The Junction City Blue Jays (5-3) take on the Lawrence Free State Firebirds (9-0) in the second round of the playoffs on November 3^rd, 2017.

The Blue Jays are underdogs in the game against Lawrence Free State, who is currently ranked the number one team in the 6A class. The Firebirds are the number one seed in the playoff bracket while Junction City is a number nine seed.

The defense of the Blue Jays looks to continue their dominance and assert themselves early in the game. Kenson Henderson who currently leads the team in tackles and Davante King look to stop the powerful rushing attack of the Firebirds and keep their senior season alive. Expect the Blue Jays to continue leaning towards Russell Wilkey, who has had an exceptional freshman years as he continues to rack up rushing yards and touchdowns.

The Firebirds have a dominant running game which has worked for them all season, Jax Dineen is a huge player for the Firebirds and if he gets going early it could be a long game for Junction City. Dineen currently holds offers from 4 Division 1 colleges such as Kansas State, Kansas, Arkansas, and Iowa State, he is one of the top players in the Kansas Recruiting class of 2019. Zach Wilson is another player to watch for, as he is the change of pace back for the Firebirds, Dineen and Wilson could continue being very dangerous this game as they have all season.

The Blue Jays don’t think anything about being underdogs, the players have bought into the scheme and game plan for this week and are looking for the huge upset. The Blue Jays have lived on the big plays this season so look for some big plays against that Free State defense.

Prediction: Junction City 28- Lawrence Free State- 42

The Blue Jays defense will keep the game close but that rushing attack of Free State will take a toll on the defense and will become too much to handle. The Blue Jays will have a big scoring play to keep the game close and Russell Wilkey will have a good game rushing.