Leavenworth ? It was getting to be repetitive.

All night, Lawrence High senior Chris Fulton was half a step from sacking Leavenworth quarterback Josh Smith, only to have the 6-foot-5, 220-pound senior shake a tackle or elude Fulton at the last second.

Lawrence High's Ryan Engle (11) helps take down Leavenworth running back Casey Harris. The Lions held off the Pioneers, 34-20, in their season-opener Friday at Abeles Field in Leavenworth.

It figured that when Fulton finally hit Smith, good things happened for the Lions.

Fulton sacked Smith three times, forcing two fumbles and having the third stop a late Pioneer drive, helping LHS hold off a pesky Leavenworth team, 34-20, Friday night at Abeles Field.

“The coaches told us to be ready when he rolled out,” Fulton said. “Sometimes, it took three guys to bring him down.”

The Pioneers ran a motion-heavy offense that prominently featured its skill players with good reason. Smith found his wide receivers and running backs on short passes and fades all game, until the Lions began to adjust midway through the fourth quarter.

That didn’t stop Smith from completing 20 of 38 passes for 146 yards and a touchdown. Heck, the right-handed senior was versatile enough to complete three passes left-handed.

“I realized it was going to be a long night when he rolled to his left, threw with his left and completed it for a first down,” LHS coach Dirk Wedd said.

But when the Lions snared Smith, good things happened.

After taking a 6-0 lead on a Brandon McAnderson touchdown, Leavenworth found itself in passing mode on its own 32-yard line. Fulton, an all-state sprinter, burst around the right side and crushed Smith, jarring the ball loose. Senior Kenny Poeverlein recovered the first of two Pioneer fumbles at the 26.

Lawrence High's Chris Fulton just misses sacking Leavenworth quarterback Josh Smith in the Lions' 34-20 victory Friday night.

The Lions went three-and-out, and Leavenworth was driving again on the next series.

This time, Fulton took care of everything, sacking Smith at the 44-yard line, then scooping up the fumble and returning it 41 yards for a 12-0 Lawrence lead.

“I was just trying to sack him,” Fulton said. “But I saw the ball, and was lucky enough to have some blockers.”

Both offenses stalled early in the second half, until Leavenworth caught a break. Charles Morgan fumbled the handoff at the Pioneers’ 48-yard line, but picked it up and scampered down the left side for a 52-yard score. He outran the entire LHS secondary, exposing the Lions’ lack of speed.

“We really felt like we were going to have problems matching up with their skill players,” Wedd said. “That was probably something we didn’t do a good job preparing for as a coaching staff.”

Lawrence answered with a nine-play, 58-yard drive that featured McAnderson on the first six plays, and culminated with him scoring from eight yards out. The score was set up by a spectacular diving catch by LHS tight end Josh Lawrence, who dove for a fade pass from quarterback Tommy Mangino. The 24-yard grab drew raves from Wedd.

Leavenworth quarterback Josh Smith leaps over Lawrence High's Josh Lawrence during the first quarter. The Lions pulled away from the Pioneers for a 34-20 season-opening victory Friday night at Abeles Field in Leavenworth.

“That was probably the best catch of the game,” he said.

Leavenworth scored again, then recovered the ensuing onside kick, and scored another touchdown. The two-point conversion cut the lead to 28-20, but LHS did what it was expected to do.

It rode on McAnderson’s shoulders.

He carried the ball four times on a five-play, 51-yard drive, that gave him his third touchdown of the night. He finished with 186 yards on 32 carries.

For all of the Lions’ problems, Wedd admitted they have lots of work to do before next Friday’s game against Shawnee Mission North.

“Where do you begin?” Wedd said. “We have to improve on our tackling, we have to improve on our assignments, we have to improve on catching the football.

“We have a lot to work on, and we haven’t even talked about the kicking game” he added. “But the good thing about these kids is, they’re going to come out (today) at 8 a.m., ready to get better. That’s what we need.”