photo by: Mike Gunnoe/Special to the Journal-World

Lawrence Free State senior Havea Hafoka brings down Lawrence High senior Banks Bowen for a loss on fourth down Friday, October 25, 2024.

Lawrence High School (4-4) and Free State High School (5-3) went back and forth in Friday’s City Showdown, but the Firebirds came away with the 24-14 win with a stout defensive second half and critical plays on offense when they needed it.

Both teams relied heavily on the run game in the first half. Free State had 98 rush yards, while Lawrence had 107 through two quarters.

To start the game, the Firebirds ran the ball all five plays for 79 yards and a touchdown on the opening drive. Noah Simpson and Parker Moore split the carries in the touchdown drive.

Lawrence had a much quieter first drive. Tahj Edwards started with a 14-yard run, but the drive stalled before the Lions could pick up another first down.

The Firebirds had a chance to take a two-score lead, but a bobbled pass from quarterback Boston Baker to Maddon Brittingham was intercepted by Noah Richardson. The Lions took advantage of the turnover with an eight play scoring drive. Edwards had a 28-yard run on the drive that set the Lions up at the goal line, and quarterback Banks Bowen finished the drive with a 2-yard run.

Baker started the next drive with a long completion to Bralin Preston to move the Firebirds to the 20-yard line. A bad snap led to a 14-yard loss, and Free State settled for a long field goal to take a 10-7 lead.

LHS continued to give Edwards a large workload, as he picked up 30 yards on the team’s third drive. Bowen finished it with an 11-yard touchdown pass to Jaxon Becker.

The touchdown came with over seven minutes left in the half, but neither team could finish a drive. Both teams fumbled in consecutive drives, and the Lions finished the half with a kneel.

Free State’s defense held the Lions on the first drive of the second half. Ethan Curry started it with a 25-yard reception, but an 11-yard sack on a flea flicker followed by an incompletion forced the Lions to punt.

Brittingham kickstarted the drive for Free State by hauling in a 29-yard pass. Parker Moore moved the chains with a 10-yard run to put the Firebirds inside the 35-yard line. Two short runs and an incomplete pass put the Firebirds at a fourth-and-7 from the Lawrence 31-yard line. Baker’s pass fell incomplete, but a pass interference call moved the chains, giving the Firebirds the ball inside the 20-yard line.

Free State finished the drive with five runs for a 2-yard touchdown run from Moore to take a 17-14 lead in the third quarter.

The Lions moved to midfield on their next drive, but stalled out when Bowen was tackled for a loss on fourth-and-inches. Free State quickly scored on the first play of the fourth quarter on a 52-yard touchdown throw to Braiden Blanchard.

Lawrence started to move downfield with a 33-yard reception from Bowen to Becker. A couple of penalties moved the Lions backward, and they failed to convert on a fourth-and-8. They got the ball back after a three-and-out from Free State, but the Lawrence offense faced a fourth-and-long and failed to convert.

Free State’s defense has brought the team multiple wins on the year, and on the biggest plays of the game, it held up once again.

The Firebirds managed to erase a couple of minutes of clock, but the Lions got the ball back with under two minutes left in the game. They got a first down but nothing more, as a fourth-down pass to Becker was short of the line to gain. The Free State defense that led the team all year long made the difference and shut out the Lions in the second half.

Free State took a knee to finish the game and secure their second City Showdown win in three years.

— Grady Johnson contributed to this story.

FSHS…7…3…7…7 24

LHS….7…7…0…0 14

Individual stats

Passing

FS: Baker 9-13-143

LHS: Bowen 21-30-177

Rushing

FS: Noah Simpson 9-92; Parker Moore 16-54; Ryan Weishaar 4-15; Bralin Preston 3-8

LHS: Tahj Edwards 14-97; Banks Bowen 14-63

Receiving:

FS: Braiden Blanchard 2-58; Bralin Preston 2-42; Maddon Brittingham 2-34; Noah Simpson 2-10

LHS: Jaxon Becker 7-69; Ethan Curry 3-44; Tahj Edwards 4-18; Gabe Wingerd 3-23; Jaylen Parks 1-15; Josh Galbreath 3-8

photo by: Mike Gunnoe/Special to the Journal-World

Lawrence Free State senior Parker Moore smiles after scoring a touchdown against Lawrence High Friday, October 25, 2024 in Lawrence.

photo by: Mike Gunnoe/Special to the Journal-World

Lawrence High senior Noah Richardson dives for an interception at Lawrence Free State on Friday, October 25, 2024, in Lawrence.

photo by: Mike Gunnoe/Special to the Journal-World

Lawrence High head coach Clint Bowen yells out instructions to his players against Lawrence Free State Friday, October 25, 2024, in Lawrence.

photo by: Mike Gunnoe/Special to the Journal-World

Lawrence Free State head coach Kevin Stewart smiles after a play against Lawrence High Friday, October 25, 2024, in Lawrence.

photo by: Mike Gunnoe/Special to the Journal-World

Lawrence High sophomore Ethan Curry breaks up a pass to Lawrence Free State senior Landon Leipold Friday, October 25, 2024, in Lawrence.

photo by: Mike Gunnoe/Special to the Journal-World

Lawrence High junior Tahj Edwards runs for a first down against Lawrence Free State Friday, October 25, 2024, in Lawrence.

photo by: Mike Gunnoe/Special to the Journal-World

Lawrence Free State senior Noah Simpson runs for a first down against Lawrence High Friday, October 25, 2024, in Lawrence.

photo by: Mike Gunnoe/Special to the Journal-World

Lawrence Free State senior Parker Moore breaks through for a touchdown against Lawrence High Friday, October 25, 2024, in Lawrence.

photo by: Mike Gunnoe/Special to the Journal-World

Lawrence High junior Jaxon Becker celebrates with teammates after scoring a touchdown against Lawrence Free State Friday, October 25, 2024, in Lawrence.