photo by: Kahner Sampson/Special to the Journal-World

Free state running back Maddon Brittingham celebrates after scoring his sixth touchdown during the Firebirds' playoff game against Olathe East on Friday, Oct. 31, 2025, at Free State High School in Lawrence.

When Maddon Brittingham is on the football field, he’s running through someone.

It doesn’t matter if the Free State senior is at wide receiver, safety or running back — the latter being the position he’s found a home in — he’s a physical player who likes to punish defenses over and over until they can stop him.

“I’ve never been a super flashy guy, so just being able to have the ball in my hand and just run through somebody is what I’ve always been doing,” Brittingham said.

That’s what made him such a natural fit for the Air Force Academy football team, a Division I program in the Mountain West. The service academies that compete in Division I football often have an inherent disadvantage with the strict physical requirements required to be in the school.

That’s led them to adopting the triple-option offense. It’s a slow, methodical, run-heavy attack that controls the pace of the game. It’s nothing flashy, but it gets the job done. And for Brittingham, that’s the kind of back he is.

When Air Force and Brittingham got in contact, his play style and that of Air Force were a perfect match. Now, Brittingham is committed to Air Force to continue his football career after his last year at Free State.

A couple of months ago, Air Force got into contact with Free State coach Kevin Stewart to talk about Brittingham, making sure he had the academic and mental makeup fit for a service academy. A day after the coaching staff spoke with Brittingham, they extended him an offer.

The Brittinghams hosted a home visit before he went on his official visit from Thursday to Saturday. During the visit, Brittingham didn’t want to talk much, just listen, process and experience it all. By the final day, he was ready to commit.

“The feeling of being wanted instead of just as a player on a number sheet was just crazy,” Brittingham said. “The academics and all the facilities were just beautiful, so it was just amazing to see everything.”

Securing a commitment to a Division I college fulfills a longtime dream for Brittingham. As a younger brother and younger cousin to two Kansas football players, his eye has been set on playing college football. Now, that dream is set to come true.

“I’ve always loved paying attention to college sports and watching my cousin, and it really became a big part of my life,” Brittingham said. “I had to dedicate a lot of time and a lot of energy toward that mentally and physically, so it’s been a long time coming. But it’s been really exciting for me and my family.”

Brittingham’s time at Free State helped him in that preparation. Early in his high school career, he played multiple positions before settling on running back as a sophomore. It’s given him a higher football IQ and a desire to help his team in whatever way he can.

“Doing everything has just rounded me as a player,” Brittingham said. “It made me open my eyes to see everything — how you don’t want to get beat is how you should probably play on the other side of the ball.”

No matter where he was on the field, he always ran with a head full of steam. As a receiver, he’d catch the ball close to the line of scrimmage and then “basically became a running back.”

“Just being a running back is just what I’ve always done, just at different spots, so now I can get the ball more and faster, which just allows me to do what I’m doing best more often,” Brittingham said.

Last year, the Firebirds were a run-heavy offense with Brittingham and quarterback Finn Moore in the backfield. It was a similar style of offense to the one Air Force runs, where defenses know the offense is going to run it 40 times a game until defenses can prove it can stop the run consistently.

It’s a perfect style of play for Brittingham, especially as he gets ready for his final year at Free State before heading off to Air Force.

“If we as a team run a play and we get four or five yards, we’re running that same play again,” Brittingham said. “We are going to run the ball until you make us not. And if you don’t make us not, and we’re just going to do it the whole game.”

Brittingham and Moore both went over 1,000 yards in the Free State offense last year, and both are hoping for another successful year on the ground. The two are longtime teammates and are ready to go out together before the two go to Air Force, with Moore attending to play baseball.

“I’ve been friends with him for my whole life,” Brittingham said. “We live right next to each other, so I definitely started hearing a lot about (Air Force) when he committed there. He’s been my quarterback for 12 years, I think. We’ve been playing ball forever, so I’m super excited.”

There’s excitement to continue playing football and to start the next chapter of Brittingham’s life. He’s a regiment-oriented guy, so the lifestyle of a service academy is a good fit for him personally. He gets to continue playing football, like his older brother and cousin, and he gets to continue school with his lifelong friend.

“It’s going to be a lot, and it’s probably going to be really stressful the first few months, but once I get the routine down, and once my body adapts, I feel like it’ll be a great fit for me,” Brittingham said. “So I’m excited.”