photo by: Carter Gaskins/Special to the Journal-World

Free State's Hyrum Vaeono (55) celebrates a sack against Olathe North with teammates Tyler Jeffries (35) and Parker Moore (8) Friday, Oct. 20, 2023, at Free State High School.

On an average pass play in football, the offensive line creates a C-shaped pocket around the quarterback, with the interior linemen blocking one to two defensive tackles, and the offensive tackles ensuring the edge rushers don’t get around them. If an edge rusher starts to get a step on an offensive tackle, the quarterback can step up into the pocket and evade the rush.

Pretty simple. But it gets a whole lot more complicated when a defensive lineman can generate a pass rush from the inside. Quarterbacks can’t step up because they are likely to run into some of the largest players on the defense. If they stay at the back of the pocket, an edge rusher can have an easier time getting a sack.

That’s what makes Free State’s rising senior Hyrum Vaeono so valuable. The defensive tackle and nose guard is a pass-rush specialist on the interior. Opposing quarterbacks have a harder time avoiding a sack when they don’t have the space to step up due to Vaeono pushing the interior linemen backward or getting past the linemen altogether. It was a big part of the team’s defensive success in 2023 and helped him accumulated 42 tackles, seven tackles for loss and two sacks.

Rushing the passer was already his specialty, but this year he thinks it’ll be even better. Vaeono dropped 20 pounds, going from a 310-pound playing weight to 290 right now. Despite the weight loss, Vaeono is hitting better marks in the weight room, so not only will he be faster and more agile against offensive linemen, but he thinks he can be even stronger than he was at his higher weight.

“I feel like I could always move faster than the O-line,” Vaeono said. “If I get past you, I’m getting your quarterback.

“In the weight room, I’m a lot stronger than the numbers I was putting up when I was 300, 310 pounds. So in the run game, I think I’ll be fine. In terms of pass rush, I can move so much better. I’m not three, four plays and I’m gassed — I can just go. I’ll be able to go a whole drive and not be gassed.”

Vaeono has played on the defensive line since starting his football career in second grade. Around fifth grade, he started putting on more weight and moved from defensive end to defensive tackle. At first, he said it was an adjustment. In his youth league days, he remembers getting pushed around by some of the offensive linemen.

Once he got to Free State, Vaeono worked with coaches on his hands. Hand placement and combat is a significant technical part of the position. It has changed how he can use his athleticism and speed to get around the linemen, and it’s turned him into the pass rusher he is now.

“My coaches taught me a lot through my sophomore year when I started playing varsity, then this past year it really changed a lot,” Vaeono said.

This is a big season for the big man up front. Vaeono has a scholarship offer from Illinois State University, a Division I Football Championship Subdivision team in the Missouri Valley Conference, which holds FCS powerhouse teams like South Dakota State and North Dakota State. But Vaeono is hoping that a strong senior year can push him toward an offer from some Football Bowl Subdivision teams.

The Firebirds return six starters, including Vaeono, on defense. The junior class last year made a strong impact for a team whose strength was defense. The team allowed about 17 points per game and held Manhattan to 21 points in the regional playoff round, which was Manhattan’s lowest in two years.

This early season will be a tough challenge for the Firebirds. After a home game against Shawnee Mission East, the Firebirds will play on the road against Manhattan, then against last year’s 5A state champion Mill Valley.

Free State will rely on its defense as the offense gets more comfortable with senior Boston Baker becoming the team’s starting quarterback. It’ll be especially advantageous for the Firebirds to have a defense that puts the offense in good field position this year.

“I feel like I’ll be ready, especially physically,” Vaeono said. “I’ll definitely be able to do better than I did last year. I’m ready to take that last season with my hometown teammates, hopefully all the way.”