photo by: John Young

Free State High senior Sam Hambleton (56) leads the charge as they Firebird defense stops Shawnee Mission South quarterback Deonte Carroll (7) behind the line during their game Friday evening in Overland Park. The Firebirds jumped out to a 21-0 first quarter lead and never looked back, winning 38-0.

Following their first win of the season, the main message from Free State High football players was they were happy but not satisfied.


The Firebirds dominated on both sides of the ball in a 38-0 victory at Shawnee Mission South, holding the Raiders to only 113 yards of offense. For their own offense, the Firebirds were a little up and down, but they scored on three of their first four drives of the second half.


“Any time you put up a goose egg, that’s a good thing,” senior Daniel Bryant said. “We still know we can get better. Less penalties and play better football.”


After a scoreless second quarter, the Firebirds heard plenty from their coaches in the locker room at halftime, but they responded well to everything that was said. It’s not easy to keep focus for an entire game when it has a blowout feel to it, but Free State coaches know it’s necessary to keep pushing.


“Some games we’re going to need it for 48 minutes like we did last week,” FSHS coach Bob Lisher said. “Luckily, we didn’t this week.”


Entering Friday night, the biggest questions for Lawrence High’s football team were how could they stop SM North quarterback Will Schneider and keep pace on offense?


The Lions answered both questions emphatically, bringing pressure with their defensive fronts and providing strong coverage in the secondary. In addition to strong defense, they recorded 611 yards of offense in a 52-36 victory.


Lawrence’s competition will only become tougher in the next two weeks, but one good sign for the future was the passing game. Dante’ Jackson completed 11 passes for 180 yards, which should help open up the run game against tougher defensive fronts.


Now for a look ahead to next week, which marks the first-ever matchups in the Sunflower League/Suburban Conference showdown:


Free State at Park Hill on Friday at 7 p.m. — A team filled with plenty of Div. I talent, the Trojans (2-2) have suffered a couple of losses against top teams in Missouri. Their leading tackler, four-star defensive end Chester Graves, is the top-ranked recruit in the KC area, boasting offers from KU, K-State, Ohio State, Wisconsin, Iowa and more. Park Hill’s top linebacker Seven Wilson is also drawing interest after breaking the school record for tackles last season. Offensively, the Trojans are led by junior QB Billy Maples, who is completing 70 percent of his passes for 655 yards and five TDs.


Lawrence High at Lee’s Summit West on Friday at 7 p.m. — The Titans (2-2) have only suffered losses against teams ranked in the top-10 in the state, including a one point loss to #2-ranked Blue Springs. In the first three games, senior QB Cole Taylor was 32-of-66 for 568 passing yards, eight touchdowns and four interceptions. Zach Shanholtzer is the top receiver with 12 catches for 209 yards and 3 TDs. On defense, Spencer Etters is averaging nearly 14 tackles per game.

photo by: John Young

Free State High senior Sam Hambleton (56) leads the charge as they Firebird defense stops Shawnee Mission South quarterback Deonte Carroll (7) behind the line during their game Friday evening in Overland Park. The Firebirds jumped out to a 21-0 first quarter lead and never looked back, winning 38-0.

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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. Dante’ Jackson, jr. QB/CB — All four of Jackson’s touchdowns came on the ground, but the quarterback made some big strides in the passing game from Week 1 to Week 2. Jackson did have one interception, but he was fairly accurate outside of that — completing 11 of 17 passes for 180 yards. The junior QB wasn’t afraid to air it out to receivers like Pakow Boye-Doe either. Jackson also rushed for 105 on five carries.


2. Trey Moore, sr. RB — Moore has made it look easy in the backfield in the first two weeks. The 5-foot, 10-inch 180-pound back rushed for 237 yards on 28 carries and three touchdowns, and would have had a fourth score on a 99-yard run if it had not been for a holding penalty.


3. Jake Unruh, sr. DL — Unruh led a much-needed pass rush for the Lions to make SM North quarterback Will Schneider uncomfortable in the pocket. The senior defensive end had two sacks, and also blocked a pooch punt by Schneider.


4. Clarence King, so. CB — When Schneider looked like he was getting in a rhythm after struggling on the Indians’ first few possessions, King halted SM North’s best drive with an interception when SM North was on the fringe of the red zone.


5. BJ Murry, sr. DL — When Unruh wasn’t wreaking havoc in the backfield, Murry and fellow defensive tackle Mark Greene were applying pressure up the middle. Murry had a sack in the first quarter to help set the tone defensively for LHS.


6. Jacob Mills, jr. OL — Mills anchored an offensive line that dominated the line of scrimmage from wire-to-wire. The LHS center helped pave large holes for Moore, Jackson and backup running back James Reeder to run through all night.


7. Cole Brungardt, sr. K — Brungardt has been automatic on his extra points this season, and he had the chance to show off his leg on Friday. Brungardt drilled a 37-yard field goal to end the first half, and it had the distance to be good from much longer.


8. Pakow Boye-Doe, jr. WR — Boye-Doe and the Lions receiving corps haven’t needed to make a big impact in the first two weeks with Moore and Jackson doing damage on the ground. Boye-Doe did his best to prove that the LHS wideouts have big-play making ability as well by hauling in six receptions for 64 yards.


9. Mark Greene, sr. DL — Greene burst through the Indians offensive line for a big tackle-for-loss on the opening drive of the game. Greene’s quickness at defensive tackle had the Indians O-Line on their toes. The Indians had 13 penalties for 100 yards, and several of those were false start or holding calls on the SM North offensive line.


10. Caleb Mondi, so. WR — Mondi only had one catch, but he made the most of it. The sophomore wideout caught a pass from Jackson right by the LHS sideline on a quick out route, but he turned on the jets to turn it into a 76-yard touchdown.


• Rankings from Chris Duderstadt

Free State football

1. Vani Martinez, jr. FS — Martinez has certainly made a name for himself in the past two weeks with big hits. But he did more than that last week, grabbing two interceptions in the second half and forcing a fumble on kickoff coverage. His first interception was tipped in the air by teammate David Johnson and Martinez swooped in for the snag. He also made some nice tackles at the line of scrimmage on run defense.


2. Gage Foster, jr. LB/RB — Every time there was pressure on the quarterback or a stop in the backfield, Foster was usually nearby. I counted at least two tackles for loss and a pass broken up in the backfield. Then there was his interception and a fumble he forced on a kickoff. On offense, he had 36 rushing yards and 11 receiving yards.


3. Zion Bowlin, sr. RB/SS — The powerful 5-foot-9, 200-pound running back didn’t break many long runs (he had a 28-yarder during the first quarter) but he kept the chains moving, finishing with 85 yards on 13 carries and two touchdowns. In space, he’s tough to stop because he runs with such force.


4. Zack Sanders, sr. WR/CB — One week after breaking a few school single-game records, Sanders caught three passes for 55 yards, including a nice 27-yard touchdown grab. On the touchdown, Sanders reached over a defender for the score. Defensively, he made some strong tackles in open space, defended well in coverage and grabbed an interception on an overthrow.


5. Daniel Bryant, sr. WR/CB — He found holes in the defense and made the Raiders pay with some big grabs, ending the game with five receptions for 84 yards. He had a 28-yard catch on the final play of the third quarter, pushed out of bounds at the one-yard line. In coverage, Bryant blanketed SM South receivers, forcing incompletions.


6. Dallas Crittenden, sr. QB — Crittenden made some smart decision on read options, running for 15 yards and two touchdowns on five attempts. For the second straight week, he was strong in the pocket — his offensive line gave him plenty of protection on a few throws — finishing with 175 yards on 12-of-19 passing for a touchdown and interception.


7. Jay Dineen, sr. LB/LG — He was all over the field on defense, punishing linemen to fight his way into the backfield for at least a few tackles at the line of scrimmage. On SM South’s first series, Dineen broke into the backfield and forced a fumble. But on the flip side, he had two personal foul penalties for a horse-collar tackle and roughing the passer within two plays of each other.


8. Sam Hambleton, sr. DL — Stuffing the middle of the field, Hambleton was a big reason why the Raiders only averaged 2.8 yards per rushing attempt. He clogged running lanes, shed blockers and was in position to make a few tackles.


9. Jalen Nash, soph. RB — When the Raiders fumbled on a kickoff return, Nash grabbed the ball and nearly took it to the end zone before he made an illegal forward lateral trying to flip the ball to a teammate for a touchdown. In the fourth quarter, Nash had seven rushing attempts for 37 yards.


10. Drew Wise, sr. LB/TE — Wise jumped on a fumble on SM South’s second play from scrimmage, which turned into a six-yard touchdown run by Bowlin. He also made strong snaps at long snapper, and on offense, he made a 13-yard catch in the first quarter.


• Rankings from Bobby Nightengale

photo by: Mike Yoder

James Murray (19) right, sacks Shawnee Mission North quarterback Will Schneider in the Lawrence Lions win against Shawnee Mission North Friday night at LHS.

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In case you missed it, I posted a blog about all of the former Lawrence High and Free State football players competing at the collegiate level. Here is a quick look at all of their statistics: http://bit.ly/2c4fDoR.
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As always, feel free to comment, email me, or find me on Twitter @nightengalejr.