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

Head coach Kevin Stewart gives the Free State players direction during a timeout against Olathe South on Friday, Oct. 3, 2025, in Olathe.

Free State football (4-1) is back on the road for the second straight week, taking on Shawnee Mission South on Thursday at Shawnee Mission District Stadium, with kickoff set for 7 p.m.

Thursday’s contest is the first time this season the Firebirds have to deal with a shortened week, and while head coach Kevin Stewart typically enjoys playing on Thursday, this week is different, as the program is facing internal challenges.

“It gives you a little bit more time on the back end to have a little bit of a break, so it’s kind of nice to play a short week,” Stewart said. “But this week has not really been easy. We’ve had a lot of changes, (and) we’ve got some injuries going on.”

The Raiders have struggled to win games consistently in recent years, winning just one game in each of the previous four seasons.

Through five weeks of this season, however, fifth-year head coach Nick Foster has turned around the program and led the team to its winningest season since 2018, currently holding a 3-2 record. Most recently, Shawnee Mission South is coming off a thrilling 29-28 win over Olathe East, which Free State defeated the week prior.

“He’s definitely done a better job getting players to come out or developing players or finding some players, because they have some guys who are pretty athletic,” Stewart said about Foster. “He’s definitely done a nice job getting them developed, and they look like they have a formidable team; they’re pretty good.”

Offensively, the Raiders are averaging 25 points per game, led by the play of senior quarterback Solomon Hirsch. Hirsch is a true dual-threat quarterback who has made it difficult for opposing defenses to contain. Two games ago, in the Raiders’ Week 4 win over Shawnee Mission West, Hirsch threw for 236 yards and three touchdowns, and rushed for an additional 71 yards.

“He gets rid of the ball quick (and) on time,” Stewart said. “When he doesn’t throw on time, he likes to scramble, and he’s quick enough that he can get out of there. He’s definitely a little bit of a challenge for us.”

Shawnee Mission South’s passing game is also effective with a talented receiving group, including tight end Drake DeBaun, an Iowa State commit and three-star prospect according to 247Sports.

Stewart says the most difficult part of defending DeBaun is his size, standing at 6-foot-6, as well as his strength, which will be a challenge for the Free State secondary.

“When you got a guy that you can throw a jump ball to, somebody’s got to be able to go up with him and knock the ball out,” Stewart said. “I think our guys can cover him, it’s just when they get there, can they defend him? He plays basketball too, (so) a lot of times, he’ll just get big, box guys out and use his body.”

The Raiders’ defense poses an unusual challenge for the Firebirds’ offense. In Stewart’s own words, the Raiders play an “unconventional” style of defense at the high school level, characterized by a lot of blitzing and varied defensive fronts, incorporating twisting actions.

These looks will test Free State’s offensive line, which Stewart has said throughout the season is the team’s strongest overall unit.

“We’re hoping that all the blitzing and twisting doesn’t neutralize our strength, cause that can kind of be a hard thing for offensive linemen,” Stewart said. “We’ve really just been trying to work on our guys staying on their path and trusting their assignment.”

Shawnee Mission South’s defensive style does allow for big plays downfield; it’s just a matter of being able to exploit the openings that are provided.

“If we can take advantage of their secondary, then that’s really going to neutralize all that stuff upfront,” Stewart said.

Junior quarterback Finn Moore has shown the ability to throw the ball for big plays, completing a 91-yard pass in the team’s Week 3 win over Shawnee Mission West. Last week, Moore completed 4 of 5 passes, racking up 90 yards through the air, including a long pass of 50 yards.

“As a passer, he gets better every week. He’s really showing us how good of a football player he is,” Stewart said. “As long as he’s out there, we have a chance to win.”

With injuries starting to affect the team, which already lacks depth at certain positions, the message Stewart has for his team is to be consistent and stay calm, even if the game doesn’t go to perfection.

“I told the guys (Tuesday) that this is the kind of game that we have to have composure because it’s a short week, it’s a Thursday game, we don’t really know what’s going to happen,” Stewart said.

Last season, the Firebirds escaped Shawnee Mission North with a 24-21 win during a Week 6 Thursday night game, so Stewart and his team are familiar with just how difficult this type of game can be.