You can’t win if you don’t score. Thus, point production is Lawrence High’s point of emphasis in football practice this week.

The Lions will face Olathe South in the second round of the Class 6A state playoffs at 7 p.m. Friday at the Olathe District Activities Center.

It’s the same Olathe South team that whitewashed the Lions, 14-0, about a month ago, also at ODAC. In fact, no one stuffed the Lions (9-1) like the Falcons did.

“Our offense has to do a little better job of scoring points this time,” senior Marc Albers said.

Lawrence High’s vaunted running attack managed only 112 yards on 41 carries. That’s an average of 2.7 yards per attempt – a number skewed only slightly by 19 yards lost via sacks. The Lions’ longest run was a pedestrian 11-yarder by running back Nolan Kellerman late in the fourth quarter.

“They were probably the biggest team we’d played to that point,” said Cory Gaston, a two-year starter at center. “We weren’t mentally ready to block against a team that big.”

Gaston, a 5-foot-9, 200-pounder, was dwarfed by an O-South defensive line that averages approximately 250 pounds per man.

“Size-wise, they’re one of the biggest lines we’ve ever had to block against,” Gaston said.

In that first meeting, Olathe South limited the Lions to a season-low 168 yards of total offense. The Lions also lost two fumbles and were whistled seven times for 65 penalty yards.

Yet coach Dirk Wedd was more concerned about the lack of offense than he was by the mistakes.

“We didn’t block,” Wedd said. “That’s where it all went south. Up front.”

Now it’s up to Gaston and his offensive line mates to do an about-face.

“We have to be prepared,” Gaston said. “We know what we did wrong. Since then, we’ve come a long way up front.”

In the four games since the O-South stuffing, the Lions have reeled off district wins over Washburn Rural (21-13), Free State (33-28) and Topeka High (57-3), and over Blue Valley Northwest (40-6) in last week’s playoff opener.

Even with the O-South goose egg, Lawrence High has impressive numbers. The Lions are averaging 34.2 points a game, and have scored 33 points or more in seven of their 10 outings.

In addition to emphasizing blocking improvement, Wedd is keeping a watchful eye on Kellerman, the Lions’ leading rusher.

The 5-foot-9, 170-pound senior suffered a left knee strain while being tackled in the second quarter of the BV Northwest game, and is being held out of contract drills.

“I was a little bit worried it was more serious than it was,” Kellerman said in retrospect, “but I think I could have gone back in.”

Nevertheless, with the Lions comfortably ahead, Wedd kept Kellerman on the sideline as a precautionary measure. Tests the next day showed no serious damage, but Kellerman will have to wear a knee brace against O-South.

“This will be the first time I’ve ever worn one,” he said, “but I don’t think it will affect me.”

Kellerman, incidentally, also will have to wear the brace during the upcoming wrestling season. He’s the defending Class 6A state champion at 160 pounds.