photo by: John Young

Lawrence High junior Dante Jackson grabs onto the ankle of Lee's Summit West receiver Kevin Knox (31) while Santino Gee (25) comes to help with the tackle during their game Friday night in Lee's Summit, Mo. The Lions fell to the Titans, 28-7, and drop their record to 2-1 on the season.

The first season of the Sunflower League/Suburban Conference Showdown turned into a beatdown with Missouri winning all 11 football games against Kansas teams.


Both of the games involving Lawrence High and Free State were close for the first 30 minutes until their opponents pulled away.


The Lions saw their momentum swing against them when a run to the five-yard line by Trey Moore was called back by a holding penalty. Two plays later, they lost QB Dante’ Jackson to cramps in his leg and the offense never recovered in a 28-7 loss at Lee’s Summit West.


Despite the loss, the Lions were thrilled with their defensive effort. The Titans had 404 yards of offense, but had trouble finding the end zone until midway through the second half because of red-zone stops by Lawrence’s defense.


“Our defense stepped up big time,” Moore said. “When the offense didn’t score or anything, the defense would stop them and they would give us hope. Defense just did a great job overall.”


Free State’s football team trailed by three points at halftime, but had trouble keeping up after a 93-yard touchdown pass in a 34-21 loss at Park Hill.


When the Firebirds were looking for key stops on defense, they just couldn’t convert to get off of the field in the fourth quarter. On a fourth-and-one, Park Hill running back Dorian Clayton ran for a 26-yard touchdown. In the final minutes, a 3rd-and-10 turned into a 33-yard pass.


The Firebirds had some nice drives offensively, but were limited by sacks and penalties, which forced some punts. But one of the big positives was the growth of their run game against a tough Park Hill defense. Free State ran for 162 yards on 37 carries, averaging 4.4 yards per attempt.


Now for a look ahead to next week:


Free State at Shawnee Mission Northwest on Friday at 7 p.m. — The Cougars (0-3) lost 50-14 against Grandview (Mo.) last week. They are led by senior running back Xavier Perry, who has rushed for five touchdowns this season. He had 32 carries for 230 yards and three scores against LHS in Week One. Defensively, they have struggled, allowing at least 48 points in all three games.


Shawnee Mission West at Lawrence High on Friday at 7 p.m. — Featuring one of the top quarterbacks in the Sunflower League with Zach Witters, the Vikings (2-1) scored at least 40 points in their first two games before a 35-21 loss against Blue Springs (Mo.) last week. Witters has thrown for 628 yards and six touchdowns, and rushed for 304 yards and four scores. Montell Madlock leads the defense with 28 tackles.

photo by: John Young

Lawrence High junior Dante Jackson grabs onto the ankle of Lee's Summit West receiver Kevin Knox (31) while Santino Gee (25) comes to help with the tackle during their game Friday night in Lee's Summit, Mo. The Lions fell to the Titans, 28-7, and drop their record to 2-1 on the season.

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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. Erik Shackelford, sr. LB — On defense, it seemed like Shackelford was making a tackle on every play, sprinting from sideline to sideline for stops. Using his speed to beat blockers to spots on the field, Shackelford had one tackle for loss, one tackle at the line of scrimmage and he drew a few holding penalties.


2. James Reeder, sr. DB — With the Titans driving at the beginning of the second quarter, Reeder jumped up and grabbed an interception in the end zone. Along with his grab, he made some key stops in the run game, making tackles in open space.


3. Jake Unruh, sr. DE — Unruh made at least two tackles for a loss, including a sack in the first quarter. Playing only on one side of the ball has helped him make a big difference on the defensive line, forcing extra attention with his ability to push aside blockers.


4. Dante’ Jackson, jr. QB/CB — On the third play from scrimmage in the second half, Jackson faked a handoff to running back Trey Moore and sprinted up the middle — virtually untouched — for a 66-yard touchdown run. He exited midway through the third quarter after cramping up on a scramble, finishing with 105 rushing yards on 10 attempts.


5. Clarence King, soph. WR/CB — Right after the Titans scored a touchdown in the third quarter for a 14-7 lead, King returned a kick 55 yards and gave the Lions the ball across midfield. King added one catch for six yards and had some great blocks on the perimeter to help his running backs.


6. Azariah LeBrun, sr. LB — With the Titans in the red zone in the first quarter, LeBrun stepped up with a sack, which eventually helped force a missed field goal. He had at least three more tackles near the line of scrimmage, helping out Lawrence’s run defense.


7. Trey Moore, sr. RB — Moore had to fight for every yard against Lee’s Summit West’s defense, which put extra attention on him. Playing through a hand injury, he finished with 91 yards on 20 attempts, not including a 37-yard run called back on a holding penalty.


8. BJ Murry, sr. DT — The 5-foot-6, 199-pound defensive lineman did a nice job clogging running lanes in the first half, allowing linebackers to run to the ball without having to fight through blockers.


9. Santino Gee, sr. LB — In the secondary, Gee made a few key stops when he was the last man to beat. When the Titans went to their run game, Gee made a couple of nice tackles in open space.


10. Samuel Bart, soph. DL — At the end of the first quarter, the Titans were facing 3rd-and-7 from the 29-yard line looking for their first score. On a pitch, Bart stuffed the play in the backfield for a five-yard loss. The next play turned into an interception by Reeder.


• Rankings from Bobby Nightengale

Free State football

1. Zack Sanders, sr. WR/CB — Showed off his explosiveness with an 82-yard punt return touchdown in the first quarter on a reverse, taking a handoff from Zion Bowlin. Once defenders had to change direction, there was no chance they were going to chase down Sanders. Once again, he was dominant on offense with eight catches for 65 yards.


2. Jax Dineen, so. RB/LB — The Sunflower League’s version of Jerome Bettis, Dineen uses his 5-11, 215-pound frame to bounce off of tacklers. He had nine carries for 47 yards, including a three-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter. Along with his strong runs, he had several strong tackles at the line of scrimmage while playing linebacker.


3. Jay Dineen, sr. LB/LG — Dineen probably made his biggest impact of the season at linebacker with several tackles in the backfield. He had a half-sack on the Park Hill’s first drive and didn’t stop from there, including three tackles in a four-play stretch in the third quarter when the Trojans drove into FSHS territory.


4. David Johnson, jr. LB — A heat-seeking missile at linebacker, Johnson was everywhere on Saturday making plays. That included a tackle on a 58-yard kick return by Park Hill, likely saving a touchdown. During one drive in the second quarter, he made two tackles at the line of scrimmage, helping force a punt.


5. Zion Bowlin, sr. RB/DB — Bowlin was given some nice holes by his offensive line and he made the most of them. The 5-foot-9 senior rushed for 80 yards and a touchdown on 16 carries, sprinting past defenders on his 31-yard touchdown run in the second quarter. However, he injured his ankle on Free State’s first play in the second half and he didn’t take another snap at running back.


6. Noah Kema, sr. DT/TE — Kema fought past blockers on his way to 1.5 sacks and at least four tackles at the line of scrimmage or in the backfield. His only negative was on his seven-yard catch in the first quarter, fumbling after crossing the first down marker, but luckily, he was able to recover the ball.


7. Drew Wise, sr. LB/TE — The 6-foot-2, 245-pound long-snap specialist rushed off of the edge for a sack in the first quarter and he showed off his speed by making a tackle on a bubble screen pass.


8. Bo Miller, jr. WR/FS — When the Firebirds were looking for a big play in the first half, Miller caught a 27-yard pass to help his team near midfield, eventually leading to a touchdown run by Bowlin. On defense, Miller had a nice tackle in the fourth quarter.


9. Dallas Crittenden, sr. QB — Facing a strong pass rush, Crittenden did a nice job of moving his feet around in the pocket and finding throwing angles. He completed 11 of his 17 passes for 114 yards and he had a 47-yard run in the fourth quarter, which set up Jax Dineen’s touchdown run.


10. Vani Martinez, jr. DB — Martinez made some nice tackles on defense and special teams, doing a great job of staying in his lane on a kick return to make a tackle. He’s improving at blowing up plays on short screen passes.


• Rankings from Bobby Nightengale

Zion Bowlin lunges into the end zone for a score in the first half Friday as Free State played Park Hill in Kansas City, Mo.

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As always, feel free to comment, email me, or find me on Twitter @nightengalejr.