Lawrence faces physical Eagles

LHS probable starters

OFFENSE

WR-Aaron Rea, 6-0, 179, Sr. LT-Stephen Mason, 6-4, 268, Sr. LG-Penny Khaithianthong, 5-7, 187, Sr. C-Wes Henning, 6-1, 243, Sr. RG-Ben Muiller, 6-2, 206, Jr. RT-Chris Nieto, 6-3, 225, Sr. TE-Jay Baker, 6-0, 230, Jr.

QB-Clint Pinnick, 5-8, 160, Sr. RB-Clifton Sims, 5-5, 175, Sr. RB-Tyrae Jenkins, 5-9, 160, Jr. WR-Sam Willoughby, 6-1, 168, Sr.

PK-Spencer Scott, 6-0, 160, Sr.

DEFENSE

LE-Taylor Coleman, 6-1, 187, Jr. LT-Nieto. NG-Khaithianthong. RT-Dom Reiske, 5-5, 163, Sr. RE-Ryan Giblin, 5-9, 196, Sr. LB-Muiller. LB-Darren Sorem, 5-9, 158, Soph.

SS-Murphy Ray, 6-0, 162, Sr. CB-Pinnick. CB-Rea. FS-Jake Green, 6-0, 162, Sr.

P-Pinnick.

From the frying pan into the fire goes Lawrence High’s football team.

Last week the Lions faced one of the Sunflower League’s elite in Shawnee Mission Northwest. This time it’s another league power in Olathe North.

“This week will be even harder,” Lions’ quarterback Clint Pinnick said, “because North is known for its physicality.”

Kickoff will be at 7 p.m. today at Haskell Stadium.

The Lions are hoping to bounce back from last week’s 41-18 loss to SM Northwest – a defeat affected, in part, by the absence of injured two-way players Chebon Dawes (ankle) and Jake Green (knee).

Dawes, the Lions’ most experienced lineman, is still out, but Green is expected to return, albeit in a diminished capacity. In the first three games, Green played both running back (56 carries, 241 yards) and free safety, but the senior veteran will be strictly a defender tonight.

Taking Green’s place in the offensive backfield will be Tyrae Jenkins, a junior who came off the bench late in the third quarter against SM Northwest to rush for a team-high 92 yards.

“The Jenkins kid played mostly against their second-string defense,” Lawrence coach Dirk Wedd said, “but he did a good job of running the football.”

The 5-9, 160-pound Jenkins was one of the few bright spots last week. Darren Sorem was another.

“Sorem is really good,” Wedd said of the 5-9, 158-pound sophomore linebacker. “He had 13 to 15 tackles against Northwest.”

Quite likely, place-kicker Spencer Scott won’t make it for the opening kickoff. Also on the soccer team, Scott is scheduled to play in the Lions’ 5 p.m. match against Topeka High across town at Youth Sports Inc. fields.

“Maybe we can get a helicopter to bring him from YSI,” Wedd said, chuckling.

Olathe North (3-1) boasts one of the league’s best running backs in James Franklin, a 5-foot-9, 175-pound junior who ran for 271 yards and three touchdowns when the Eagles buried SM East, 50-6, last week.

“He’s very explosive with great quickness,” Wedd said of Franklin. “He’s one of many great Olathe North running backs.”

Lawrence High started the season with victories over SM North (10-3) and SM East (24-7), but then ran into a pair of buzzsaws. SM West handed the Lions a 35-7 licking a week before the lopsided loss to SM Northwest.

The Lions will travel to Olathe South next week, then begin Class 6A district play on Oct. 17 at home against Olathe Northwest.

¢ Notes: O-North’s only loss was a 14-13 squeaker to unbeaten Olathe East in the season opener. : LHS home games traditionally start at 7:30 p.m., but today’s kickoff was moved up 30 minutes because it’s a school night. : O-North’s Kevin Young, a 6-3, 226-pound lineman, has made an oral commitment to Kansas University.