The secret's out.
Lawrence High's first two football opponents have thrown with success -- 332 yards worth while completing 55 percent of their attempts.
LHS head coach Dirk Wedd imagines Shawnee Mission West junior quarterback Andy Majors will try to air it out as well tonight when the Vikings visit Haskell Stadium. Kickoff for the Sunflower League contest is 7:30 p.m.
"I'm sure they will test us with a forward pass," Wedd said.
SM West, one of two remaining undefeated teams in the league at 2-0, has beaten Leavenworth (43-6) and Olathe East (12-0). The Vikings average 257 yards total offense a game while surrendering 205 yards.
"It was a complete team effort," SM West's second-year head coach Jon Krug said of the victory over O-East, the Vikes' first win over the Hawks in seven years. "We responded well in the second half. It was a great effort by our kids."
West limited O-East to 125 yards total offense and scored all 12 points in the second half -- Majors' six-yard TD pass to James Churchill and Paul Vassor's 82-yard interception return. Vassor has picked off two passes this season and returned both for scores.
After watching tape of the West-Olathe East game, Wedd was impressed.
"They physically beat Olathe East up front," Wedd said.
Majors, a 6-foot-2, 185-pounder, has completed six of 17 passes for 87 yards. The younger brother of former West standout quarterback Ryan Majors has one TD pass and has been intercepted twice.
"He's a better option quarterback than thrower," Wedd said. "We assume we're going to have our hands full."
Churchill, a 5-10, 180-pound senior running back, ranks fourth in the league with 166 yards.
Lawrence running back Jason Fender ranks seventh in the league with 157 rushing yards. A chunk of those yards -- 120 of them -- came in the season opener against Shawnee Mission North. Fender ranks second in punting with a 39.3 average.
Defensively, the Lions allow 96.5 rushing yards a game, tops in the league.
"We've got to find a way to keep the game close and have a chance to win at the end," Wedd said. "We need to get the offense on the field more and try and control the football."
SM West has a two-game winning streak against LHS. The Vikings rocked the Lions, 49-14, at Haskell in 1997 and hung on for a 21-14 victory last year.
"They've stuck it to us pretty good the last couple of years," Wedd said.
Tonight's game will be shown tape delay on cable channel six at 10:30 p.m.
- For a halftime update and the final score, call Access at 865-5000, category 6000.
-- Steve Rottinghaus' phone message number is 832-7152. His e-mail address is srottinghaus@ljworld.com
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