woods shake loose for a long run. Woods was held to 92 yards on 29 carries, but he still made a big impact, throwing for a TD.


8. Trey Georgie, DE/LT — Georgie used his huge frame to bat down a pass in the fourth quarter, helping force a punt. He also made some key blocks on the offensive line.


9. Nate Koehn, DT — Recovered a fumble that set up a touchdown and made a few tackles for a loss when Olathe North’s quarterback tried to scramble on read-option plays.


10. J’Mony Bryant, WR — He made a huge catch on the game-winning drive, converting a 3rd-and-15 with a 36-yard catch.


• Next up: Friday at Olathe East. Record: 8-0.

Free State football

1. Bryce Torneden, QB/FS — The Firebird responsible for three passing touchdowns and 154 rushing yards also got it done on defense, with a late-game interception.


2. Paul Bittinger, LB — The senior linebacker couldn’t stop making plays. In a game that only featured two critical FSHS mistakes on defense, Bittinger established the tone for three quarters worth of shutout football. On Manhattan’s first series of the game, he got in on stops on both third and fourth down and finished the first quarter with a sack. It seemed every time you looked up he was leveling an MHS player.


3. Jay Dineen, LB — Another play-making FSHS linebacker, the junior routinely flew at Manhattan ball-carriers and tended to be one of the Firebirds in on minimal gains and negative plays for visiting MHS.


4. Sam Skwarlo, RB/LB — You knew Manhattan wouldn’t be able to keep the senior running back bottled up all night. In a tie game in the fourth quarter, Skwarlo won the momentum back for Free State with a timely 35-yard touchdown. And, as usual, he made plenty of plays at linebacker, too.


5. Darian Lewis, DT — Along with all the work the senior defensive lineman did up front to make sure Free State’s linebackers could go make plays, Lewis also secured a Manhattan fumble in the fourth quarter. Less than two minutes later, the Firebirds had extended their lead to two touchdowns.


6. Zion Bowlin, RB — Free State’s coaches provided a new way to get the junior running back involved on offense, with a new passing play. Bowlin, who had been protecting on most of the Firebirds’ throwing downs, slipped out and came up with an amazing catch for a six-yard TD in the fourth quarter. Bowlin caught three passes for 55 yards.


7. Zack Sanders, WR — A junior wide receiver whose timing with QB Torneden keeps improving, he came up with four catches for 50 yards versus Manhattan. Sanders’ first catch of the night came in the second quarter and broke a scoreless tie, when he broke open in the middle of the field for a 23-yard TD.


8. Drew Tochtrop, LB — Along with a pair of punts that forced Manhattan to open drives inside its own 10-yard line, the senior linebacker also applied pressure to the MHS quarterback on a handful of occasions.


9. Noah Kema, DT — A junior defensive lineman, Kema pressured the QB intone an incompletion, brought him down for a five-yard loss and helped stop the running back for no gain during one fourth-quarter series.


10. Jack Flynn, WR — The senior receiver only caught one pass, but boy was it an important one. Flynn worked his way open near the back of the end zone midway through the second quarter and snagged an 11-yard touchdown catch that put Free State up 14-0.


• Next up: Friday vs. Topeka. Record: 5-3.

photo by: Mike Yoder

Zach Sanders (11) runs for a big gain in the 4th quarter against Manhattan High School Friday night, Oct. 23, 2015, at FSH.

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


District 4:


Lawrence High, 8-0, 2-0, +24 point differential


Olathe North, 7-1, 1-1, +18


Olathe Northwest, 6-2, 1-1, -4


Olathe East, 3-5, 0-2, -38


District 5:


Topeka High, 8-0, 2-0, +42


Free State, 5-3, 2-0, +38


Manhattan, 4-4, 0-2, -38


Washburn Rural, 5-3, 0-2, -42


The top two teams from each district advance to the state playoffs. Lawrence High, Free State and Topeka High clinched their spots at state with wins last week.
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As always, feel free to comment, email me, or find me on Twitter @nightengalejr.