photo by: Carter Gaskins/Journal-World photo

Free State's Devon Hamilton (2) and Liam Stramberg (6) celebrate the touchdown catch Friday, Sept. 22, 2023, at Free State High School.

The Free State football team earned its fourth straight win Friday night, defeating Shawnee Mission Northwest 41-12 at Free State High School in the Firebirds’ homecoming game.

The Firebirds (4-0) scored on seven straight drives to pull away from the Cougars (1-3) who, despite taking an early 6-0 lead, could not keep up with the high-powered Free State offense, which accumulated over 400 yards of total offense.

“Once our guys recovered they realized they could handle these guys,” FSHS coach Kevin Stewart said. “I think confidence is a big thing and our guys are trying to build confidence. It builds confidence for our team for how good we are.”

The Cougars kicked off the scoring almost immediately with a 40-yard touchdown run from quarterback Logan Morley less than 90 seconds into the contest.

Following a pair of punts from both sides, the Firebirds marched down the field nearing the end of the opening quarter, with the long drive being capped by a 16-yard run from Wesley Edison. After breaking a tackle down the far sideline, his speed powered him into the end zone to give FSHS the 7-6 advantage late in the first quarter.

After Grant Lincoln of FSHS ran for 50 yards to the Cougars 1-yard line, Edison punched it in to finish off their second straight scoring drive, handing the Firebirds a 14-6 lead less than a minute into the second quarter of play.

Shawnee Mission Northwest attempted to respond, but after Free State’s defense forced a fourth-and-4 around midfield, defensive lineman Hyrum Vaeono and the rest of the defensive line stopped a run from Morley to bring up a turnover on downs.

From there, it only took two plays for the Firebirds to score as Edison launched the ball 50 yards down the field to Devon Hamilton, who scored to make it a 21-6 game midway through the second quarter.

“We got a lot of guys that are capable out there and I’m glad we saw that tonight,” Stewart said. “We’re clicking, so that’s good. We’ve been telling them every play to focus on their fundamentals.”

An SMNW fumble recovered by Parker Moore on the ensuing drive handed Free State the ball back immediately inside the 15-yard line, and Yusef Iskandrani drilled a 25-yard field goal to put his team up 24-6 late in the opening half.

On the final drive of the first half for FSHS, Edison pulled off several long runs to put the Firebirds deep into SMNW territory, prompting a chance for Iskandrani to kick his second field goal of the night.

Iskandrani delivered a 40-yard field goal as time expired, making the score 27-6 heading into the halftime locker room, with the Firebirds firmly in control after the first 24 minutes of play.

To start the second half, Free State picked up where it left off and took nearly six minutes off the clock on the first drive, capping it off with a 5-yard touchdown run from Edison. The fourth-and-goal touchdown from Edison extended FSHS’s lead to 34-6, with 6:24 left in the third quarter of play.

Following a SMNW punt, Lincoln capped off the next Free State drive with an 11-yard touchdown run, after breaking several tackles and staying on his feet all the way into the end zone. The seventh straight scoring drive handed the home team their largest lead at 41-6, with the contest nearing the end of the third quarter.

Shawnee Mission Northwest trimmed the deficit following a 5-yard run from John Whitener, making it a 41-12 game midway through the fourth quarter, with the Firebirds still in control heading into the home stretch.

From there, the Firebirds proceeded to run the clock out to secure the victory on homecoming night, giving them a 4-0 record through the first half of the season following Friday night’s action.

Free State now heads back on the road to take on Shawnee Mission South to close out the month of September next Friday night. Kickoff from Shawnee Mission South High School is set for 7 p.m.

“I just told them tonight I’m proud of them,” Stewart said. “A lot of people don’t see all the work these guys put in. I’m just proud for them being a part of that.”

GAME STATS

Free State 41, Shawnee Mission Northwest 12

FS | SMNW

First downs 15 | 12

Rushes-yards 47-309 | 38-239

Passing yards 98 | 19

Total offense 407 | 258

Fumbles-lost 0-0 | 1-1

Interceptions 0 | 0

Penalties-yards 2-10 | 5-40

Score by quarters

Shawnee Mission Northwest 6 0 0 6 – 12

Free State 7 20 14 0 – 41

HOW THEY SCORED

1st Quarter:

10:37 – Logan Morley 40 yard run. Olivia Anderson kick no good. (SMNW 6 FS 0)

02:26 – Wesley Edison 16 yard run. Yusef Iskandrani kick good. (FS 7 SMNW 6)

2nd Quarter:

11:19 – Edison 1 yard run. Iskandrani kick good. (FS 14 SMNW 6)

05:56 – Devon Hamilton 55 yard pass from Edison. Iskandrani kick good. (FS 21 SMNW 6)

04:52 – Iskandrani 25 yard field goal. (FS 24 SMNW 6)

00:00 – Iskandrani 40 yard field goal. (FS 27 SMNW 6)

3rd Quarter:

06:24 – Edison 5 yard run. Iskandrani kick good. (FS 34 SMNW 6)

00:26 – Grant Lincoln 12 yard run. Iskandrani kick good. (FS 41 SMNW 6)

4th Quarter:

07:39 – John Whitener 5 yard run. Two point conversion no good. (FS 41 SMNW 12)

Individual statistics

Rushing:

FS: Wesley Edison 20-114; Ryan Weishaar 9-15; Grant Lincoln 15-133; Justice McAleese 2-17; Antario Lattimore-Douglas 1-30

SMNW: John Whitener 16-85; Logan Morley 12-93; Gabe Hoskins 1-8; Evan Qualls 4-38; Dominy Brown 1-7; Joshua Mackiewicz 1-9; Tru Smith 1-(-2); Tyler West 2-1

Passing

FS: Wesley Edison 5-8-98

SMNW: Logan Morley 2-10-19

Receiving

FS: Bralin Preston 2-32; Devon Hamilton 2-52; Landon Leipold 1-13; SMNW: Evan Qualls 1-5; Clayton Habben 1-14

photo by: Carter Gaskins/Journal-World photo

Free State’s Wesley Edison (7) run down the middle of the field as Josh Mudgett (9) holds on to tackle him Friday, Sept. 22, 2023, at Free State High School.

photo by: Carter Gaskins/Journal-World photo

Free State’s Bralin Preston (9) breaks a run Friday, Sept. 22, 2023, at Free State High School.

photo by: Carter Gaskins/Journal-World photo

Free State’s Wesley Edison (7) fights for the first down as Joshua Mackiewicz (16) tries to tackle him Friday, Sept. 22, 2023, at Free State High School.

photo by: Carter Gaskins/Journal-World photo

Free State’s Coby Ochsner (5) tackles Tyler West (8) Friday, Sept. 22, 2023, at Free State High School.

photo by: Carter Gaskins/Journal-World photo

Free State’s defense lines up early in the first quarter Friday, Sept. 22, 2023, at Free State High School.

photo by: Carter Gaskins/Journal-World photo

Free State’s crowd cheers on their home team Firebirds Friday, Sept. 22, 2023, at Free State High School.

photo by: Carter Gaskins/Journal-World photo

Free State’s Wesley Edison (7) looks to make a run play towards the end zone Friday, Sept. 22, 2023, at Free State High School.

photo by: Carter Gaskins/Journal-World photo

Free State’s Devon Hamilton (2) celebrates after catching a touchdown pass Friday, Sept. 22, 2023, at Free State High School.

photo by: Carter Gaskins/Journal-World photo

Free State’s Devon Hamilton (2) celebrates after catching a touchdown pass Friday, Sept. 22, 2023, at Free State High School.

photo by: Carter Gaskins/Journal-World photo

Free State’s Wesley Edison (7) stretches over the goal line as SM Northwest’s Josh Mudgett (9) tries to stop him Friday, Sept. 22, 2023, at Free State High School.