Lawrence High didn't gain the redemption it wanted from an embarrassing loss to Manhattan a year ago, but the Lions did save face against the Indians on Friday night at Bishop Stadium.
The Lions, who suffered a 30-0 home loss to Manhattan last fall, scored late in the fourth quarter to pull within a touchdown before the Indians maintained possession the final 3:10 to preserve a 20-14 victory.
"It's always a heartbreaker to lose to a team like that," said LHS senior slotback Ryan Phelps, who caught a 12-yard touchdown pass from Bryce McMichael with 3:14 remaining. "You want to beat them with all your heart."
Costly fumbles, a long punt return, Manhattan's excellent field position and too much Ryan Potter overwhelmed the Lions (1-1). The Indians' three scoring drives started at the Lawrence's 15, 40 and 26. Potter closed all three series with short TD runs.
"I really think Manhattan is a much improved football team," LHS coach Dirk Wedd said. "And I really believe in this point and time we're getting better. We're playing hard, but we're not playing smart all the time. We'll get that straightened out."
With 22.8 seconds left in the first quarter, Lawrence fumbled while going for it on fourth and inches from its 16. Lion running back Justin Lorenzo gained the necessary yard but fumbled.
"I don't feel to bad about that because we had it," Wedd said of the fourth-and-inches call. "That was seven points I gave them."
McMichael hooked up with Phelps for a 59-yard touchdown pass with 10:44 left in the first half and Blake Allen's PAT tied the score at 7-7.
The Indians (1-1) capitalized on another LHS turnover -- following a sack of McMichael -- late in the first half, driving 60 yards on 12 plays.
Manhattan extended its lead to 20-7 on Potter's two-yard run with 1:44 left in the third quarter. A 35-yard punt return to Lawrence's 26 set up the drive.
Potter finished with 30 yards and 101 hard-earned yards.
When Potter wasn't grinding it out, MHS senior quarterback Danny Wilson was airing it out. Wilson completed 12 of 22 passes for 189 yards. He connected with six different receivers.
"I'm sure they watched the film of last week's game and saw 220 yards (actually 213) thrown against us by Shawnee Mission North," Wedd said. "That's a pretty big green light that they can throw on us. We've got young and inexperienced kids (in the secondary). They're going to improve."
Wilson threw for 153 yards in the first half when he was intercepted twice by strong safety Rob Scott, one of two sophomores on the LHS roster.
"We had to throw and I don't like that," MHS coach Butch Albright said. "Our running wasn't clicking like it should and we went to something that loosened things up."
In addition to the two interceptions, Scott also had a fumble recovery.
"I thought we played hard and played like Lions," Scott said. "We didn't get down on each other and fought back."
As for Wilson's passing, Scott said. "He was reading the flats. If it was covered deep, he'd drop it off."
Wilson's last pass was a 16-yard pass on third-and-15 to 6-foot-3 tight end Adam Aslin, who was able to reach for an extra yard for the first down, allowing the Indians to run out the clock.
Manhattan's Jason Blubaugh, who rushed for 207 yards last week, was limited to seven yards on one carry. He was bothered by a sore back.
"He (Potter) was our intended tailback before the season but he was hurt," Albright said. "This was probably the best thing that could have happened to Blubaugh. He'll get his reps."
LHS punter Jason Fender averaged 42 yards on four kicks. A 66-yarder on a quick kick on third down boosted the average.
Next for LHS is Shawnee Mission West next Friday. Kickoff is 7:30 p.m at Haskell Stadium.
No comments
Commenting is turned off for this story.