For the second week in a row, the Free State football offense showed how explosive it can be, as the Firebirds rolled to a 49-14 win over Shawnee Mission South in the home opener on Friday night.

In the first quarter, it was all Firebirds behind the running of Dash Cleveland and Jet Dineen. Free State (2-0) scored two touchdowns in the span of four minutes. At the 7:25 mark of the first quarter, Dineen threw a strike down the sideline to senior Jerred Willits for a 44-yard touchdown.

A few minutes later, Dineen showed off his ground game, breaking a couple of tackles and running it the rest of the way from 22 yards out to make it 14-0 with 3:45 left in the first quarter.

In the second quarter, the Free State offense came to a halt as Shawnee Mission South (0-2) found different ways to control the pace of the game.

Whether it was runs from senior running back Carter Dewberry or clutch passes from senior quarterback Mason Close, the Raiders stayed in the game. After numerous penalties by both teams, Close took it in from 4 yards out to make it 14-7 Firebirds with 8:51 left in the first half.

The defenses and penalties on both sides stole the show for the rest of the half, as both teams had trouble moving the ball and drew plenty of penalties. There were a total of 17 penalties in the first half.

The third quarter was where the Firebirds broke loose. Free State scored four times in eight minutes, with three of the touchdowns coming from Dineen’s arm.

The first score of the quarter came on the first play, when Cleveland took off down the Firebird sideline and ran for an 82-yard touchdown.

Two of the other touchdowns went to senior Jake Patchen from 11 and 14 yards out, and Cleveland also caught a screen pass and took it in from 28 yards out.

Junior Tay Ware joined in on the scoring late in the third after another stop by the Firebirds’ defense. Ware took it in from 10 yards out to cap off the score at 49-7 heading into the fourth.

Senior Quez Lee also snagged an interception in the third, which led to the second score by Patchen. Along with Lee, junior Colton Berger and senior Grant Georgry, the Firebirds’ defense caused havoc all night, making it difficult for the Raiders’ offense to find any momentum.

GAME STATS

Free State 49, Shawnee Mission South 14

FS | SMS

First downs 9 | 7

Rushes-yards 31-247 | 26-44

Passing yards 135 | 87

Total offense 382 | 131

Fumbles-lost 0-0 | 1-1

Interceptions 1 | 1

Penalties-yards 11-105 | 14-100

Score by quarters

Shawnee Mission South 0 7 0 7

Free State 14 0 35 0

Individual statistics

Rushing

SMS: Carter Dewberry 8-13; Mason Close 10-4; Darrion Cobbins 1-2 Ben Johnson 7-25

FS: Dash Cleveland 10-131; Jet Dineen 13-77; Tay Ware 5-39; Jamareon Doleman 2–4; Wesley Edison 1-4

Passing

SMS: Mason Close 12-20-87

FS: Jet Dineen 8-12-135

Receiving

SMS: Nate Hebert 2-17; Quan Dunbar 3-24; Alex Pavlu 1-12; Jake Johnson 3-13; Spencer Baker 3-21

FS: Jordan Brown 2-15; Jerred Willits 1-44; Jake Patchen 3-37; Dash Cleveland 2-39

HOW THEY SCORED

First quarter

7:25 – Jerred Willits 44 yard pass from Jet Dineen. Adam Coup kick good. (FS 7 SMS 0.)

3:45 – Dineen 22 yard run. Coup kick good. (FS 14 SMS 0).

Second quarter

8:51- Mason Close 4 yard run. Cam Wiseman kick good (FS 14 SMS 7)

Third quarter

11:42 – Dash Cleveland 82 yard run. Coup kick good. (FS 21 SMS 7)

9:56 – Jake Patchen 11 yard pass from Dineen. Coup kick good. (FS 28 SMS 7)

5:39 – Cleveland 28 yard pass from Dineen. Coup kick good. (FS 35 SMS 7)

4:27 – Patchen 14 yard pass from Dineen. Coup kick good. (FS 42 SMS 7)

28.8 – Tay Ware 10 yard run. Coup kick good. (FS 49 SMS 7)

Fourth quarter

3:55 – Quan Dunbar 11 yard pass from Close. Wiseman kick good (FS 49 SMS 14)