Overland Park ? He’s just getting over extreme fatigue, bad seasonal allergies and a possible case of strep throat.

But if you think that would have stopped Jeff Colter from running the football on Thursday — especially when his offensive line was opening titanic holes — think again.

“I feel great now,” Colter said moments after he rushed for 168 yards, leading Lawrence High to a 48-27 victory over Shawnee Mission East.

The three-touchdown rout at SM South District Stadium was the Lions’ first victory in four tries this season, but really the win was more inevitable than anything after how far the offense had improved in recent weeks.

Even without Colter, who missed last week’s game against SM North because of illness, the Lions looked poised to rush over the hump created by inexperience and a challenging early season schedule.

Thursday, they did just that.

“There’s so many hurdles out there, and you’ve got to get over that first one,” LHS coach Dirk Wedd said. “It’s really nice for the kids, because we’ve asked them to work so hard, and they weren’t getting any reward for it.”

Lawrence (1-3 overall, 1-2 Sunflower League) never punted Thursday and attempted just one pass — a successful 43-yard strike from Brian Heere to Brandon Lassiter. Otherwise, it was 52 handoffs to seven different rushers, most notably Colter (17 carries for 168 yards), Nolan Kellerman (11-58) and Ian Handshy (10-54).

Colter and Kellerman each had two touchdowns and combined for five two-point conversions. Together, they finished enough drives early to keep SM East (2-2, 1-2) behind by a

Lawrence High's Nolan Kellerman (26) breaks off a lengthy punt return against Shawnee Mission East. Kellerman had 58 yards rushing and scored two touchdowns, helping the Lions beat the Lancers, 48-27, Thursday at SM South District Stadium in Overland Park. The win was the Lions' first of the season.

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considerable amount. The Lancers, despite scoring four touchdowns, never seriously threatened after LHS raced to a 16-0 first-quarter lead.

Simply put, SM East just couldn’t keep up with Lawrence’s improved offensive attack.

“It’s like a jigsaw puzzle,” Wedd said. “You’re trying to figure it all out, and it just took us a little longer than we anticipated.”

Friday’s 48-point outburst was more than LHS scored in its first three games combined. The biggest factor was the health of Colter, Handshy and Kellerman in the backfield, and their prowess was aided by the continued growth of the offensive line.

LHS running back Jeff Colter (14) is congratulated by teammate Matthew Stiles after a Colter touchdown run against Shawnee Mission East. Colter had two touchdowns in the Lions' 48-27 victory Thursday in Overland Park.

Against Leavenworth in Week One, Colter and Handshy were stopped nine times for no gain or a loss of yardage, mostly because of defensive line penetration by the Pioneers.

Thursday, the two garnered positive yardage all 27 times they carried the ball. Six times were for double-digit yardage, including runs of 26, 19 and 63 by Colter.

“They’re starting to look more like last year,” Colter said of the 2003 line that helped the Lions lead the league in rushing. “They’re working real hard up there.”

6News video: LHS wins first game (09-23-04) Audio: Dirk Wedd, part 1 Audio: Dirk Wedd, part 2 Audio: Dirk Wedd, part 3 Audio: Dirk Wedd, part 4

Now, Lawrence High should have a little more pep to the step in practice as it prepares for next week’s road battle with SM South.

With one down, the monkey’s off the back, and the bulk of the season still is left to be played.

“We’re going to start rackin’ them up now,” Colter said. “We just had to get that first one out of the way.”