photo by: Parker I. Johnson/Special to the Journal-World

Free State quarterback Finn Moore (8) runs forward on Thursday, Sept. 10, 2026 at Blue Valley District Athletic Complex ANT-DAC in Overland Park.

Headline: Free State football cruises to 38-20 statement win at Blue Valley West

OVERLAND PARK – Free State football scored just over three minutes into Thursday night’s game and never looked back, defeating Blue Valley West 38-20 at the Blue Valley District Athletic Complex (ANT-DAC).

“That was a great game for us,” head coach Kevin Stewart said. “We started out hot, and that really helped us.”

The win moves Free State to 2-0 on the season, but even more importantly, it was a statement win to put the rest of Class 6A on notice.

“We knew we were a better team than how people were treating us,” junior offensive lineman Reece Wilmes said. “We have great team bonding, I know we’re better than what people say, but it’s just a great momentum builder to start 2-0.”

Wilmes, the team’s left tackle, was the anchor for the Firebird offensive line that allowed the team to rush for 269 yards on 44 carries. Senior quarterback Finn Moore led the attack with 194 rushing yards, while senior running back Maddon Brittingham added 60 yards on 16 carries.

“Having a guy like Reece, you know, we just have all our trust in him and our whole line,” Moore said. “They’re young for sure, but everyone’s kind of just feeding off each other.”

Free State received the opening kickoff and found itself in Blue Valley West on the second play after Moore connected with sophomore wide receiver Packson McDaniel for a 38-yard gain. After another first down on a run by Moore inside the red zone, Brittingham found the end zone less than three minutes in on a 6-yard rush.

Jaguar quarterback Michael Baum picked up 23 yards with his legs on the fourth play of the ensuing drive, but a few stands by the Firebirds’ defensive line and an incompletion prompted a 39-yard field goal by the Jaguars’ Hunter Horner.

A holding penalty on the kickoff return forced Free State to begin its second drive at the 10-yard line, but Moore quickly moved the ball with a 10-yard first-down run. After finding senior wide receiver Alijah Beckum for an 11-yard gain on third-and-8, Moore hooked up with Brittingham through the air for a 62-yard touchdown.

“The O-line gave me a ton of time tonight every play,” he said, “and you know, it’s awesome having great athletes like Maddon and all our receivers around him.”

Blue Valley West once again drove down the field and picked up three first downs before Baum dropped the snap on third-and-3 as Free State’s Mark Ke scooped up the fumble and returned it to the opposing 46-yard line.

“That was great,” Stewart said. “I think our guys are just playing fast and creating a little chaos right now, and when you create chaos like that, the (opposing) offense, they just make mistakes.”

The turnover set up a four-play drive as sophomore quarterback Rohan Patel found Brittingham for a 40-yard reception before the Air Force commit’s third score of the game on a 3-yard rush.

Free State’s defense quickly forced a three-and-out before embarking on a drive that lasted over eight minutes. The offense came up empty-handed, however, as Moore’s pass to Brittingham on fourth-and-7 at the Blue Valley West 13-yard line was ruled incomplete.

With over a minute remaining before halftime, the Jaguars drove down the field as Baum threw for 34 yards on the drive and rushed for another 42 before a pass breakup by Michael Harrison on the final play of the half sent the Firebirds to the locker room with an 18-point advantage.

“I saw (the receiver) across the field, and I saw the quarterback’s eyes, and I just went to go get it,” Harrison said. “That was a great momentum boost for everybody going into the half, and like everybody’s energy was ready and pumped for the second half.”

In the opening half, Moore completed three passes on seven attempts for 111 yards and rushed for an additional 58, while Brittingham ran for 25 yards and caught two passes for 102 yards along with his three touchdowns.

Stewart put the onus on his senior leaders not only to help the team to victory, but to also step up off the field throughout the week.

“You can see how good they are,” Stewart said. “They’re just really good high school football players, and they’re strong kids, they’re smart kids, and they take care of their teammates.”

Blue Valley West opened the second half with an up-tempo offense, picking up multiple first downs before a holding call ruined the momentum, and Jude Dowdle came up with a pass breakup on fourth down to give the ball back to the offense.

Moore picked up a first down on an ensuing third-and-4 with an 8-yard run, and on the next play, found McDaniel on a 12-yard reception, and the offense got an additional 15 yards after a late hit. Following the penalty, Moore found the end zone with a 28-yard carry to extend the lead to 25.

After an opportunistic return gave Blue Valley West the ball at its 47-yard line, it took six plays for the home team to find the end zone for the first time as Baum hit Jett Nagy for a 32-yard score on fourth-and-9.

The Firebirds turned the ball over for the first time after Rohan Patel was intercepted by RJ Huffman, but a 23-yard loss on second down forced the Jaguars to settle for a 42-yard field goal.

With a chance to extend the lead back to three scores, Moore found space on third down with a 55-yard run down to the Blue Valley West 12-yard line. The Firebirds picked up nearly 10 yards over the next three plays before a false start on fourth down forced a 24-yard field goal by Kimzey.

The Jaguars’ passing game was on full display, picking up two gains of 13 yards, a 9-yard catch and a 16-yard completion to move comfortably into Free State territory. After an incompletion on third-and-goal, Baum found Braiden Cross for a 7-yard touchdown with 6:06 remaining in the game.

After recovering the onside kick near midfield, the Firebirds embarked on an eight-play drive that took 5:15 off the clock, resulting in a 2-yard touchdown run by Moore to put the game on ice.

Free State will return back to Lawrence for the first of three consecutive home games, hosting Gardner Edgerton next Friday at 7 p.m.

“We just got to be our team again,” Wilmes said. “We had great team camaraderie this week, and we just got to build off it next week. This week, we expected ourselves to win the game, so it’s just a matter of ‘want-to’ next week.”

Score by quarter

Free State 14 7 7 10 – 38

Blue Valley West 3 0 10 7 – 20

How they scored

First quarter

9:26 – Maddon Brittingham 6-yard run. AJ Kimzey PAT good. FS 7, BVW 0.

6:28 – Hunter Horner 39-yard field goal. FS 7, BVW 3.

4:08 – Brittingham 62-yard pass from Finn Moore. Kimzey PAT good. FS 14, BVW 3.

Second quarter

11:22 – Brittingham 3-yard run. Kimzey PAT good. FS 21, BVW 3.

Third quarter

6:26 – Moore 28-yard run. Kimzey PAT good. FS 28, BVW 3.

4:51 – Jett Nagy 32-yard pass from Michael Baum. Horner PAT good. FS 28, BVW 10.

0:54 – Horner 42-yard field goal. FS 28, BVW 13.

Fourth quarter

9:25 – Kimzey 24-yard field goal. FS 31, BVW 13.

6:06 – Braiden Cross 7-yard pass from Baum. Horner PAT good. FS 31, BVW 20.

0:51 – Moore 2-yard run. Kimzey PAT good. FS 38, BVW 20.