Hidden beneath the wave of euphoria surrounding Lawrence High’s 3-0 football start is a riptide.

Sure, the Lions have been impressive but, on the flip side, not a single one of their three opponents has won a game. That’s right. The combined record of Lawrence’s foes is 0-9 – a fact that hasn’t been lost on coach Dirk Wedd.

“We haven’t proven how good we are yet,” Wedd said.

Shawnee Mission East, tonight’s foe, is likely to provide a more accurate barometer of the Lions’ strength. The Lancers, 2-1, and the Lions will tangle at 7:30 p.m. at Haskell Stadium.

SM East started with wins over SM Northwest (10-3) and Olathe Northwest (17-7), then challenged Olathe East, one of the Sunflower League favorites, before bowing 31-19 last weekend.

Olathe East was clinging to a 24-19 lead with four minutes remaining before an SM East turnover enabled the Hawks to post an insurance touchdown.

“Offensively, they scare you to death,” Wedd said of the Lancers. “They had 400 yards of offense against us last year and they have most of the same players back.”

In the Lions’ 48-27 win over the Lancers last year, quarterback Brett Condie compiled 221 yards of offense, throwing for one TD and rushing for another. Now a senior, Condie threw for 183 yards and three touchdowns last week against Olathe East.

Lawrence will be playing its first home game in three weeks. The Lions’ last two outings were Thursday night road trips.

“We had a tough two weeks on the road,” Wedd said. “Playing on Thursday nights : it’s a bit different. I think the kids are excited about playing on Friday night when the students can come out and support us.”

The Lions will have one more Thursday night game and it, too, will be on the road. Lawrence will meet Olathe South on Oct. 6 at ODAC in a game that potentially could decide the Sunflower League champion.

First things first, though.

“They don’t give trophies after three games,” Wedd said. “Or for nine games, for that matter.”

Wedd received some good news from the trainers this week. Fullback Matt Stiles, who suffered a broken wrist bone two weeks ago, has been cleared to play.

“He’ll have a cast and we may use him on a limited basis,” Wedd said.

Also scheduled to make his season debut is Chance Riley, a 6-foot-3, 175-pound junior who was a starting defensive end and back-up quarterback until he underwent an appendectomy prior to the season opener.

Chris Cates, a member of Lawrence High’s soccer team, will handle the kicking chores tonight. Junior Abby Vestal was the Lions’ primary place-kicker in the last two games because Cates had soccer commitments.

Lawrence High will return to Haskell Stadium next Friday to meet Shawnee Mission South, still another Sunflower League team without a victory.