Olathe ? The secret’s out.

Last week, in Lawrence High’s season-opening loss to Olathe North, the Lions unleashed an aerial attack that surprised their opponents and even themselves.

It wasn’t quarterback Clint Pinnick’s 16 attempts and 165 yards that caused eyes to pop. But LHS lining up in three-receiver sets with Pinnick in the shotgun created a stir.

Lawrence High’s new look worked for much of the first half, and the teams entered the locker room tied at 13.

But Olathe North pulled away in the second half and rolled to a 41-13 victory.

This week, Lawrence High (0-1) will return to Olathe looking for its first victory of the season, against Olathe Northwest, which lost to Shawnee Mission West, 28-7, in Week 1.

LHS coach Dirk Wedd knows the shock value of his new offense won’t have the same impact against the Ravens. But he’s less concerned about his opponent and more concerned about his own team eliminating the mistakes that led to a forgettable second half against the Eagles.

“We’re not in a position to care about what other people think,” Wedd said. “When you get beat 41-13, there’s not any strong suit there. We just have to improve across the board.”

Back on the practice field after the loss, Wedd and his coaching staff emphasized fundamentals and challenged the Lions to raise their level of play to get past the glitches that plagued them against Olathe North.

The list was long and highlighted by a bevy of miscues including fumbles, interceptions, bad reads and missed blocking assignments. But the Lions excelled in two areas of the game, and that helped Wedd overlook the missteps.

“Character and hard work,” Wedd said. “If that wins football games, we have a chance every week. We have a whole bunch of kids who played in their first varsity football games last Friday night. And it’s a lot different than playing in a JV game at 10 o’clock on Saturday morning. I really believe they learned a lot about what it takes to compete at this level. Most teams make a huge jump between the first and second week. And I’m hoping this team will, too.”

Standing in the way are a couple of obstacles that might make things slightly more difficult. For starters, the game will be played on a Thursday instead of the more common Friday-night kickoff. Secondly, the Lions once again will play on the road at the College Boulevard Athletic Complex.

“You can sit and get gray hair worrying about things you can’t control,” Wedd said. “But the thing we can control is getting on the bus at 4:30, taking a 30-minute drive to Olathe and going out and playing a good football game.”

LHS wideout Travis Sanders said the team saw playing a day early as an advantage.

“We have a bad taste in our mouths right now,” Sanders said. “And we’re excited that we get to go out there a day earlier and play again.”

The Lions will have to eliminate their mistakes and find a way to keep a potentially explosive Ravens offense in check.

Olathe Northwest is led by highly touted running back Jarard Milo, who has received scholarship offers from a handful of Division I schools. Last week, Milo managed just 10 yards on eight carries against the defending Sunflower League champions. Quarterback C.J. Krug led the Ravens’ attack, rushing 13 times for 121 yards and a fourth-quarter touchdown on an option keeper.

While Northwest’s offense struggled, its defense rose to the challenge. After surrendering 21 second-quarter points, the Ravens held the Vikings to just seven in the second half. That alone was cause for concern, according to Wedd.

“They have a good quarterback and played arguably the best team in the Sunflower League last week and held them to seven points in the second half,” Wedd said. “They have a lot of speed and skill and we’re small and slow so it’s going to be a challenge.”

Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.