For the first time in seven years, the Lawrence High football team hoisted a regional champions trophy after winning its first Class 6A state playoff game since 1995.

But a 40-21 pounding of Blue Valley North on Friday at Haskell Stadium wasn’t enough for LHS coach Dirk Wedd.

The Lions (8-2) put on another display of big plays :quot; especially in a 26-point second quarter :quot; yet, the offensive inconsistency bothered Wedd. And for the first time in five game, he wasn’t happy with his team’s play.

“For the first time since Olathe North, I feel like we didn’t improve,” he said. “There were some things we didn’t like. Defensively we’ve got to step up and stop people and we didn’t push a soul off the ball on offense, which isn’t like us.

“We gotta figure this out.”

Certainly Wedd is thinking about the rest of the playoffs, and next week’s game against Olathe East, because the Mustangs (6-4) didn’t ever solve LHS.

BV North had a 7-6 lead heading into the second quarter, but that was short-lived as the Lions’ Brandon McAnderson ripped off a 59-yard touchdown run. Taking the handoff on third and six, the senior bruised his way for the first down, then rolled over onto teammate Brian Seymour, never stopping. McAnderson continued spinning, eluding two more Mustang defenders, then sprinted into the end zone.

It signaled the start of an offensive explosion.

The Lions scored three more touchdowns in the final seven minutes, one by senior Chris Fulton, another on a 77-yard pass from senior Tommy Mangino to junior Drew Cummings, and a short plunge by McAnderson just before halftime.

A 33-7 lead should be comforting, right?

Lawrence High defensive end Josh Lawrence (47) upends Blue Valley North quarterback Clayton Wood for a sack. The Lions dumped the Mustangs, 40-21, in their first-round state playoff game Friday night at Haskell Stadium.

“Coach Wedd wasn’t happy with us at halftime,” junior Josh Lawrence said. “He thought we should’ve been making those runs all the time.”

With 159 rushing yards on 22 carries at halftime, the Lions showed spurts at times, but did have trouble making consistent gains. Of course, with BV North stacking five or six players along the line of scrimmage, gains were understandably hard to come by.

“They had a lot of people on the line and those two guys were huge,” Wedd said. “What were they, 360 and 285?”

The “they” Wedd was referring to would be Carl Smith and Brian Weeks, who were listed at 360 and 279 pounds. They were more effective in the second half, limiting LHS to just 84 rushing yards.

But it didn’t matter.

The LHS defense, which did sack Mustang quarterback Clayton Wood five times, was good enough to limit BV North to just 60 rushing yards in the first half. Running back Clint Samuels ended up with 127 yards on 20 carries, but 101 of those came after LHS was up 33-6.

Lawrence High's Jeff Colter pummels Blue Valley North wide receiver Clint Samuels for a loss. The Lions won their first-round state playoff game, 40-21, Friday night at Haskell Stadium.

More disconcerting was the Lions’ pass defense, which surrendered two touchdowns and 164 yards.

“It seems like they could run toss sweep anytime they wanted to and they were picking on our tiny little cornerbacks,” Wedd said. “We had our hands full.”

Yes, there were plenty of bright spots.

Sophomore Jeff Colter intercepted Wood, returning the ball 50 yards and setting up a touchdown. McAnderson, who had 100 yards on 14 carries, had a 50-yard punt return in the second quarter, which set up an LHS score. Fulton scored three times and rushed 23 times for 124 yards, the fifth time this year both backs have been over 100 yards in the same game.

The effort all set up another game with Olathe East, which beat Shawnee Mission Northwest, 11-7. The Lions, who beat the Hawks 26-7 on Sept. 20, will travel to Olathe for the next round. Olathe North, a 28-0 winner against Shawnee Mission North, probably will play next Friday at Olathe District Activity Center. That leaves next Thursday or Saturday for the LHS-Olathe East game, at a time to be determined.

By then, Wedd just hopes his team will be ready.

“It’s tough to beat a team twice in one season,” Wedd said. “I know we’ve improved since then, but I think they have too. I hope we’re ready.”