The streak continues.

But it might not last much longer.

Lawrence High’s football team hasn’t beaten Olathe North in a regular-season football game since 1993. For the first five minutes Thursday night at Haskell Stadium, it looked as if the Lions might have a chance finally to ground the Eagles.

But when Lawrence’s opening drive ended on the North one-yard line after marching 68 yards in 19 plays, it signaled the end of hopes for an LHS win.

The Eagles, unbeaten in 29 games and winners of back-to-back state titles, shut down the Lions after that drive, claiming a 20-6 win. Defense on both sides prevailed, shutting down the two best offenses in the Sunflower League on a wet, muddy field.

“It’s hard to tell what happened tonight,” Eagles coach Gene Weir said. “We couldn’t rush they ball, they couldn’t rush the ball.”

One wouldn’t have guessed that coming in. The Lions featured the league’s top ground game, averaging 356 yards rushing a game, with running backs Brandon McAnderson and Chris Fulton combining for 1,300 yards this year. North puts up 349 yards a game, while its running back, Jim Bouknight, has 953 yards this season.

Both teams were held well below those averages. With defenses swarming at every rush, and it wasn’t until the fourth quarter that Bouknight became the only one to break 100 yards.

McAnderson and Fulton were held to 38 yards on 22 carries.

Even with those numbers, the Lions were in the game.

The opening drive was a combination of North bottling up the Lions, and quarterback Tommy Mangino picking apart its defense. He completed four of five passes for 56 yards and was the only consistent offensive aspect. He connected with Ryan Engel twice for 22 yards, Josh Lawrence once for 24 yards and Drew Cummings for a 10-yard gain.

The last one put LHS at the North 13, but after five plays, including three inside the North three-yard line, McAnderson was stopped on a fourth-and-goal from the one.

“Not getting any points on that drive hurt us,” LHS coach Dirk Wedd said. “We kinda dug ourselves into a hole after that. If we punch it in in the first quarter, it’s a different game.”

As it turned out, the game went fast, with each team stuffing each other’s offense.

North notched the first score, with Casey Smith nailing a 34-yard field goal as time expired in the first half. He hit a 37-yarder in the third quarter, and Bouknight scored the first touchdown four minutes later.

Lawrence wouldn’t score until midway through the fourth, when a big completion to Lawrence set up a McAnderson touchdown from three yards out.

Until that point, the Lions’ defenders had been limiting Bouknight. That didn’t last when he sealed the North victory with a 72-yard romp down the south sideline.

LHS couldn’t muster any offense after that, and North was content to run out the clock and move to 5-0 this season. The Lions, 3-2, had their chances, but couldn’t capitalize.

Still, Wedd wasn’t about to knock his team. He’s looking toward the end of the season and a possible playoff matchup against the Eagles.

“I’ll be perfectly honest,” he said. “If we keep improving, we’re going to have another shot at those guys down the road.”