Clarence King (17) tries to elude a triple threat of Eagles as Lawrence played Olathe North on Friday night at ODAC.

During the past two weeks, it would be hard to find a defense that has stopped the run better than Free State’s football team.


The Firebirds have allowed opponents to rush for 80 yards on 59 attempts in their two-game winning streak, a minuscule 1.36 yards per carry.


When the Firebirds are keeping teams one-dimensional — and playing well on offense — they are tough to keep up with. Free State won 35-10 over Olathe South last week.


The Firebirds returned a lot of defensive players from last season, but it took them a few weeks to get comfortable playing alongside each other and they’ve adjusted for a few injuries.


Of course, it’s easier to play defense when the offense is scoring — and senior Zack Sanders has made sure of that. Along with scoring 10 touchdowns this year, he’s had two games with at least 200 receiving yards. To put that in perspective, the previous single-game school record was 187.


Lawrence High’s football players didn’t look great in the first half, but they made the necessary adjustments for a 28-7 victory at Olathe North.


It was like a battle of the eras with Lawrence featuring the new-school, no-huddle offense and platoons. Olathe North featured the old-school, flexbone offense that eats up a ton of clock and is just a run-at-you style.


“You know it’s going to be smashmouth,” LHS coach Dirk Wedd said of playing O-North. “You better come with your work clothes on and roll up your sleeves because they are going to hit you.”


Give plenty of credit to the Lions for improving their play in the second half. They didn’t panic when the offense was a little out of rhythm. They didn’t panic when they had trouble stopping the run in the first two quarters.


For a team that had a lot of question marks at the beginning of the season, it’s easy to see this young team gaining confidence with each game and becoming much, much more dangerous for opponents.


Now for a look ahead to next week:


Olathe Northwest at Free State on Friday at 7 p.m. — Fresh off a 34-0 victory over Leavenworth, the Ravens (2-3) have won their past two games and found a rhythm offensively. Quarterback Easton Crupper has a strong arm, tossing a 79-yard TD pass last week. RB Drew Dumas scored two touchdowns against Leavenworth.


Lawrence High at Olathe South, at ODAC, on Friday at 7 p.m. — After a 25-point loss to Free State, Olathe South will continue its tour of Lawrence teams. The Falcons (1-4) struggled to create much offense against the Firebirds, but are led by dual-threat quarterback Nick Jouret, who threw for 127 yards and one score last week.

Clarence King (17) tries to elude a triple threat of Eagles as Lawrence played Olathe North on Friday night at ODAC.

*
If you’re new to the blog, 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. Jake Unruh, sr. DE — After changing his three-point stance, Unruh said he had one of his best weeks of practice this season. It transferred to the field and he made about eight tackles at the line of scrimmage or in the backfield. Perhaps his best moment came on O-North’s first drive of the second half. He made a tackle and was penalized for targeting. Two plays later, he drilled a running back for a six-yard loss, turning a negative into a positive.


2. Trey Moore, sr. RB — After missing a game with a hand injury, Moore was dominant in the second half. He finished with 110 yards and two touchdowns on 23 attempts — 90 of those yards in the final two quarters with a few key third-down conversions.


3. BJ Murry, sr. DT — When the Lions needed a stop midway through the fourth quarter, 4th-and-1 at the 25-yard line, Murry and fellow defensive tackle Mark Greene stood their ground for a crucial stop. Along with a few tackles at the line of scrimmage, Murry sacked O-North’s quarterback and forced a fumble for a 14-yard loss in the third quarter.


4. Azariah LeBrun, sr. LB — LeBrun didn’t play football last season, but the Lions are sure happy to have him contributing this year. Always in the backfield, LeBrun had several tackles at the line of scrimmage or in the backfield. Then he added a tackle on a kickoff in open space for a three-yard loss and a pooch kick recovery at the end of the game to help the Lions keep the ball.


5. Dante Jackson, jr. QB/CB — He didn’t have his best day throwing the ball and O-North’s defense was geared up to stop him, but credit to Jackson for finding a way to step up in the second half. On the first drive of the third quarter, he broke a few tackles to convert on a 3rd-and-10. Then he did the same on the team’s final drive, running for a 21-yard pickup on 3rd-and-1 to drain the clock. Jackson had 83 rushing yards and 82 passing yards.


6. Samuel Bart, soph. DE — Filling in for an injured Eric Galbreath on the defensive line, Bart made some great plays. The 6-foot-4, 193-pound defensive end, Bart crushed an option pitch on 3rd-and-8 in the second quarter for a tackle in the backfield. He added another key stop in the backfield before halftime, forcing a punt.


7. Jacob Mills, jr. C — In the first half, the Lions had four drives that were four plays or less and they were off the field in less than 91 seconds. Credit Mills and the rest of the LHS offensive line for making adjustments in the second half, helping the Lions dominate with their run game. The Lions averaged 6.2 yards per carry in the last two quarters.


8. Clarence King, soph. WR — Jackson’s favorite target Friday, King caught three passes for 48 yards and drew three pass interference penalties. The 6-foot-1, 165-pound receiver is tough to stop in jump ball situations and he made the most of them. He also had one nice kick return negated by a holding penalty.


9. Jaxon Malone, soph. CB — The Eagles only attempted two passes and one of them was a fade pass along the right sideline that was broken up by Malone at the end of the first half. It was the first play after O-North’s touchdown drive, so it helped stop momentum.


10. Cole Brungardt, sr. K — Along with knocking in four extra points, the Birthday Boy stopped a potential kick-return touchdown with a nice play in open space in the third quarter. He also delivered a couple of perfect pooch kicks — one that recovered by the Lions and another that was caught out of bounds.


• Rankings from Bobby Nightengale

Free State football

1. Zack Sanders, sr. WR/CB — Sanders caught eight balls for 200 yards and three scores to lift the Firebirds past .500 for the first time all season. He has scored seven touchdowns over his last two games and remains the focal point on the offense.


2. Dallas Crittenden, sr. QB — The Topeka Hayden transfer had one of his best performances at Free State, completing 15-of-20 passes for 244 yards and three scores. Crittenden even ran the ball nine times for a total of 47 yards.


3. Jax Dineen, so. RB/LB — Due to an injury, Dineen’s workload on offense increased in the second half. After carrying the ball just twice in the first two quarters, Dineen finished with 10 attempts for 164 yards, including a 57-yard touchdown.


4. Gage Foster, sr. RB/ROLB — Foster was constantly in the backfield taking Olathe South’s dual-threat quarterback Nick Jouret to the ground. In addition to keeping Jouret in check, Foster carried the ball seven times for 45 yards.


5. Jay Dineen, sr. LB/LG — Dineen helped the Firebirds defensive front hold Jouret all night on his 16 rushing attempts. Jouret managed 33 positive yards, but was brought down behind the line of scrimmage multiple times, losing a total of 31 yards on the evening.


6. Daniel Bryant, sr. WR/DB — With Sanders on the other side of the secondary, the Falcons targeted Bryant’s side through the air. Bryant held his own, as Olathe South managed just 127 passing yards. Bryant also hauled in four passes for 29 yards at receiver.


7. Nathan Spain, jr. C — Spain spearheaded an offensive line which created enough holes for Free State to accumulate 310 yards on 37 rushes.


8. Chase Houk, sr. LT — Houk and the rest of the line kept Crittenden upright throughout the game. He was especially important on a pair of long touchdown passes, both of which were 65 yards or more.


9. Zion Bowlin, sr. RB/DB — The lead back returned to the Firebirds after missing the previous week because of an ankle injury. Bowlin toted the ball six times for 40 yards with a touchdown, before he got “dinged up” and missing the entire second half.


10. Kameron Lake, so. K — Knocked in all five of his extra point attempts.


• Rankings from Shane Jackson

photo by: John Young

Free State High senior Jay Dineen, left, collars Olathe South quarterback Nick Jouret after a small gain during the Firebirds' homecoming game Friday night at FSHS.

*
As always, feel free to comment, email me, or find me on Twitter @nightengalejr.