New Lawrence High head football coach Dirk Wedd sounds like he's ready to strap on the gear and join his Lions on the field for tonight's season opener.
"I can't wait," said Wedd, an all-state lineman for the Lions in 1969 and an LHS assistant for nine years before being promoted in May. "It's like you're a little kid and it's Christmas and you can't wait to open the presents. I would like to open the big presents to see where we are at."
The Lions, 5-5 and a state qualifier a year ago, will kick off the season against Shawnee Mission North at 7:30 tonight at Haskell Stadium.
LHS has practiced three weeks in preparation for SM North, which finished 1-8 and last in the Sunflower League last fall while averaging 9.6 points a game.
"I think they're tired of pounding on each other," Wedd said of the Lions. "We had a pretty spirited goal-line offense and defense (on Tuesday)."
LHS has 42 players on its varsity roster and seven are listed as two-way starters.
Those seven are seniors Aaron Haack (offensive tackle/defensive tackle), Joel Dankenbring (offensive guard/defensive tackle), Tom Murray (offensive tackle/defensive end), Clint Morgan (tight end/linebacker), Ryan Phelps (slotback/nose guard), Jason Fender (fullback/free safety) and Charles Brown (slotback/cornerback).
The 6-foot-5, 245-pound Murray has added two inches and nearly 40 pounds to his frame since last fall. He played tight end last year before moving to right tackle.
"He did it for the good of the team," Wedd said of the position change. "They're projecting him as an offensive tackle as he progresses in college football. This will be a good experience for him."
Fender (5-11, 173), Phelps (5-6, 170) and Justin Lorenzo (5-7, 175) will share time running at fullback.
"I think they all bring something different to the offense," Wedd said. "Jason is a definite breakaway threat. Phelps is half and half. He has quickness, yet he has power."
Bryce McMichael, a 6-3, 185-pound senior, will quarterback the Lions. A backup last year, McMichael completed three of 13 passes for 81 yards.
"Probably the most encouraging thing about Bryce is that he has shown great leadership and he has added a lot of toughness to his personality and that's what I was looking for," Wedd said.
Will Wedd allow McMichael to air it out?
"We're still going to run the football, we're going to run the option," Wedd said. "But I guarantee we're going to throw a little bit more."
SM North coach Sam Brown doesn't figure the LHS playbook will change because of the new coach.
"It it's not broken, don't fix it," said Brown, entering his third season with the Indians. "Lawrence has been good traditionally with the run, so I don't look for too many changes."
There may be one change, though. Wedd's predecessor, Dick Purdy, often opted for short kickoffs to avoid long returns.
"We'll try to get it to the end zone," Wedd said. "We're going to kick the opening kickoff as far as we can. If it comes back 100 mph, all those Saturday morning quarterbacks will know why we were kicking it short."
Junior Dave Kusiak, a move-in from Topeka, is listed as the Lions' kicker.
Senior Danny Bartlett, who passed for 985 yards last year, is entering his third season as SM North's starting quarterback. In Lawrence's 29-15 victory over the Indians last year, Bartlett was sacked nine times and intercepted twice.
LHS has won 23 in a row over SM North since a 17-8 loss to the Indians in the 1977 state playoffs.
-- Steve Rottinghaus' phone message number is 832-7152. His e-mail address is srottinghaus@ljworld.com
- For a halftime update and the final score, call Access at 865-5000, category 6000.
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