When Free State’s football team was looking for a knockout punch against Shawnee Mission South on Friday, junior running back Jax Dineen was more than happy to step up.

Looking for one more score at the end of the first half, Dineen took the ball and raced toward the right sideline. Once the 5-foot-10, 225-pound Dineen saw some defenders in front of him, he reversed to his left. From there, he was prepared to run over any defenders on his way to the end zone on a 38-yard touchdown run.

Dineen’s zig-zag touchdown, his third of the second quarter, capped a dominant first half in an eventual 49-0 victory in the Firebirds’ home opener at FSHS.

“I think he could of just run straight ahead and scored, but that’s me,” Free State coach Bob Lisher said with a laugh. “Yeah, that was a pretty good run.”

But as much success as the Firebirds (2-0) had on offense, scoring seven touchdowns, the defense was even more dominant.

Free State’s defense only allowed 37 total yards and three first downs, holding the Raiders to negative-one rushing yards on 26 attempts. Linebackers David Johnson, Bo Miller, Ben Miller and Jalen Nash swarmed the line of scrimmage.

Defensive linemen Spencer Roe and Lovette Epelle recorded sacks and senior defensive back Kwinton Lassiter had an interception in the second quarter. It allowed the Firebirds to put their backups on offense for the fourth quarter.

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