photo by: Sarah Buchanan/Special to the Journal-World

Free State senior wide receiver Bralin Preston catches the ball against Mill Valley High School on Friday, Sept. 20, 2024, in Shawnee.

Shawnee — Free State football went into the fourth quarter tied with Class 5A No. 1 Mill Valley on Friday night.

Early in the final quarter, though, the Jaguars took their first lead of the night, and for good, as multiple Free State chances came up short and the Firebirds lost 31-23.

Free State was led by stellar play from senior quarterback Boston Baker, who broke out in week three with 345 yards and two touchdown passes.

“He had some nice passes. He’s getting better, so definitely has improved each week,” head coach Kevin Stewart said.

Following an illegal procedure penalty before the first snap from scrimmage, Baker hit wide receiver Bralin Preston on a quick bubble screen, and Preston found a hole and took off for a 72-yard touchdown on the first play of the game.

After forcing a three-and-out, the Firebirds drove down the field once again in a more conservative manner. A pass interference call gave the Firebirds possession in Jaguar territory, and a few plays later, after Free State got held at the goal line, senior kicker Yusef Iskandrani nailed a 23-yard field goal to go up 10-0.

Free State forced Mill Valley to punt again for the second straight drive, but could not convert after starting at its own three-yard line. A good punt return and a facemask penalty gave Mill Valley great field position to start the second quarter.

Jaguar senior quarterback Connor Bohon scrambled on third-and-9, and punched his way into the end zone one play later to pull his squad back within three points.

Offense dominated the game in the first quarter, but the defenses for both teams took over early in the third. Following a Free State strong defensive stand, the Firebirds took over at its own 48-yard line.

On the first play of the Firebird drive, Baker found Preston on an out route for 48 yards. Two plays later, Baker hit Preston once again, this time in the end zone to put the Firebirds up 17-7.

It took Mill Valley two drives and just over seven minutes of game time to find a response, but with 24 seconds left in the second quarter, junior running back Reggie Reece capped off a 60-yard drive with a 2-yard touchdown run.

Baker and Preston continued to connect late in the half, setting up Iskandrani for a 54-yard field goal that fell just wide, with Free State clinging to a 17-14 lead at halftime.

“We had a nice big play there to start, and then the defense started out pretty well, but they didn’t really finish the first half,” Stewart said of his team’s first half performance. “(The defense) gave up a touchdown there at the end of the half and let them get right back into it.”

The beginning of the second half was a mirror image of the game’s opening drive. Following an offensive penalty ahead of the first play from scrimmage, Reece broke through a huge gap on his way to a 60-yard run to put the Jaguars well into Firebird territory.

However, unlike that opening drive, on which Free State had scored in one play, the defense of the Firebirds held strong, forcing a Mill Valley field goal to tie the game at 17 early in the third quarter.

The remainder of the third quarter was a defensive battle. Then, to open the fourth, facing third-and-long, Bohon found senior wide receiver Desmon Williams for 35 yards. Mill Valley took its first lead of the game a few plays later when Bohon hit senior receiver Ben Watts for an 8-yard touchdown.

On the first play of the ensuing drive, Free State dialed up another bubble screen, this time for sophomore receiver Maddon Brittingham for a 52-yard reception. Free State could not find the end zone, but pulled within four points on a 32-yard field goal from Iskandrani with 7:38 on the game clock.

Facing fourth-and-11 with three minutes to play, Free State elected to go for it deep in its own territory. Baker rolled out right, but couldn’t find an open receiver, giving the ball back to Mill Valley.

“We’re down four, so we got to get a touchdown no matter what,” Stewart said of the decision to go for it on fourth-and-long. “And the flip side is, we got to hold them to a three-and-out no matter what, because if not, the clock’s going to run out.”

It took the Jaguars just three plays, all designed runs for Reece, to power into the end zone and stretch the lead out to 11 late in the fourth.

Free State drove down the field with less than 90 seconds to play, settling for an Iskandrani 42-yard field goal with 19 seconds left to cut the deficit to eight.

The Firebirds attempted an onside kick to get the ball back as time was winding down, but the Jaguars recovered and escaped their home stadium with the comeback win.

Game stats

Free State 23, Mill Valley 31

FS | MV

First downs 14 | 18

Rushes-yards 12-17 | 44-243

Passing yards 345 | 133

Total offense 362 | 476

Fumbles-lost 0-0 | 1-0

Interceptions 0 | 0

Penalty yards 11-100 | 11-80

Score by quarters

Free State 10 7 0 6 – 23

Mill Valley 0 14 3 14 – 31

How they scored

First quarter

11:42 – Boston Baker 72-yard pass to Bralin Preston. Yusef Iskandrani kick is good. (FS 7 MV 0)

4:55 – Iskandrani 23-yard field goal. (FS 10 MV 0)

Second quarter

10:40 – Connor Bohon 1-yard run. Aiden Standley kick is good. (FS 10 MV 7)

7:55 – Baker 3-yard pass to Preston. Iskandrani kick is good. (FS 17 MV 7)

0:24 – Reggie Reece 2-yard run. Standley kick is good. (FS 17 MV 14)

Third quarter

9:33 – Standley 33-yard field goal. (FS 17 MV 17)

Fourth quarter

9:44 – Bohon 8-yard pass to Andy Watts. Standley kick is good. (FS 17 MV 24)

7:38 – Iskandrani 32-yard field goal is good. (FS 20 MV 24)

1:32 – Reece 3-yard run. Standlin kick is good. (FS 20 MV 31)

0:24 – Iskandrani 42-yard kick is good. (FS 23 MV 31)

Individual statistics

Rushing:

FS: Boston Baker 4-7; Ryan Weishaar 4-11; Noah Simpson 3-(-1)

MVHS: Reggie Reece 27-163; Connor Bohon 13-53; Andy Watts 2-21; Blake Jay 2-6

Passing:

FS: Boston Baker 29-45-345

MVHS: Connor Bohon 10-23-133

Receiving:

FS: Bralin Preston 14-189; Landon Leipold 7-53; Maddon Brittingham 3-75; Ryan Weishaar 1-7; Liam Stramberg 3-16; Noah Simpson 1-5

MVHS: Andy Watts 6-61; Isaiah Fischer 1-20; Desmon Williams 3-52

photo by: Sarah Buchanan/Special to the Journal-World

Free State senior receiver Bralin Preston catches the ball in the fourth quarter against Mill Valley on Friday, Sept. 20, 2024, in Shawnee.

photo by: Sarah Buchanan/Special to the Journal-World

Free State senior quarterback Boston Baker throws the ball against Mill Valley on Friday, Sept. 20, 2024, in Shawnee.

photo by: Sarah Buchanan/Special to the Journal-World

Free State senior quarterback Boston Baker runs the ball against Mill Valley on Friday, Sept. 20, 2024, in Shawnee.

photo by: Sarah Buchanan/Special to the Journal-World

Free State senior Noah Simpson tackles a Mill Valley player in the third quarter on Friday, Sept. 20, 2024, in Shawnee.

photo by: Sarah Buchanan/Special to the Journal-World

Free State senior quarterback Boston Baker throws the ball against Mill Valley on Friday, Sept. 20, 2024, in Shawnee.

photo by: Sarah Buchanan/Special to the Journal-World

Free State senior linebacker Crow Bengoa tackles a Mill Valley offensive player on Friday, Sept. 20, 2024, in Shawnee.

photo by: Sarah Buchanan/Special to the Journal-World

Free State senior running back Noah Simpson celebrates after scoring a touchdown against Mill Valley on Friday, Sept. 20, 2024, in Shawnee.

photo by: Sarah Buchanan/Special to the Journal-World

Free State linebacker Parker Moore tackles a Mill Valley offensive player on Friday, Sept. 20, 2024, in Shawnee.

photo by: Sarah Buchanan/Special to the Journal-World

Free State senior quarterback Boston Baker throws the ball against Mill Valley on Friday, Sept. 20, 2024, in Shawnee.

photo by: Sarah Buchanan/Special to the Journal-World

Free State senior quarterback Boston Baker throws the ball against Mill Valley on Friday, Sept. 20, 2024, in Shawnee.

photo by: Sarah Buchanan/Special to the Journal-World

Free State senior wide receiver Bralin Preston celebrates after scoring the first touchdown of the evening against Mill Valley on Friday, Sept. 20, 2024, in Shawnee.