Free State was able to hold Garden City back on a 42-0 lead until the fourth quarter when Garden City scored their first touchdown. The Firebirds were able to come back strong in both defense and offense after losing to Olathe North 21-35 the week before.

The first touchdown of the game was scored by senior quarterback Wesley Edison, leading the Firebirds 7-0 in the first quarter. No more points were scored by either team for the rest of the quarter.

Into the second quarter, senior running back Grant Lincoln successfully scored a touchdown, putting the firebirds up 14-0. Free State was able to score another two touchdowns in the quarter, the second by senior wide receiver Devon Hamilton, and the
third by senior running back Grant Lincoln.

Coming into halftime, Free State held the lead of 28-0 over Garden City. The marching band played three songs: “Confident” By Demi Lovato, “Focus” by Ariana Grande and finally “24k Magic” by Bruno Mars. After the band exited the field, the dance team
performed to the late American rapper Pop Smoke’s hit song, “Dior.”

The third quarter was eventful for the Firebirds, with two more touchdowns scored. The first by senior quarterback Wesley Edison, and the second by junior running back Ryan Weishaar, helping lead the Firebirds 42-0.

Garden City successfully scored three touchdowns in the fourth. Their first of the game was scored by junior running back Mario Ruiz, putting the buffaloes up their first seven points on the scoreboard. The second Buffalo touchdown was scored by senior running back Ethen Allen, and third by junior wide receiver, Brayden Sneath.

Free State was unable to score in the fourth quarter, but ultimately came out on top, winning 42-21. The Firebirds now advance to the regional round of 6A playoffs, traveling to Manhattan on Friday, Nov. 3 to face the Indians (8-1) at 7 p.m.

“It’s a big big win that we need, next week is gonna be hard so we just gotta keep going, stay 1-0 everyday like we always talked about,” senior Devon Hamilton said.