As soon as the final whistle blew at the end of the second overtime, it was clear both Free State and Lawrence High were gassed. “We had a couple (players) that started that came up with some cramps, so we needed people to step up off the bench, which they did,” Free State senior forward ...
Behind a balanced effort, Free State’s girls golf team secured a second-place finish at the 6A regional meet Monday afternoon at Lake Shawnee Golf Course. All six players finished inside the top 19 for the Firebirds, who qualified for the 6A state tournament as a team with their runner-up ...
Free State’s girls tennis team will be sending three athletes to the Class 6A state tournament. One singles player and one doubles team qualified for the final meet of the year for the Firebirds after a strong showing at regionals. FSHS claimed second place as a team Saturday afternoon at ...
The cross-country course at Haskell University may have been altered slightly, but that doesn’t mean any runners lost any familiarity. “Honestly it just feels like I know what to expect, which — even if it’s not true — it makes me feel like I have an edge on the competition,” Free ...
Free State's football team notched its fourth win in a row, including third consecutive road game, by taking down Olathe South Friday night at Olathe District Activity Center. Photos by Carter Gaskins/Lawrence Journal-World
With temperatures in the low 40s on a frigid Friday night at Olathe District Activity Center, Free State bullied its way to a 28-7 win over Olathe South. The Firebirds leaned on their ground game behind a solid showing from an offensive line that overcame multiple injuries, while the defense ...
One Sunday morning in late June really tells the whole story. Free State senior Marcus Preston was running drills with his family. Jordan Preston, who is now a quarterback at KU, was throwing to his younger brother. The two had linked up multiple times at Mill Valley the year before. The ...
Free State's volleyball team earned a 3-0 win over Lawrence High Tuesday night at FSHS on Oct. 8, 2019. Photos by Carter Gaskins/Lawrence Journal-World
Even when the Veritas volleyball team was on the verge of losing, senior Emma Boulton wasn’t worried. The Eagles were coming off a two-set loss (25-22, 25-14) to Kansas City East Christian Academy and had even dropped the first set (25-23) in the final match of the triangular against host ...
Even before Tuesday’s match started, the energy inside the Free State gym was palpable. That energy propelled Free State volleyball to a 3-0 victory (25-17, 25-13, 25-20) over Lawrence High in the City Showdown. “It definitely helped build a lot of momentum, especially when we went on long ...
Free State junior kicker Joey Wood ran around the field with 1:45 left in the first half, seemingly in disbelief after the Firebirds recovered their own kickoff. They capitalized on the opportunity, too, with Free State senior quarterback Malik Berry finding senior wide receiver Tae Rainey for ...
Free State head coach Kevin Stewart remembers being perplexed the first time he saw film of running back Tyler Bowden. At the time, which was two years ago, Stewart was preparing for the state championship game as the defensive coordinator for Blue Valley North. He was watching film on Derby, ...
Even though it is October, a sudden drop into cooler weather made things a bit tricky at the Sunflower League girls tennis tournament Thursday. “Well, it’s definitely weird when I go to serve because I don’t have as much movement in my arms,” Lawrence High senior Lilli Derby said. ...
Free State’s volleyball team picked up a pair of wins at Shawnee Mission West Tuesday night. The Firebirds swept both of their opponents, taking down Shawnee Mission West (25-17, 25-14) and Olathe West (25-17, 25-14) on the night to stay on a roll. FSHS (16-9) has now won eight of its ...
It was another good week for Lawrence High junior running back Devin Neal. Neal received Athlete of the Week honors by 41 Action News before Tuesday’s practice following an impressive performance against Gardner Edgerton. Neal then netted a scholarship offer from Kansas State on Wednesday, ...
Free State football earned its second win a row, taking down Shawnee Mission West by a 44-28 margin Thursday night at Shawnee Mission South High School. Photos by Nick Krug/Lawrence Journal-World
After being set up by a big kickoff return from sophomore running back Dash Cleveland into Shawnee Mission West territory, Free State junior Tyler Bowden burst through the line for a 30-yard touchdown, his third of the night. The drive took just a minute and five seconds and proved to be ...
This time last week, Free State’s football team was still searching for its identity. After a 59-14 win over Shawnee Mission North in Week 3, FSHS has a better sense of what that might be — at least on the offensive side of the ball. The Firebirds (2-1) scored on nine consecutive ...
It was an especially long pregame routine for the Bishop Seabury boys soccer team. Due to transportation issues, Bonner Springs showed up 16 minutes late Tuesday afternoon at the Youth Sports Complex. The visiting team was then given its own warmup time, meaning the match didn’t start until ...
Free State sophomore Ben Shryock secured a first-place finish Saturday morning at the Baldwin City Golf Course. Shryock ran a time of 16:18.05 to place first in the varsity boys race, which featured multiple area athletes. Charles Johnson of FSHS finished third with a mark of 16:29.30, while ...