Lawrence High running back Tyler Hunt, right, lunges into the end zone against Washburn Rural. The Lions routed the Junior Blues, 28-6, Friday at Haskell Stadium.

In hopes of keeping quarterback Clint Pinnick from aggravating an ankle injury that held him out the previous three weeks, Lawrence High’s football team went back to basics with him reinserted in the lineup Friday night at Haskell Stadium.

The result was an old-school, traditional ground attack on senior night that looked more like the LHS championship-winning teams of years past in a 28-6 drubbing of Washburn Rural to open district play. Lawrence ran the ball 41 times and threw just seven passes.

Lions head coach Dirk Wedd said the move was a direct result of Pinnick’s situation.

“One, we’re not positive how far Clint is along, health-wise,” Wedd said. “We didn’t want to put a whole lot of pressure on him, and we sure didn’t want to get him banged up. With five minutes to go in the third quarter, we had every starter out on offense. We’ve just been so banged up, I’m just real nervous about every snap on offense.”

Against the Junior Blues, Lawrence (3-4) nearly abandoned its pistol shotgun offense it displayed in the first six games of the season. Pinnick took the first 19 snaps of the game from under center before snapping one out of the pistol.

And with the way the Lions ran all over Washburn Rural, Pinnick didn’t need to do much. Tyler Hunt rushed for two touchdowns and caught a third score, Clifton Sims ran for a touchdown, and Jake Green totaled 70 yards on the ground in just four carries. LHS outrushed the Junior Blues, 216-38.

“We just wanted to come out and show everybody we could pound the ball like old, traditional Lawrence High,” Hunt said. “Eventually, holes opened up and we got some touchdowns.”

Said Pinnick, “The coaches wanted to pound the ball, and with these guys in the backfield, I don’t blame them. I love having them as running backs.”

Lawrence ran the ball on 10 of its first 11 plays, culminating in Hunt’s first score – a bruising 28-yard run right up the middle, and LHS didn’t stop until gaining a four-touchdown lead late in the third quarter when all the offensive starters were pulled. Nine different Lions carried the ball on the night, as the game lasted little more than two hours.

Meanwhile, Washburn Rural played about as bad as advertised. The Junior Blues (1-6) came into the contest averaging seven points a game, having been shut out in three of them. And if not for a score with its starters still in against the LHS backups in the final two minutes, it would have been a fourth shut out. Halfway through the fourth quarter, Washburn Rural actually had minus-one yards of total offense.

“Washburn Rural’s got some injuries on the offensive side, and they’re not very explosive,” Wedd said. “Some of that was our kids playing real hard and doing a great job.

“We got all the seniors in and they all got to play, so that was huge. That was one of the objectives.”

Perhaps the only negative that could be gleaned from the blowout win was an injury to senior wide receiver and defensive back Travis Sanders, who will have to be re-evaluated for the remainder of district play.

Pinnick finished the game 3 of 7 for 19 yards with one touchdown and one interception, and most importantly for the Lions, he said his ankle feels great.

“I got this new brace and it supported it well,” Pinnick said. “I didn’t have any problems with my ankle. It was all about running the plays and executing the plays, and we did well.”

For LHS, the win sets up an inter-city battle of unbeatens in district play next week against Free State High at Haskell Stadium – a challenge Wedd knows will be tough.

“Free State very easily could be the best football team we play so far this year,” Wedd said. “We just need to keep improving this week and hopefully, somehow, some way keep the game close.”

For Pinnick, Friday was all about getting the team back together to make a run in districts.

“I think it gives the guys confidence,” Pinnick said of the Lions’ performance against the Junior Blues. “I don’t see why it wouldn’t. After a 28-6 win, you’ve got to feel good.”