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

Free State's Finn Moore (18) is tossed up by teammate Lawson Brunghardt (71) after scoring a touchdown against Olathe Northwest on Friday, Sept. 27, 2024, in Lawrence.

Free State football will hit the road for the final time in the regular season, taking on the Shawnee Mission North Bison Thursday night. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. at Shawnee Mission North.

Coming off of a 30-13 win over Olathe West last Friday, the Firebirds (3-2) enter short-handed with the injury of senior quarterback Boston Baker. Baker suffered a broken wrist during the third quarter, meaning the Firebirds will turn to sophomore quarterback Finn Moore.

“Boston is out this week, and so we will see if he can come back next week or not, but he’s definitely out this week,” head coach Kevin Stewart said.

On the season, Moore has rushed for 84 yards and two touchdowns and is 0-for-1 passing. Moore presents a rushing threat and has shown success in option looks. Even without Baker, and with the different looks Moore presents, the Firebird offense will still look to be balanced in both the pass and run games.

“We’re going to plan on doing our normal stuff, throwing the ball, running the ball,” Stewart said. “We feel like Finn is ready to go, he’s confident, he knows what to do, so we’re going to look to just kind of keep running what we’ve been running.”

Free State is coming off of two straight victories following a 1-2 start to the season.

“I think our guys are confident, but I think that they’re also a little bit uncertain about who’s gonna step up and who’s gonna do what and things like that. It’s just a matter of getting the next guy up and ready to go,” Stewart said.

The Bison (1-4) lost 41-7 to Olathe South last Friday. Despite experiencing offensive struggles all season, the Bison still hold offensive weapons that can change the game at any time.

One of these threats is senior running back Jeremiah Looney. Looney is a dynamic back with a quick burst who can make plays with both his rushing and receiving abilities.

“He is absolutely a terrific athlete. He runs, he catches, he’s fast, he can move and juke and he’s a very, very good player,” Stewart said. “We need to really know where he’s at, at all times.”

Because of the changes on offense, Stewart knows that the defense needs to continue to be the strength of the team, especially this week. On the season, the Free State defense has allowed 19.8 points per game and will need another stellar effort to take the pressure off of the offense.

“Our defense better show up and have a great game because offensively with all the changes we’ve had, and it’s a short week, our offense is gonna have challenges,” Stewart said. “The defense, I’m really expecting them to step up and hopefully, you know, set the field position up for us.”

With the home stretch approaching for the Firebirds, despite changes on the field, they know that they still control their own destiny in the final three weeks of the regular season.

“It’s going to be determined by how well we play,” Stewart said. “For us, it’s really about our team and controlling what we can control and working hard every day and trying to get better at football.”