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

Lawrence High linebacker Saylor Jackson returns an interception during the City Showdown football game on Friday, Oct. 23, 2026, at Lawrence High School in Lawrence.

Lawrence scored 34 unanswered points, including 27 in the second half, en route to defeating Free State 41-10 in the City Showdown for the second year in a row.

“It’s special to get a win over anybody,” Lawrence coach Jason Thoren said. “That was a good one. We had to scratch and claw. Our guys did a good job. We made subtle adjustments to what we were doing, and we did a good job of it with our guys. That’s a special game to those kids, and both teams play hard in that game.”

Free State won the opening toss and elected to receive the ball. But a bobbled kickoff return attempt by junior running back Michael Harrison backed the Firebirds up to their own 9-yard line.

The Firebirds didn’t move the ball far in their first drive. On third down, senior linebacker Saylor Jackson intercepted sophomore quarterback Packson McDaniel on the first pass attempt of the game, giving Lawrence the ball at the 4-yard line.

It took three plays, but Lawrence ultimately scored the opening touchdown of the game on a 1-yard run by senior running back Kayden Pitts.

Free State switched things up on its second offensive drive, sticking to wildcat runs with either Harrison or senior receiver Alijah Beckum. Those outside runs worked well, as Lawrence’s linebackers weren’t able to get the Firebirds’ runners until they reached the second level five yards from the line of scrimmage.

The wildcat with Beckum got the Firebirds into the red zone, and Beckum finished the drive with a 5-yard touchdown run to tie the game.

“Our guys came out ready to play and they executed well,” Free State coach Kevin Stewart said of the wildcat package. “We saw what we thought we’d see on film, and so that gave us an advantage early.”

Lawrence started with good field position on its next drive, thanks to a 35-yard kickoff return by senior receiver Aaden Chee, but the Lions weren’t able to pick up a first down. A couple of 2-yard runs set up third-and-6, which was an incomplete pass to junior receiver Truth Pope.

Free State’s offense remained unpredictable on their drive, mixing wildcat and handoff runs with its various playmakers. The Firebirds converted a third-and-7 with a double-reverse pass for 22 yards where senior running back Maddon Brittingham hit junior receiver Charlie Griffith.

“All the guys that are out on the field, I’m very proud of them,” Stewart said. “They’re busting their (butt). I’m very proud of them … There’s other guys that have to be about football in order to be about it. If they want to be better, they have to be about football. Lawrence High has a lot of guys who are about it.”

The Firebird drive stalled afterward in the red zone, with the Lawrence defense securing a couple of tackles for losses. Free State settled for the 37-yard Micah Jones field goal, which was good and gave Free State a 10-7 lead early in the second quarter.

Thoren was happy with how the team adjusted to the wildcat look as the game went on. The Lions repped it in practice to prepare for it, and the team got better at stopping it as the game went on.

The Lions were slow to start their next drive and faced a third-and-9 at their own 38-yard line, but two big plays accounted for 62 yards and got Lawrence into the end zone. Junior quarterback Joey Dooley hit sophomore running back Acein Goodman on a seam route that got the offense to the 30-yard line. Dooley carried the ball the rest of the way as Lawrence took the lead back at 14-10.

“It is kind of funny how much we’ve hit that play in pretty big moments,” Dooley said. “But we practice it a lot.”

Free State punted on its next drive, giving Lawrence a chance at a 2-minute drill score. The Lions got a chunk play with Goodman catching another seam ball for 31 yards and got all the way to the 24-yard line before having to settle for a field goal. But sophomore kicker Tahchuhsee Brewer’s field goal attempt was wide right, ending the half without points.

Lawrence got the ball after the break and drove down for another scoring drive. Senior receiver Ethan Curry started the drive with a 30-yard run, and senior receiver Adrick Webb later got the Lions to the 10-yard line with a toe-drag sideline snag for 17 yards. Curry finished the drive with a 4-yard touchdown run.

Curry didn’t have the stat-stuffing performance he’s often had with a lot of double coverage, but Curry still made plays when needed and helped the offense in other ways.

“When they put a linebacker on top of me and a safety on top of that, it was hard for me to do something,” Curry said. “But it opened other people up, so it was good for the team.”

The Firebirds moved the ball early on their next drive, but a big tackle for loss by Alex Bart moved the Firebirds back and forced a punt. Lawrence had some similar protection issues as a pair of sacks by junior defensive end Orris Kline and senior defensive end Garrison Oatis forced the Lions to punt.

Lawrence’s defense came up big again, as junior linebacker Luke Kress jumped a route and picked off McDaniel, setting the Lions up at the 32-yard line. Thoren said Kress has worked hard on being able to defend the flood routes, and that he’s excited to show Kress how well he defended that route on film. Being able to intercept the ball in addition to his run defense makes the defense tough to play against with multi-skilled linebackers.

“I trust those guys a lot,” Curry said. “(Making plays on the ball) builds trust with us and the whole team. Those guys practice hard. That’s just staying disciplined, (having) great eyes and doing their job.”

Curry took a speed option 20 yards one play later, and Dooley finished the drive with an 11-yard touchdown run.

The Firebirds were held up and forced to punt, giving the Lions the ball at the LHS 38-yard line. Lawrence drained a lot of time off the clock and picked up some key third downs to keep the drive going. Dooley eventually hit Pope on a deep post for a 20-yard touchdown, giving the Lions a 34-10 lead with four minutes left.

After a slow start offensively, the Lions turned it up in the second half. Thoren said the offense “kept coming,” and that the toughness of the offense led to the late success.

“I thought it was a great team win,” Thoren said. “We came out after half and we were able to play good defense because we were marching the ball and getting first downs. The guys that aren’t going both ways were over there drinking Gatorade. That helps out a ton, because it gives us time to really go through it.”

Free State punted again after not moving far, and Pope added some extra cushion to the Lawrence lead with a 65-yard punt return touchdown.

The return touchdown was a microcosm of some of the Free State issues this season. The Firebirds turned it over twice in their own red zone and gave up the late touchdown, which spotted Lawrence 21 of its 41 points.

“The points (allowed) haven’t been indicative of our defense all year,” Stewart said. “Defense battled. We’re not senior-heavy on defense, we don’t have enough dudes on that end that are senior guys. When you play bad field position and make mistakes like that, that just makes it even harder on defense.”

The final minutes concluded with Lawrence finishing with the 41-10 win over Free State, the Lions’ second rivalry win in a row.

“This is only the beginning,” Dooley said. “There’s a whole new season ahead of us, especially going into the playoffs. We’re going to celebrate this one, it’s going to feel good, but tomorrow coming in to film, (it’s) a new mindset. It’s a brand new season. Anything can happen.”

Lawrence enters the playoffs at 6-2, while Free State enters 3-5.