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

Free State senior Garrison Oatis celebrates a tackle for a loss against Dodge City during the first round of the playoffs on Friday, Oct. 30, 2026, at Free State High School.

Playoff wins are difficult to come by, and when they do occur, they typically give a team an extra jolt of momentum.

Free State football has felt the full effects of that boost after a 27-7 win over Dodge City last week behind a stout defensive effort that featured two takeaways.

“I think our defense is better than the points have indicated,” head coach Kevin Stewart said. “I think last week we did what we were supposed to do… We’re seeing when we’re the better team, our defense does pretty dang well, and when we’re a little outmatched, that’s when it comes (down to) all the little details.”

This week, a much more daunting task awaits Stewart’s group as the No. 8-seeded Firebirds travel to Derby on Friday to take on the top-seeded Panthers in the Regional round of the Class 6A playoffs.

“They are a very good high school football team with the guys that they have,” Stewart said. “They are about football, you can tell. They are focused on football, and they work hard, and they’re tough guys.”

Derby (9-0) has hardly been challenged on the scoreboard, winning every game by at least 21 points, including a 64-0 win last week against Wichita North in which the offense only gained 330 yards.

A lot of the Panthers’ success has come from their defense, which is first in Class 6A, allowing just 10.7 points per game while forcing 15 turnovers. The Panthers have also collected 16 sacks and 53 tackles for loss this season.

“I think that benefits their offense greatly,” Stewart said. “Their defense makes it more challenging for (opponents) to win the game… They do a good job (and) give great effort.”

The Panthers have had some injuries along the defensive line, but that hasn’t affected the unit at all, which still finds ways to create havoc in the backfield and challenge opposing offenses.

Much like all season, this puts great emphasis on the Firebirds’ offensive line to protect quarterback Packson McDaniel and allow for the running game to get going. Last week, Free State rushed for 250 yards, and the line isn’t lacking in confidence this week even against one of the state’s most talented defenses.

“I’ve been very happy with our offensive line and their efforts,” Stewart said. “They’re probably going to go at it just like any other game of, hey, let’s go at them and block them and do our best.”

Derby also has a strong secondary, which could challenge the Free State passing game, but the Firebirds will still look to use the speed of players like Alijah Beckum, Harrison Leiszler and Maddon Brittingham to have success downfield.

The Panthers’ offense is also exemplary, averaging 44.8 points a contest. Much like the Firebirds, it starts in the running game for Derby, specifically with athlete Davon Morrison.

Morrison, a senior, has spent time at wide receiver throughout his career but has become the team’s leading rusher as Derby has been without South Dakota commit Arieus Finley Jr., who has only played in two games due to injuries.

This season, Morrison, who runs a 4.3-second 40-yard dash, has rushed for 1,224 yards with 24 touchdowns, averaging 9.3 yards per attempt.

“He’s definitely fast, probably the fastest guy we’ve seen all year,” Stewart said. “They give him the ball in a variety of ways… We have to do a really good job of containing him and team-tackling him because he’s a guy that we can be in the right spot and do our job, and do what the coaches tell you to do, but he might still get some yards because he’s fast.”

For the rest of the offense, quarterback Blade Clark, son of Derby coach Brandon Clark, has rushed for 500 yards on his own while passing for 1,178. Schematically, the Panthers run a similar offense to Lawrence, which Free State faced two weeks ago, but have a plethora of dangerous weapons on the outside that make it difficult to stop one person in particular.

“The challenge is more at, you know, execution and the athleticism they bring, and trying to defend everything,” Stewart said. “I think our guys will feel more confident lining up against the scheme; now the question is, ‘Are we good enough to defend their guys?'”

Free State has hung around with the best teams in the state all year, and Stewart expects Friday to be no different. What challenged the Firebirds in the losses to Gardner Edgerton, Mill Valley and even Lawrence is that a few plays went against the Firebirds, allowing their opponents to pull away in the second half.

Minimizing these mistakes and making plays of its own, Stewart says, will be an important factor in pulling off the upset.

“We have got to be able to turn the game, and you know, make plays to build some momentum on our end,” Stewart said. “We haven’t had the plays go our way, and then, when those plays haven’t gone our way, we haven’t really had the ability to flip the momentum and bring it back.

“The defense is going (to have) to play really, really well, and then make some plays where maybe the call goes our way.”

Kickoff from Panther Stadium is scheduled for 7 p.m.