Olathe ? Anthony Parks caught seven passes for 115 yards, including a touchdown, and intercepted Lawrence High quarterback Tommy Mangino on the Lions’ final possession of Friday’s 21-19 loss to Olathe East at the Olathe District Activity Center.

Imagine what he would have done if he was healthy.

Parks, the Hawks’ starting slot back, broke a rib in a 35-14 loss to Olathe North on Oct. 18, but started at wide receiver against the Lions because fellow junior Tyler Mills was injured.

“Him being out kind of put the load on my back, which I happily accepted ” more passes to me,” Parks said.

Those passes were there because Lawrence’s defensive backs gave Olathe East a six- or seven-yard cushion on nearly every play. Olathe East coach Jeff Meyers said he expected Lawrence to allow short passes to prevent the big play.

Hawks quarterback Derek Diehl took advantage of the Lions’ lax coverage near the line of scrimmage. He hit Parks for five passes of less than 10 yards, three of which resulted in first downs.

Diehl also connected with Parks for two big gains: a 44-yard pass on the Hawks’ first scoring drive, and a 35-yard touchdown that started as a short pass on the left sideline.

Parks caught the ball, bounced off LHS defenders Brian Seymour and Brandon McAnderson and raced to the end zone.

Lawrence High football coach Dirk Wedd is livid on the sidelines during Friday's 21-19 loss to Olathe East in the Class 6A playoffs at the Olathe District Activity Center.

“Give him the ball and he’s a kid who can make moves,” Meyers said. “He’s a good enough receiver that if they played him one-on-one, we were going to try to take that as much as we could.”

Parks’ lone mistake was a blown coverage assignment on Lawrence receiver Ryan Engel on the first play of the fourth quarter.

Just after Meyers told the Hawks to anticipate a pass, Mangino found Engel wide open. Engel scored on the 85-yard play, bringing Lawrence to within eight points, 21-13. The extra point attempt was blocked.

“I kind of lost track of the wide receiver,” Parks said. “He was a lot faster than what I thought.

“He has great wheels. Mangino threw a great pass, right on point. There was nothing I could do about that.”

Parks atoned for his mistake with the clinching interception, a diving grab at the Olathe East 29-yard line.

He attributed his 11th pick of the season to the defensive linemen.

“They put great pressure on the quarterback,” Parks said. “Mangino got drilled the first time he tried to pass the ball. I mean, who would want to stay in and take that hit over and over.”

Parks took his biggest hit of the game after the interception, even though he wasn’t touched by a Lion on the play.

“That last shot by my own player, actually ” Damian Smith ” was a good shot,” Parks said. “He got me in the kidney, but I’ll be all right for next week.”