Sometimes it’s not how you play, but who you play.

Case in point: Lawrence High’s football team.

The Lions lead the Sunflower League in total offense and are second in scoring offense, but they have lost two straight games after a season-opening thumping of Leavenworth.

Then again, the two losses were to Shawnee Mission North and Olathe East, two unbeaten teams currently listed in the top five in state high-school rankings. Also, both defeats were on the road.

Now the Lions are back home to face what appears to be a lesser opponent — Olathe South, also 1-2.

Kickoff will be at 7:30 p.m. tonight at Haskell Stadium. A tape-delayed broadcast will start at 10:30 p.m. on Sunflower Broadband Channel 6.

“We’ve had to learn valuable lessons,” LHS coach Dirk Wedd said. “Mainly, we’ve got to learn to finish.”

Against both SM North and Olathe East, the Lions frittered late leads, leading to speculation lack of depth may have been a factor. Wedd uses eight players both ways, but he discounts the out-of-gas theory.

“No, I don’t think that’s the reason,” Wedd said. “These kids are in great shape, and the weather hasn’t been hot. That’s not it.”

Lack of offensive diversification is another potential factor. The Lions lead the lead in rushing, but are dead last in passing. Lawrence High, in fact, has thrown nearly as many interceptions (five) as completions (eight).

Wedd is committed to the running game, but concedes the Lions must pose more of a passing threat by utilizing tight end Josh Lawrence and wide receiver Drew Cummings.

“We need to get the ball to Josh and Drew,” he said.

In contrast, Olathe South is last in the league in rushing, but quarterback Allen Ramirez has completed more than 50 percent of his passes. More important, Ramirez has yet to throw an interception.

Olathe South’s problem has been scoring. The Falcons have just two touchdowns in three games. At the same time, they have surrendered only four TDs. Typical was a 6-0 loss to Free State two weeks ago.

“They can move the football, but they’ve had trouble in the red zone,” Wedd said. “Hopefully, we can make that continue, but we’re last in pass defense.”

Lawrence has indeed surrendered more passing yards (172.33 per game) than any other Sunflower League team, but the Lions lead the league with eight interceptions, too.

The Lions will go back on the road next week to tangle with perennial state powerhouse Olathe North.