Overland Park ? Blake Lawrence sat by his locker at halftime and looked at Shawnee Mission West coach Tim Callaghan. The two didn’t exchange words at first, but knew what the other was thinking.

“We made eye contact at halftime in the locker room,” Lawrence said. “Kind of a silence, but then he asked me if I was ready to go. I said ‘Coach, I’m ready.'”

Lawrence, who separated his right shoulder last week, only played defense for the first half of Friday night’s 31-14 Class 6A state semifinal victory against Free State. But that wasn’t enough for the senior, who convinced his coach to play him at quarterback – where he led SM West to an undefeated season – in the second half.

Lawrence replaced senior Jared Witter, who only completed 3-of-6 passes for 32 yards in the first half.

At halftime, the scoreboard read 14-14 at Shawnee Mission South District Stadium. By the end of the game, SM West outscored Free State by 17 points and booked its trip to Emporia next week to face Hutchinson in the Class 6A state championship game.

Lawrence ended the game in emphatic fashion. He took a snap under center, paused behind the line of scrimmage, eluded two tackles, then burst through the left side of his offensive line for a 52-yard touchdown run with 1:51 remaining on the clock. After the touchdown, Lawrence tasted the thrill of victory and even started to map out the Vikings’ trail for next week.

“I was about to jump on 435 and then take, what is it, 35 South, to get there?” Lawrence asked about the quickest way to get to Emporia. “I was wondering how the heck I stayed on my feet. I didn’t want anyone to catch me, because I know they had the Murphys and those are some fast guys.”

Callaghan said Lawrence told him he felt better at the beginning of the game, but he didn’t want to change the expectations of the SM West offensive personnel. Witter took snaps under center with the first team all week in practice.

“You’ve got kids believing in plans and you don’t want to change it right before the game,” Callaghan said of playing Lawrence at quarterback. “It was one of those deals where we knew that was our second option. And it’s not a bad option to have. He makes the average calls great.”

Lawrence was 3-of-9 passing for 46 yards, and had two rushes for 54 yards and the touchdown.

The Vikings defense was just as big a factor in the SM west victory as Lawrence was on offense. SM West held Free State, which averaged more than 40 points per game, scoreless in the second half. The Vikings forced five turnovers, and capitalized on 17 points from the Firebirds’ miscues.

Free State’s quick-strike offense established early momentum when it took the ball 80 yards for the opening touchdown. A failed extra-point attempt made the score 6-0. On SM West’s first possession, Witter missed a 52-yard field goal, which gave the Firebirds the ball again.

Senior Cory Maher was responsible for the first sign of any SM West momentum. He sniffed out a screen pass to Free State tailback Brian Murphy, recovered the ensuing fumble and returned it 18 yards for the Vikings’ opening touchdown.

“That’s just a lineman’s dream,” Maher said. “The Murphys are as fast as all dickens. As soon as I saw the pass, I was trying to close. Then, as soon as I saw the ball on the ground, it was instinct from there.”

Maher came up with another Murphy fumble in the fourth quarter. Witter then nailed a 44-yard field goal, which may have been good from 60, to put the Vikings ahead by 10. Lawrence later sealed the game with his touchdown run.

“This can’t be described,” Maher said. “It’s ridiculous. This is the best feeling I’ve ever had.”