One could mistake the Lawrence High football team for a MASH unit this week.

Senior Brian Seymour is out because of a strained medial collateral ligament in his right knee, and cornerbacks Taylor Parker and Brett Urban are recovering from the flu.

That shakes up the Lions’ defense heading into tonight’s game against Shawnee Mission North at Haskell Stadium, leaving LHS coach Dirk Wedd to wonder what is the right remedy for his ailing team. Kickoff is 7:30 p.m.

“We’re really banged up right now,” Wedd said. “Anytime you have to prepare for that kind of team, it’s tough. And for us, right now we have no corners.”

Wedd wasn’t sure how much Parker or Urban would play. For now, junior Drew Cummings will see a lot more time at cornerback, along with junior Ryan Engle. Those two are the Lions’ starting wide receivers, so Wedd doesn’t want to use them extensively on defense.

Seymour, a starter at running back and linebacker, will be out 4 to 6 weeks after injuring himself late in the first half of last Friday’s 34-20 win against Leavenworth. Replacing him on defense will be juniors John Davis and Will Thomas, and Davis and senior Chris Fulton will have more carries on offense.

The worst part may be preparing for the Indians’ quarterback, junior Brooks Faddis. He put a scare into defending Sunflower League champ Olathe North last week, rushing for 91 yards on eight carries, including an 85-yard touchdown run. The Eagles pulled out a 24-14 win, but Faddis made quite an impression.

“He just scares me so much,” Wedd said. “I told the kids, I think I woke up five times last night, with visions of him just running through my bed.

“He’s a kid that’s got good feet, and he’s an adequate passer, so you can’t sit back on him. He’s a handful.”

Faddis had trouble with cramps against O-North, so he’ll split time behind center and at wide receiver. Sophomore Mack Brown will play quarterback otherwise, which is fine with SMN coach Sam Brown.

“We plan to try and utilize him at wide receiver because it’s awful tough for one person to try and stop him,” Brown said. “We have some other weapons, but Brooks certainly is a catalyst because of his speed.”

One of those other weapons is running back Brian Bennett, who Brown says has Faddis’ speed but isn’t as shifty.

If Lawrence’s defense which allowed just 211 yards of total offense against Leavenworth can stop the Indians’ explosive skill players, the Lions should be in good shape.

That’s a big if.

“We don’t have good enough athletes to just throw our helmets out onto the field and go,” Wedd said. “We need to do a better job defensively of playing Lawrence High football.

“We’re in a situation right now where we’re trying to figure out where we’re at. We’re still searching for our identity, and trying to figure out what we can do.”