All in or all out. That has been the motto of the Free State volleyball team since the first day of summer workouts. It is a slogan that was introduced by head coach Jayme Savage when she took over the program after being the team's assistant coach for nine years. And it has helped define the ...
Free State’s gymnastics team came home with some hardware to finish off the 2019 season. The Firebirds placed third at the state gymnastics meet Saturday afternoon at Olathe South after entering the meet in second place. FSHS finished finished inside the top three in all but one meet this ...
Lawrence High senior Deshon Lewis still vividly remembers the chant. During the boys basketball version of the City Showdown this past winter, Free State’s student section broke out in a “Let’s play football” chant. It came two years after FSHS students painted their chests “56-7”, ...
Considering what was on the line, it would have been easy for the Baldwin soccer team to be disappointed from its 1-0 loss to Spring Hill Tuesday afternoon at BHS. Despite outplaying their opponent for much of the second half, the Bulldogs surrendered a late score in the regular-season finale. ...
Free State’s girls golf team has been preparing for the state tournament all year, even if it didn’t realize it. The Firebirds have done a better job of getting more practice holes in on a daily basis this season. They have cut down their time on the driving range, working on specific ...
Free State senior Colter Maldonado has had experience playing safety. And that has made the midseason position change much easier. Entering the year, Maldonado was taking a bulk of the reps at quarterback in the first year with Kevin Stewart at the helm. But an injury forced the Firebirds to ...
Free State’s volleyball team has known since last Thursday, but it waited until the end of Sunflower League play to officially say anything about it. On Tuesday, FSHS volleyball posted a team picture on social media to announce that it had won the Sunflower League title. The Firebirds, who ...
Behind a balanced effort, Free State’s girls golf team secured a second-place finish at the 6A regional meet Monday afternoon at Lake Shawnee Golf Course. All six players finished inside the top 19 for the Firebirds, who qualified for the 6A state tournament as a team with their runner-up ...
Free State’s girls tennis team will be sending three athletes to the Class 6A state tournament. One singles player and one doubles team qualified for the final meet of the year for the Firebirds after a strong showing at regionals. FSHS claimed second place as a team Saturday afternoon at ...
One Sunday morning in late June really tells the whole story. Free State senior Marcus Preston was running drills with his family. Jordan Preston, who is now a quarterback at KU, was throwing to his younger brother. The two had linked up multiple times at Mill Valley the year before. The ...
Even when the Veritas volleyball team was on the verge of losing, senior Emma Boulton wasn’t worried. The Eagles were coming off a two-set loss (25-22, 25-14) to Kansas City East Christian Academy and had even dropped the first set (25-23) in the final match of the triangular against host ...
Free State head coach Kevin Stewart remembers being perplexed the first time he saw film of running back Tyler Bowden. At the time, which was two years ago, Stewart was preparing for the state championship game as the defensive coordinator for Blue Valley North. He was watching film on Derby, ...
Free State’s volleyball team picked up a pair of wins at Shawnee Mission West Tuesday night. The Firebirds swept both of their opponents, taking down Shawnee Mission West (25-17, 25-14) and Olathe West (25-17, 25-14) on the night to stay on a roll. FSHS (16-9) has now won eight of its ...
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, ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...