photo by: David Rodish/Journal-World

Free State celebrates a touchdown from senior Mallary Hice, middle, in a 13-12 loss to Maize South on Saturday, Oct. 10, 2026, in Lawrence.

Free State flag football’s first official season concluded on Saturday with a 13-12 regional championship loss to Maize South.

The Firebirds went 9-1 in the regular season, setting themselves up as the No. 3 seed with regional hosting duties. Free State dominated its first regional game with a 53-0 win over Wichita Southeast, but a couple of PATs in the regional championship ended the Firebirds’ season.

“I’m so dang proud of these guys, especially the seniors,” Free State coach Adam Barmann said. “Starting last year from club to this year being our first year, their leadership is what got us to this point.”

Free State started fast in its first game against Wichita Southeast, scoring a touchdown in the first 30 seconds while forcing a three-and-out on defense.

After that, the Firebirds had some offensive struggles in the red zone. Sophomore quarterback Quinlynn Vail was sacked on a fourth down, and the Firebirds were stuffed on a fourth-down run in the red zone on their next trip. Barmann attributed the Firebirds’ two scoreless red zone trips to some early nerves.

“When you get into these playoff situations where you’re one-and-done, everybody knows it,” Barmann said. “We were a little tight early, but we settled down nicely.”

The good news was that Free State’s defense forced a quick punt from Wichita Southeast every drive. Senior Sarai Preston intercepted a pass and took it back to the house to give Free State a 13-0 lead. Once the Firebirds scored on defense, the offense was consistent the rest of the way, scoring on every drive until the end of the game.

Vail threw to Zay Jones in the back of the end zone to go up three scores, but a second missed PAT kept the Firebirds at a 19-0 lead.

The Firebirds scored twice in the final three minutes of the first half. Vail hit Preston on a corner route and found Jones for the PAT. With 48 seconds remaining, the duo did it again, giving Free State a 32-0 lead at halftime.

“Sarai is a great player, and so is Quin,” Barmann said. “We’re going to try to take advantage of our playmakers. When we get her one-on-one, we always feel that’s an advantage for us.”

On the first drive of the second half, Vail hit senior Mallary Hice on a go route up the home sideline, which put Free State up 39-0. Following a Golden Buffalo punt, Vail and Preston connected on another touchdown. While the corner route was working, Vail hit Preston for a short gain on an out route that Preston turned into a long touchdown by running through flag-pull attempts.

Free State senior Aedri Grooms took over at quarterback for the final two drives and still found success. She hit freshman Gianna March several times over the middle of the field, once to move the chains on third-and-long and again for a touchdown.

Wichita Southeast punted and the Firebirds drained the clock on their final drive before punting for the first time in the game. The Golden Buffaloes finished the game with the ball in their hands but failed to get in the end zone.

The win put Free State in the regional championship against Maize South after the Mavericks beat Wichita East following Free State’s first game.

The championship featured two stout defenses, and both were consistently making plays with sacks and pass breakups. The Firebirds took advantage of some weak flag-pull attempts in the semifinal game, but those didn’t happen often in the championship.

Free State started with the football but punted. In fact, both teams punted on their first two drives. Free State’s third drive didn’t end with any points, though, as a turnover on downs 25 yards from the end zone gave the ball back to the Mavericks.

Maize South got in Free State territory for the first time on the following drive and took the ball all the way with a touchdown early in the second quarter to take a 7-0 lead.

Free State needed an offensive spark and got one from Preston on another corner-route reception, but a turnover on downs in the red zone gave the ball back to the Mavericks. Maize South punted, giving Free State one last drive in the first half.

The Firebirds turned it into points, starting on a big punt return from sophomore Layla Hafoka. A third-down penalty aided the Firebirds and Vail hit Preston for a touchdown with 13 seconds on the clock. The Firebirds were unsuccessful on the PAT, which ultimately proved to be the difference in the game.

“These tight games, it always comes down to one or two plays,” Barmann said. “A couple plays I thought we had the opportunity to make, but we didn’t. Credit to (Maize South), they did, and that’s the difference in the game.”

Maize South got the ball out of halftime and methodically drove the ball downfield, ending the drive with a quarterback power run up the middle of the defense for a score. A failed PAT attempt kept the Firebirds within seven points.

Free State’s next drive nearly ended quickly as the Firebirds faced fourth down before picking up their first first down. But a conversion there gave the offense some breathing room, and Vail proceeded to hit Hice on another deep route that Hice took into the end zone. Free State failed to convert the PAT and left the drive down 13-12.

The next two drives ended in punts, and the two after that finished with turnovers on downs. Hice forced the Maize South turnover with a fourth-down flag pull a few yards in front of the first-down marker, but the Firebirds were unable to punch the ball in after a penalty backed the team up.

The Mavericks got the ball back with three minutes remaining but turned it over themselves in the red zone with 1:21 on the clock. The Firebirds moved the ball past midfield, but had a hard time getting the offense under control with no timeouts. Vail’s Hail Mary throw to Preston in the end zone as time expired fell incomplete, giving the Mavericks the win.

“We left a few plays on the field that we don’t typically leave out there,” Barmann said. “In these games, that’s the difference.”

Free State has a lot of production returning, but the Firebirds will graduate 10 seniors who have helped turn the program from a club team to a playoff-level football team.

“They’ve been incredible,” Barmann said. “Each one of them deserves credit. Being here everyday, working with positive attitudes, they’ve built a foundation. We’ve just got to get this thing over the hump.”