photo by: John Young

Lawrence High senior running back Trey Moore (38) gives Shawnee Mission Northwest defensive back Caleb Johnson (7) a stiff arm as he breaks away to score one of his four touchdowns during their game on Friday night at LHS. The Lions jumped out to a 23-0 first quarter lead and never looked back as they defeated the Cougars, 50-20.

Heading into the first game of the season, high school football coaches usually agree they need to see their team play a game before they can gauge how they look.


Lawrence High coach Dirk Wedd said he was entering this season with more question marks than any other season in his 18-year career. That’s the result of a new no-huddle offense, platooning linemen and so many new faces at key positions.


So it probably meant a lot that the Lions could jump to a fast start and roll to a 50-20 victory over Shawnee Mission Northwest in their season opener. They scored 23 points in the first quarter via offense (Dante’ Jackson and Trey Moore TD runs), special teams (Erik Shackelford blocked punt return) and defense (safety from BJ Murry).


Now, the biggest question is whether the Lions can continue what they started against top competition. Their schedule only gets harder with SM North, Lee’s Summit West and SM West in the next three weeks.


Free State’s football team lost a thriller against SM West, 41-40. The Firebirds were one play away from a win before the Vikings scored the game-winning touchdown with 28 seconds left, forcing two fourth-and-long plays.


Of course, the Firebirds were disappointed by the loss, but FSHS coach Bob Lisher said he was still high on his team. The Firebirds posted 40 points against a team ranked fifth in Class 6A and fought back from a 14-point deficit in the first quarter to take the lead before halftime.


“I thought our team played well and that team played well,” Lisher added. “That was a battle of two heavyweights. Those are two pretty good football teams going at it. I think we just made a few more mistakes.”


Now for a look ahead to next week:


Free State at Shawnee Mission South on Friday at 7 p.m. — After winning only one game last season, the Raiders (0-1) opened the 2016 season with a 38-7 loss to SM North. The Firebirds scrimmaged against SM South a few times throughout the summer, so there is some familiarity between the players. The Raiders, coached by longtime FSHS assistant Brett Oberzan, returned about seven starters on both sides of the ball from last year.


Shawnee Mission North at Lawrence High on Friday at 7 p.m. — The Indians (1-0) opened the season with a 38-7 win over SM South. They are led by senior quarterback Will Schneider, a four-year starter, who threw for four touchdowns last week. On the ground, Schneider ran for 120 yards and a score. The Lions know plenty about Schneider, facing him in the first round of the playoffs last season (323 passing yards, 3 TD; 120 rushing yards, TD).

photo by: John Young

Lawrence High senior running back Trey Moore (38) gives Shawnee Mission Northwest defensive back Caleb Johnson (7) a stiff arm as he breaks away to score one of his four touchdowns during their game on Friday night at LHS. The Lions jumped out to a 23-0 first quarter lead and never looked back as they defeated the Cougars, 50-20.

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If you’re new to the blog, we’re copying one of the popular features of KUsports.com, “Keegan’s Ratings,” where Sports Editor Tom Keegan ranks KU football and men’s basketball players after every game he attends. These individual rankings are just one person’s opinion, but it’s a good way to look at how each person impacted each game.

Lawrence High football

1. Trey Moore, sr. RB — Even before his season-ending injury against the Cougars in the 2015 campaign, Moore was still stuck behind JD Woods in a loaded Lions backfield. Moore got his chance to shine Friday night in the season opener with 189 all-purpose yards and four total touchdowns against the Cougars.


2. Dante’ Jackson, jr. QB/CB — Jackson said he was nervous going into his first start as Lawrence’s quarterback, but he sure didn’t show it. Fifty-six of Jackson’s 79 rushing yards came on a touchdown run on the third play of the game. Jackson also threw for one touchdown to Moore after evading pressure from the Cougars’ defensive line. The LHS junior’s impact wasn’t just limited to offense, though. Jackson came up with an interception with less than two minutes left in the first half, and also pinned the Cougars on their own 1-yard line with his best punt of the night.


3. Erik Shackelford, sr. LB — The Lions linebacker corps didn’t miss a beat without 2016 alumnus Price Morgan thanks to the play of Shackelford. Shackelford also returned a punt that was partially blocked for a touchdown, the second straight year he’s done that in the season opener.


4. BJ Murry, sr. DL — The Cougars were pinned deep in their own territory for much of the first half, and Murry eventually made them pay for it by taking down SM Northwest quarterback Spencer Stewart in the end zone for a safety.


5. Mark Greene, sr. DL — Greene joined Murry in stuffing the middle at defensive tackle. Greene played a big role in shutting down Cougar running back Xavier Perry for much of the first half.


6. Jesse Tunget, sr. OL — Tunget was responsible for creating some big holes for Moore to run through. The lone returning starter from the Lawrence High offensive line also had a key block on Jackson’s 56-yard touchdown run.


7. Hunter Krom, jr. RB — Krom was a first-down machine after coming in to back up Moore. The junior running back averaged 11 yards per carry after rushing it 11 times for 88 yards.


8. Ja’relle Dye, jr. CB — Dye played much, much bigger than his 5-foot, 3-inch frame in the Lawrence High secondary, as he broke up a couple of passes.


9. Cole Brungardt, sr. K — Brungardt was 6-of-6 on his extra points. It capped a strong week for Brungardt after he scored a goal in the soccer team’s 2-1 win over Topeka.


10. Jaxon Malone, soph. CB — Malone stopped what could have been a third straight scoring drive by the Cougars with an interception. Although the game was virtually decided, Perry had just sprung free for a 51-yard run a couple of plays earlier to put the Cougars just outside of the red zone. Malone’s interception served as a nice pick-me-up for the Lawrence defense after allowing two quick scoring drives.


• Rankings from Chris Duderstadt

Free State football

1. Zack Sanders, sr. WR/CB — One of the best games from a receiver in school history. Sanders was targeted early and often, finishing with a school-record 13 catches for 239 yards and a touchdown. He made one nice diving catch by his team’s sideline, but his most important catch was his TD with 1:39 left, breaking a tackle and sprinting the rest of the way to the end zone.


2. Zion Bowlin, sr. RB/FS — Backed up against his own goal line in the second quarter, Bowlin took a handoff up the middle and — somehow — fought off enough tacklers and zoomed 97 yards to the end zone. He received a nice block downfield from Daniel Bryant. Otherwise, Bowlin made some nice tackles in the secondary. He finished with 15 carries for 136 yards and two scores.


3. Nathan Spain, jr. C/DL — Along with some nice blocks on the offensive line, Spain grabbed a fumble (forced by Bowlin or Gage Foster) and ran the ball down his team’s sideline to the 17-yard line. He was helped out by a big block from Vani Martinez, but Spain made the most of the play once he saw the ball hit the turf.


4. Dallas Crittenden, sr. QB — In his Free State debut, Crittenden showed plenty of poise in the pocket, delivering several big throws. He finished 19 of 29 for a school-record 300 yards and it looked like he was comfortable making zone reads out of the shot gun. His only mistakes were a pair of interceptions, but he proved his agility running around the pocket.


5. Jax Dineen, so. RB/LB — His first carry of the season was on 4th-and-1 from the 32-yard line. Dineen bounced off of a few tackles at the line of scrimmage and ran the rest of the way for a touchdown — the first person to meet him in the end zone was his older brother. Dineen was tough to stop, ending up with eight carries for 58 yards and two touchdowns.


6. Jay Dineen, sr. LB/LG — Dineen made some key stops in the backfield, fighting through blocks and making tackles in space. When he wasn’t making tackles, he forced SM West’s quarterback to hurry some throws. But the final drive was most frustrating to him.


“I take 100 percent responsibility on that play,” Dineen said of the game-winning touchdown. “I need to pick up the back route. I also need to make the tackle on the quarterback out there. I’m a Div. I and that’s a Div. I play that I need to make.”


7. Gage Foster, jr. LB — Foster showed off his speed, rushing around the edge into the backfield for some key tackles and a sack. His sack on SM West’s final drive put the Firebirds in great position (before a 4th-and-17 conversion). His biggest negative was he had one personal foul penalty called on him.


8. Noah Kema, sr. DL/TE — Provided a nice boost on the defensive line, making a couple of stops in the backfield and at the line of scrimmage. Not counting SM West QB Zach Witters who ran for 217 yards, Kema and the Firebirds’ defense held SM West running backs to 41 yards on 18 carries.


9. Spencer Roe, jr. RT — Facing a defense that returned about eight starters from last year, Roe was huge on the offensive line, opening up running lanes and providing strong pass protection. Throwing up 40 points against a strong defense is a good sign for the future.


10. Jake Rittman, jr. P — He had one punt for 46 yards and some solid kickoffs. But he makes this list for saving a potential touchdown near the end of the first quarter. When SM West kick returner Kyle Harris broke free, Rittman was the last line of defense and made a nice tackle in open field.


• Rankings from Bobby Nightengale

photo by: John Young

Free State senior receiver Zack Sanders reaches out to haul in a fourth down pass in front of Shawnee Mission West defensive back Kirby Grigsby during their game Friday night at FSHS. The two teams went back and forth all night, but the Firebirds came up short, falling 41-40, when the Vikings connected for a 14 yard touchdown pass with 28 seconds remaining in the game.

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