“Late turnover derails comeback after Free State’s loss to Shawnee Mission Northwest |”. News, sports, jobs

Free State Football (4-3) rallied from an 11-point halftime deficit, but a costly fumble on a potentially game-winning drive sealed the deal as the game fell to Shawnee Mission Northwest (5-2), 27-24 Friday evening.

“I was really proud of their performance and their fight,” said head coach Kevin Stewart. “They really fought and had a chance to win the game and came back from behind. They showed us what we needed to see.”

Senior running back Parker Moore had his best game of the year with 101 yards on the ground and three touchdowns along with a number of stops on defense. Even though Moore recovered the game-winning fumble, Stewart is still proud of his senior leader.

“He’s got to keep his head up, I know it’s going to hurt him a little bit, but if he hadn’t made the plays he made tonight we wouldn’t have been in this position anyway,” Stewart said.

After receiving the opening kickoff, Shawnee Mission Northwest marched 80 yards down the field and showcased its flexbone offense by relying solely on run plays. The drive was ended after running back Joshua Mackiewicz found a hole on the left side for a 26-yard rush, giving his team a 7-0 lead.

The sustained Flexbone offense initially made things difficult for Free State’s defense.

“It’s really hard to stop,” Stewart said. “And they did some things where they would often crack the edge and crack and seal our linebackers and we had a hard time getting on the field.”

Wide receiver Maddon Brittingham, coming off an injury that kept him out of the game last week, made his presence felt early for the Firebirds, taking the next kickoff to the Cougars’ 22-yard line. Using their own rushing attack, the Firebirds needed seven plays before Moore reached the end zone on a wildcat run to tie the score.

Shawnee Mission Northwest got everything she wanted on the first trip, but the second trip was canceled. Linebacker Crow Bengoa created a big turnover for the Free State defense and forced a fumble to give the offense good possession of the field.

After a false start on the first play of the drive, the Firebirds were unable to regain ground and the drive ended with a 41-yard field goal by kicker Yusef Iskandrani for a 10-7 lead.

Free State’s defense failed to find a foothold for the second straight game, and Shawnee Mission Northwest responded emphatically. Facing fourth-and-8, quarterback Logan Morley rolled and found Mackiewicz for a 37-yard touchdown reception.

The Cougars forced a Firebird punt to regain possession and had no problem driving down the field and extending their lead. With the help of several pass interference calls, the Cougars took advantage of a broken play after wide receiver Traimyre Woodruff dropped a pitch but quickly picked it up off the turf for a 29-yard score to end the first half.

Facing an 11-point deficit, Stewart’s message to his team at halftime was pretty simple: “We’ve got to do everything we can to score here.”

Although the attack began deep in their own territory following a block-in-the-back penalty at kick-off, Free State’s offense did not shy away from the challenge in the locker room. On the fourth play of the drive, Moore found an open hole and drove for a 72-yard touchdown.

Three plays into the Cougars’ series, it looked like Morley would answer with a long touchdown run, but he stumbled on his own feet and fell at the Firebird 13-yard line. Two plays later, Woodruff got his second score of the night with a pitch to right, extending the lead to 10.

Free State came up with two straight defensive stops and scored a perfectly timed score after the last of the two. Quarterback Finn Moore found Brittingham for a 43-yard reception, setting up his brother Parker Moore for his third touchdown run of the night.

The Firebirds got the ball back on offense after a forced fumble with about three minutes left and seemed destined to at least send the game to overtime before Moore’s fumble put the game on ice.

Free State will conclude its regular season next Friday when it hosts LHS in the City Showdown.

Points by quarters

Shawnee Mission Northwest (5-2) – 7 14 6 0

Free State (4-3) – 10 0 7 4

How they scored

First quarter

07:30 – Joshua Mackiewicz 26-yard run. Jack Williams’ kick is good. (SMNW 7 FS 0)

04:24 – Parker Moore 7-yard run. Yusef Iskandrani’s kick is good. (FS 7 SMNW 7)

0:20 – Iskandrani 41-yard field goal. (FS 10 SMNW 7)

Second quarter

09:11 – Logan Morley 37-yard pass to Mackiewicz. Williams kick is good. (SMNW 14 FS 10)

02:13 – Traimyre Woodruff 29-yard run. Williams kick is good. (SMNW 21 FS 10)

Third quarter

10:11 – P. Moore 72-yard touchdown run. Iskandrani kick is good. (SMNW 21 FS 17)

07:58 – Woodruff 4-yard run. Williams kick is not good. (SMNW 27 FS 17)

Fourth quarter

08:30 – P. Moore 3-yard run. Iskandrani kick is good. (SMNW 27 FS 24)