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

Free State senior Jerred Willits flies down the field during the Firebirds regular season home finale against Shawnee Mission East on Friday, Oct. 15, 2021.

The Free State High football team used both its speed and power to overtake Shawnee Mission East, 33-7, at FSHS on Friday night.

On the Firebirds’ senior night, Free State climbed out an early 7-0 hole and scored 33 unanswered points to take down the Lancers (2-5) in front of a packed stadium.

The Firebirds (6-1) were led by senior quarterback Jet Dineen’s 156 rushing yards, compared to the Lancers’ 66 yards rushing as a team.

“Defense played really well,” FSHS head coach Kevin Stewart said. “Offensively, did some OK things at times. We made too many mistakes and had negative plays offensively.”

Despite being the underdogs, the Lancers started the night fired up and determined to put pressure on the Firebirds early. After each team came up empty on its first possession, SME blocked a Free State punt, putting the Lancers in business inside of the Firebirds’ 10-yard line. SME would take advantage a few plays later, with a 6-yard touchdown pass from senior quarterback Parker Leise to senior running back Ryan Ward.

The Free State offense remained quiet for most of the opening minutes, only picking up one first down for the majority of the first quarter. However, the momentum changed with one play. On third-and-16, Dineen found a hole in the middle of the field and took off for a long run, making it all the way to the end zone for a 60-yard touchdown.

Free State took advantage of a fourth down stop by its defense, giving the ball back to Dineen and the offense. On that drive, the Firebirds cashed in with a 3-yard TD run by Dineen, taking the lead, 13-7, midway into the second quarter.

“The defense was kind of lights out the rest of the way,” Stewart said. “Offensively we have been able to rely on the big plays and Jet making a lot of big plays for us.”

For the rest of the second quarter, it was the home team that controlled the pace of the game. Free State’s defense put pressure on the Lancers, forcing Leise to make tough passes that resulted in incompletions.

The Firebirds scored once more before halftime, as Dineen threw a screen pass to senior receiver Jerred Willits, who took it the rest of the way for a 61-yard score heading into halftime.

To start the third quarter, Free State added to its run, scoring on the opening drive of the second half. After getting a couple of first downs, Dineen showcased his arm once again, this time finding senior receiver Jordan Brown for a 16-yard touchdown, giving the Firebirds a 26-7 lead.

The Lancers made a late push in the third quarter after a fumble on a punt return by the Firebirds. That momentum was short-lived for the Lancers, though, despite the promising drive. A 33-yard field goal was no good and the Firebirds took over at their own 20.

From there, the Firebirds were able to work down the clock, and despite turning it over on downs, it was too late for the Lancers to make another comeback attempt. A pick-six by Cooper Jackson put the icing on the cake for Free State, capping off the score at 33-7.

The Firebirds now look toward the City Showdown at Lawrence High next Friday at 7 p.m.

“We’ve got a lot of season left and we’ve got some good opponents left,” Stewart said. “The Lawrence high game, one, refocuses the guys. And, two, if we were to win next week we would be the league champions outright. There is going to be a lot at stake.”

GAME STATS

Free State 33, SM East 7

FS | SME

First downs 13 | 10

Rushes-yards 40-239 | 28-66

Passing yards 136 | 44

Total offense 375 | 110

Fumbles-lost 2-2 | 2-2

Interceptions 0 | 2

Penalties-yards 7-50 | 5-23

Score by quarters

SM East 7 0 0 0 – 7

Free State 7 12 7 7 – 33

Individual statistics

Rushing

SME: Ryan Ward 16-53; Parker Leise 9-14; Breck McGuire 3- -1

FS: Jet Dineen 18-156; Dash Cleveland 14-66; Tay Ware 4-4; Dylan Farrel 3-8; Madison Clark 1-5

Passing

SME: Parker Leise 7-26-39; George Kopp 1-3-5

FS: Jet Dineen 8-14-136

Receiving

SME: Andres Driver 4-23; Ethan Curran 2-9; Rhett Wallace 1-6; Ryan Ward 1-6

FS: Jerred Willits 2-83; Jordan Brown 3-32; Jake Patchen 1-12 Emmanuel Epelle 1-9; Dash Cleveland 1-0

HOW THEY SCORED

First quarter

7:07 – Ryan Ward 6 yard touchdown from Parker Leise. Henry Anderson kick good. (SME 7 FS 0)

1:17 – Jet Dineen 60 yard touchdown run. Adam Coup kick good. (SME 7 FS 7)

Second quarter

6:58 – Dineen 3 yard run. Coup kick no good. (FS 13 SME 7)

2:52 – Jerred Willits 61 yard pass from Dineen. Coup kick no good. (FS 19 SME 7)

Third quarter

7:45 – Jordan Brown 16 yard pass from Dineen. Coup kick good, (FS 26 SME 7)

Fourth quarter

4:09 – Dash Cleveland 1 yard run. Coup kick good. (FS 33 SME 7)