The thrills that come with a grand opening are over for the Lawrence High bowling team — those jitters left after the Lions’ first home triangular Tuesday.

Now, it’s time to bowl, and bowl well.

And Thursday, although both the girls and boys varsity teams won a dual against Olathe East at Royal Crest Lanes, LHS coach Greg Farley wants to see more production. The LHS boys defeated the Hawks, 2,142-1,970; the girls won, 1,893-1,762.

“We need to do better at home than that,” said Farley, who said the boys’ score ideally would be in the 2,400s and the girls’ in the 2,100s. “If we’re going to be competitors, we need better scores than that. We need to still improve, and the kids are aware of that.

“The kids like to have people watching them and they’ll adjust to that and their scores will get better. Like any athlete, they’ll feed off of that.”

Unlike two days ago, bowlers were trying to catch their breath Thursday as the dual system allowed for little downtime.

LHS senior Tyler Demaline, who finished second after bowling a total of 547, said the two-team format made it “harder to relax and get the zone” compared to the triangular format.

Added teammate David Wyatt: “You get tired when you’re trying to bowl back-to-back. You want to get in a groove, but you also don’t want to wear yourself out.”

Shawn Jimboy posted a team-high score of 571, including the highest single game score of 234 in his first game.

Demaline’s sister, Tiffany, registered the highest girls score with a 567. Although only a freshman, she led the girls Tuesday with a 588 series.

“It’s hard when you have a little sister bowling as well as she does,” Tyler Demaline said. “It drives me to do better. Even though we’re on the same team, nobody likes to get beat by their little sister.”

LHS will next be in action Monday against Olathe North at Olathe West Lanes. Lawrence’s next home match is Feb. 8 with Free State High, as the chase for school bragging rights will spread to the bowling alley.

“The rivalry’s there,” Tyler Demaline said, “definitely.”