Lawrence High wide receiver Nathan Padia woke his parents up late last Friday night.

He hollered from his bedroom as he watched replays of himself nearly hauling in a game-tying touchdown pass on three different downs during the last series of the game.

“I was a little mad,” Padia said. “It’s hard to forget. But when it’s over, it’s over.”

Indeed LHS must move on from last week’s heartbreaking 34-27 loss to Olathe North because it faces another area stalwart – Olathe South (1-0) – this week.

“It will be a good test,” LHS coach Dirk Wedd said.

South, the fifth-ranked team in the preseason Sunflower League coaches’ poll, played impressively last week, beating Shawnee Mission South, 42-17. Junior running back Anthony Sanchez rushed for 241 yards, the highest Week-One total in the Sunflower League. Although Wedd said South’s potent passing attack would prevent the Lions from selling out against the run, he deemed Sanchez “explosive.” Against such a talented runner, Lawrence must improve a unit that was porous last week, surrendering 283 rushing yards.

“It’s going to be key to shut down the run,” senior safety/running back Tony Williams said.

Wedd said his team must execute better tackling fundamentals during the game and play within the scheme instead of moving out of their assigned gaps to make a play.

“We have a tendency to do our own thing,” Wedd said. “Some of that’s inexperience, but that’s just an excuse.”

However, a young Lawrence team, which lost 18 seniors from last year’s team, also showed promise in hanging tough against a stout North squad. Two players in particular shone brightly. Williams rushed for 126 yards and one touchdown on 15 carries, and Padia had his coming-out party, catching three passes for 132 yards and a touchdown and rushing for 61 yards on three carries – albeit in a loss.

“I could care less about the stats if we don’t win,” Padia said.

But Padia should remain the No. 1 receiving option. Another threat, tight end Nick DeBiasse, likely will miss his second straight game because of a knee injury. Patrick Johnson, who played the majority of last Friday’s game, will start at nose tackle Friday.

Last year’s games between Olathe South and Lawrence High caused reverberations throughout the Sunflower League. South handed LHS its only regular season loss – a 14-0 defeat on Oct. 6 – but LHS ended the Falcons’ season with a 21-10 victory in the second round of the playoffs.

The Lions will have faced two of their most difficult opponents – Olathe North and South – during the first two weeks of their season. But Wedd likes that. He wanted a series of early season tests to determine the mettle of his young squad.

“We’ll know a lot more about us,” Wedd said, “at 10:30 p.m. on Friday.”