Photo by Miles Beaty/Miles of Media/FS Journalism 

LAWRENCE — A powerful rushing attack and timely deep strikes propelled the Free State High Firebirds past defending Class 6A state champion Gardner Edgerton Trailblazers in a season-opening thriller Friday night, 35-34. 

Trailing 35-28 with a minute remaining in regulation, Gardner Edgerton quarterback Carson McCall shed several tackles en route to a 14-yard touchdown run, slicing the deficit to a point. The Trailblazers opted to go for two and the win, but senior running back Porter Swaim was stuffed for a short loss as the Firebirds’ sideline erupted in jubilation. 

For the Firebirds, junior signal-caller Finn Moore’s Herculan performance included a 75-yard touchdown strike to senior wideout Jonas Lonard on a fourth down play late in the fourth quarter, staking Free State to a 35-28 advantage.

The Firebirds’ rushing attack set the tone early as Moore’s 16-yard scamper capped a 10-play 71 yard drive on the game’s opening possession. Free State extended its lead early in the second quarter after Moore bulldozed into the end zone from eight yards out.

Trailing 14-0, the Trailblazers turned to Syre Padilla, a bruising 6-foot-2 200 pound tailback who is committed to Pitt State. After hurdling a defender on a highlight reel 21-yard run, Padilla punctuated the drive with a 2-yard touchdown plunge, trimming the Trailblazers’ deficit to 14-7 with 4:29 remaining in the first half. On the ensuing possession, junior running back Maddon Brittingham gained the left edge and jetted down the sideline for a 28-yard touchdown run, staking the Firebirds to a 21-7 advantage. 

Working with a short field, Gardner Edgerton quickly replied as sophomore Kaiden Brown hauled in a 47-yard pass from McCall for paydirt, cutting the Trailblazers’ deficit to 21-14 at the half. 

Gardner Edgerton’s ground attack began to take a toll on the Firebirds — with the Trailblazers marching down field on the opening possession of the second half to knot the score at 21. 

After the early fireworks, both offenses fizzled for much of the third quarter. On the opening play of the final frame, Moore punctuated a 5-play scoring drive with his third rushing touchdown of the contest, handing the Firebirds a 28-21 lead. With just over four minutes remaining in regulation, the Trailblazers capped a methodical drive via a “tush push” — with McCall barreling in from a yard out. 

Moore concluded his monster performance with 180 yards on 21 carries and three touchdown runs — while adding 73 yards and a touchdown on 2-of-2 passing. Brittingham, meanwhile, tallied 93 yards on 16 carries. 

“Finn can throw the ball too, and we didn’t really show that tonight,” said Free State head coach Kevin Stewart. “We’ve got some good football players and I think people are going to start paying attention now.” 

Stewart said his squad’s stop on the two-point play to secure victory was a testament to the grit they displayed throughout the contest. 

“I was happy that they went for it, because I wanted to see if our guys could stop them,” Stewart said. “I didn’t want to go to overtime, and I told our guys ‘let’s just stop them here and win the game.’” 

Moore credited senior leadership for his squad’s thrilling victory to open the 2025 campaign. 

“We’ve been working toward this all summer, and our team came together tonight to get a big win,” he said.  

Moore said his confidence was buoyed by the fact that Stewart entrusted him to make a play on fourth down deep in their own territory after a wide open Lonard was able to get behind the Trailblazers’ secondary. 

“Coach trusts every single one of us,” Moore said. “As soon as I saw the defense crash down I knew Jonas would be wide open — and I just needed to get the throw off.”

The Firebirds host Manhattan, with kickoff slated for 7 pm on Sept. 12.