After a long awaited season opener, football head coach Kevin Stewart and his varsity squad returned to The Cage with a statement on opening night; the Free State Firebirds came out victorious against Shawnee Mission East Lancers, 12 – 3.
As the roars of the student section took over the football stadium, Free State kicker senior Yusef Iskandrani started off the game kicking the football and the Lancer’s keeping it in at their 15-yard line.
After what seemed like a 10 minute opening drive by Shawnee Mission East’s offense, the Lancer quarterback junior Jack Reeves was in trouble as he could not counter the Firebird defense and was forced into a turnover in their own red zone.
Firebird quarterback senior Boston Baker started the charging Free State offense after making a running play with cornerback senior Noah Simpson as he made a 29-yard dash, bringing the Firebirds closer to their endzone just before the end of the first quarter.
With the second quarter underway, the Firebird offense, unable to capitalize the Lancer’s defense, sent Iskandrani to get them on the scoreboard after kicking a 40-yard field goal leading Free State, 3 – 0.
Shortly after starting their offensive run, the Firebirds forced the Lancer’s Running Back senior Nate Philips into a fumble and the ball was recovered by Defensive Tackle senior Hyrum Vaeono. However, with only 19 seconds left on the clock, Baker returned the favor back to the Lancer’s after he got intercepted.
Despite having possession, the Lancers were unable to produce offensively as the Shawnee Mission East quarterback got picked off by strong safety Noah Rupp. Free State sent Iskandrani out to the field but he missed a 54-yard field goal. After a thrilling few minutes before the end of the second quarter, the excitement came to a standstill as both teams went to their respective locker rooms looking to analyze and improve from their first half play.
Kicking off the third quarter, the Firebirds received the ball at their 17-yard line and showcased their convincing attack, scrambling the Lancer’s defense as they got closer to their end zone play-by-play. As Baker passed the football to Simpson, the cornerback charged past the five-man line Lancer’s defense to the end zone and got the Firebirds their first touchdown of the season. Iskandarani scored the field goal to earn an extra conversion point, leading the Firebirds 10 – 0.
Going into the fourth quarter, ball possession was with the Lancers. With 10 minutes and 54 seconds left on the clock, the Firebird five-man line defense came big with a third down on the Lancer’s. Without taking any risks of a turnover, the Lancer’s decided to send kicker Dylan Dehan for a field goal to get them on the scoreboard, 10 – 3.
Just a few plays in after the restart, the ball gets picked off by the Lancers at the Free State 23-yard line. Fortunately for the Firebird defense, linebacker senior Parker Moore deflected a pass sent by Reeves to one of his receivers at fourth down – forcing a Lancer turnover.
Coach Stewart sent out Iskandrani to punt the ball inside the Lancer’s 10-yard line. As the Lancer’s took on the offense again, a bad snap by the Lancers center resulted in a safety. The Firebirds led 12 – 3 , with less than three minutes left till the endgame.
As the clock ran out of time, the Lancer’s offense came to a standstill for the final minutes as they could not seem to take down the Firebird defense. As the Lancers looked to comeback with a touchdown, Free State middle linebacker senior Crow Bengoa came up with an interception and helped the Firebirds escape with their first win of the 2024 season.
After shaking hands with their opponent, the Firebird players and spirit squad came together in front of the student section to sing their alma mater to celebrate. The Firebirds will play an away game against Manhattan High School next week on Sept. 12.
