photo by: Chance Parker/Special to the Journal-World

Free State senior Yusef Iskandrani celebrates after nailing a field goal during the season opener against Shawnee Mission East on Friday, Sept. 6, 2024, in Lawrence.

Free State football kicker and boys soccer goalie finishes first week of the season with three wins

It’s been a busy week for Free State senior Yusef Iskandrani.

The Free State boys soccer goalie helped his team start 2-0 with a 2-0 shutout home win over De Soto on Tuesday and another 2-0 shutout win at Shawnee Heights on Thursday. Those wins alone would’ve been a good week to start the fall sports season.

But Iskandrani doesn’t just play goalie — he’s also the football team’s kicker. So on Friday, Iskandrani suited up in pads and hit the football field for the Firebirds season opener against Shawnee Mission East.

Iskandrani accounted for four of Free State’s 12 points. He hit a 40-yard field goal for the first score of the game and later converted on a point-after attempt. The Firebirds went on to win 12-3 in a tight defensive battle.

Next week will be a shorter week for the two-sport athlete, as the boys soccer team and football team both play road games on Thursday only, so Iskandrani will have to pick between one of the two sports to play in. But after that, there will be a lot more three-game weeks in store for Iskandrani, with the hope of another perfect, three-win week.

Area cross-country teams dominate in first week of competition

Between Eudora, Lawrence and Baldwin, the local cross-country teams had a strong start to the year.

Eudora competed in the Bobcat Invitational on Thursday, with the girls winning with a score of 64. The Cardinals were led by Hanna Keltner, who finished second overall in 19 minutes, 33.10 seconds. Addison Williams, ninth overall, ran it in 21:49.90 and Emma Saber was the third Cardinal to run in the top-15 at 22:21.50.

Meanwhile, the Eudora boys team placed third behind two 5A schools. Grayson Masterson, a freshman, won the event with a 17:18.10 run. Max McCleary was the second-fastest Cardinal with an 18:36.60 run for 12th overall, and Caleb Reber placed 27th individually with a time of 19:40.00.

Also on Thursday, Baldwin’s girls cross-country team won the Anderson County Invitational, with the Bulldogs scoring 29 points.

Irelyn Kennedy had the second-fastest run in the invitational, with a time of 20:14.90. Shea Griffith came in seventh overall with a 21:39.40 run, and Kami Moore placed 11th overall at 23:07.40. Rachel Watkins was next at 13th with a time of 23:08.30, and Madeline Massey rounded out the Bulldogs’ top-five with a time of 23:43.50 in 16th place.

On Saturday, the Lawrence boys team won the Manhattan Invitational with the top five runners all finishing in the top 20 individually.

Oliver Schwartz led the team with the seventh-fastest finish in 16:46.81, and Xavier Klish placed ninth at 16:51.59. The Lions final three runners in the top five finished within five seconds of each other, with Oscar Paden leading the trio at 17:15.43, Francis Alexander finishing 1.26 seconds after and Leigham Alexander rounding out the top five at 17:20.10.

LHS boys soccer also goes 2-0 in first full week of competition

Much like its Free State counterpart, the Lawrence boys soccer team went 2-0 this week with a home game and an away game.

The Lions, though, had started their regular season the prior week, with a road game against Olathe East that ended in a 0-0 tie. In their first full week, the Lions went 2-0 with a comeback 5-4 win over Topeka and a 3-1 win over De Soto on the road on Thursday.

The Lions will have two more games next week, the first being a home match against Topeka-Seaman High School on Tuesday at 7 p.m., and the second being a home game against Olathe North at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday.

Free State will only play once next week in a Thursday road game against Olathe Northwest at 7 p.m.