It was another good week for Lawrence High junior running back Devin Neal. Neal received Athlete of the Week honors by 41 Action News before Tuesday’s practice following an impressive performance against Gardner Edgerton. Neal then netted a scholarship offer from Kansas State on Wednesday, ...
Free State football earned its second win a row, taking down Shawnee Mission West by a 44-28 margin Thursday night at Shawnee Mission South High School. Photos by Nick Krug/Lawrence Journal-World
After being set up by a big kickoff return from sophomore running back Dash Cleveland into Shawnee Mission West territory, Free State junior Tyler Bowden burst through the line for a 30-yard touchdown, his third of the night. The drive took just a minute and five seconds and proved to be ...
This time last week, Free State’s football team was still searching for its identity. After a 59-14 win over Shawnee Mission North in Week 3, FSHS has a better sense of what that might be — at least on the offensive side of the ball. The Firebirds (2-1) scored on nine consecutive ...
It was an especially long pregame routine for the Bishop Seabury boys soccer team. Due to transportation issues, Bonner Springs showed up 16 minutes late Tuesday afternoon at the Youth Sports Complex. The visiting team was then given its own warmup time, meaning the match didn’t start until ...
Free State sophomore Ben Shryock secured a first-place finish Saturday morning at the Baldwin City Golf Course. Shryock ran a time of 16:18.05 to place first in the varsity boys race, which featured multiple area athletes. Charles Johnson of FSHS finished third with a mark of 16:29.30, while ...
Free State's football team earned a 59-14 win over Shawnee Mission North Friday night at FSHS. Photos by Mike Gunnoe/Lawrence Journal-World
Tonganoxie never trailed in its 43-8 home win over Eudora in a battle between two area teams. The Chieftains jumped out to a 21-0 lead at the half and never looked back, improving their record to 3-0 to start the year. Eudora’s lone score came in the third quarter with a 67-yard touchdown ...
Despite coming off its first regular-season loss since 2016, it was still business as usual for the Free State football team. After a three-and-out on the game’s opening possession, the Firebirds scored on eight straight drives to close out the first half. The game was never in doubt after ...
Lawrence High head coach Mike Murphy had no doubt that his team would respond. After all, the Lions have had to do so in nearly every match this season. After a pair of offsides stalled Lawrence’s offense on two different scoring opportunities, Wyandotte evened things with a counter attack ...
It has been quite some time since Free State’s football team experienced a regular-season loss. Prior to last week’s defeat at Olathe East, the Firebirds hadn’t dropped a regular-season decision since a 34-21 loss at Park Hill on Sept. 16, 2016. FSHS rattled off eight consecutive wins ...
Once the ball fell safely into sophomore goalkeeper Aydan Works’ hands, Free State’s sideline let out a sigh of relief. Yet Shawnee Mission North’s last-ditch effort, a free kick with seven seconds remaining, never had a chance. It merely capped off a 1-0 win for the Firebirds, who ...
Even with the heat index in the 90s and having to deal with the rolling hills at the Lawrence Country Club golf course, Free State senior Kennedy Birk leaned on course familiarity. “Oh my gosh. I was sweating and I have the worst tan line right now,” Birk joked. “But we just have to ...
Free State’s gymnastics team had a new top performer in the third meet of the season. Talia Gay, who won the all-around state title last fall, had finished first or second in the all-around rankings in each of the first two meets. She then suffered an injury early in the Free State ...
It is just three meets into the 2019 season, but both Free State and Lawrence High gymnastics squads have made massive strides. And that is a credit to the new mindset for both teams under first-year head coach Katrina Farrow, who was an assistant for both programs the previous three seasons. ...
Free State, with no timeouts remaining, elected to run the ball on third down with junior running back Tyler Bowden. Bowden gained only five yards, leaving the clock running and the Firebirds in a frenzy to kick a field goal. Junior kicker Joey Wood managed to set up on the field in time for ...
It didn’t take long for the group chat to start blowing up. Senior left tackle Turner Corcoran was the first to send a message in the offensive line group chat, which occurred on the same night Free State rolled to a 45-19 win over Olathe West in the season opener. The sentiment across the ...
Keegan VanPelt, Free State’s top singles player, has a clear mission this fall. She placed sixth as a freshman at the Class 6A state tennis tournament two years ago. Last season, VanPelt improved on this finish by claiming fifth. Now she aims to continue that career trajectory while ...