photo by: HENRY WILEY/Special to the Journal-World

Free State runs out holding an American flag against Gardner Edgerton at Free State High School in Lawrence on Friday, Sept. 18, 2026.

Facing adversity for the first time all season, Free State football is now looking to get back on track.

To do so, the Firebirds will have to respond to a 35-14 loss last week against Gardner Edgerton, a game in which head coach Kevin Stewart says was an “appropriate challenge” for his group.

“We were there, but we weren’t quite ready to meet that challenge,” Stewart said. “So, you know, this week it’s really just about starting back over and building back up.”

Free State’s Week 4 opponent is Shawnee Mission North. The Bison won just one game last season, but have already doubled that total in 2026 and are off to a 2-1 start. Much like Free State, however, Shawnee Mission North is coming off a loss last week, 63-28 to Shawnee Mission Northwest.

Much like last week, the Firebirds’ defense will have the task of having of going against a big and physical offensive line. What separates the Bison from the Trailblazers is their offensive scheme. Shawnee Mission North runs a spread offense, but shows a lot of different formations and wrinkles within its scheme that make it difficult for opposing defenses.

“They’re doing some things that if you’re not careful and you’re not watching, you might miss,” Stewart said. “They’re doing a lot of hard things that make it hard on us, but as I told the guys, we’ve got to basically just simplify our defense so we’re not really chasing ghosts.”

In having to face another strong O-Line, the biggest key for the Firebird defense will be to use its agility as an advantage. While junior defensive lineman James Kahungara can provide some knockback along the line of scrimmage, being gap-sound and disciplined defensively will be important.

“We’re going to have to use speed and, you know, do some different things,” Stewart said. “If you’re 200 pounds, and you’re going against a guy who’s 285, 290, it’s going to be hard to knock that guy back.”

Despite allowing 361 total yards last week, the Firebirds defense has impressed Stewart so far, and will have to have another good showing this week. Along with two-way stars Maddon Brittingham and Finn Moore, Mark Ke, Brandon Lutz, Donnie Krehbiel and Garrison Oatis have all been reliable pieces on defense.

Offensively, Free State struggled to run the ball last week, running for just 99 yards while passing for 124. A major key to that was Gardner Edgerton’s ability to take away the run, but getting back to the duo of Brittingham and Moore is an emphasis for the offense moving forward.

“That was the biggest frustration, quite honestly, we didn’t run as much as we probably needed to,” Stewart said. “There’s things that we just need to do a little bit better job of and finding our identity.”

The offense tried to work out some of these kinks in the second half last week, going to an empty backfield, which can neutralize a defense, but Stewart says that isn’t who the Firebirds want to be all the time.

Shawnee Mission North has a pair of defensive tackles in Noah Reid and Irving Bryant who have caused trouble for opposing offenses. Stewart said that is the strongest part of the Bison defense, so getting the ball outside could be integral for the Free State offense.

“That’s got to be a big time factor for us, I mean, if we can’t do that, then we’re going to be in trouble,” Stewart said. “We’ve got to be able to live on the edge a little bit, so to speak, and also, we’ve got to be able to throw the ball and I think we can.”

Shawnee Mission North’s offense will provide a challenge, so getting stops defensively and turning them into points on the offensive end is ultimately what Stewart thinks can determine a win or loss for Free State, who will look to improve to 3-1.

Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.