LHS, SM West meet in battle of unbeatens

Lawrence High's Clifton Sims (31), Cody Bonham (41), and Chris Nieto (55) swarm to tackle SM East quarterback Curran Darling in Lawrence High's victory on Saturday at Shawnee Mission South. The Lions' defense has held its opponents to 10 points in two games.

Probable starters

OFFENSE

WR-Aaron Rea, 6-0, 179, Sr. T-Stephen Mason, 6-4, 268, Sr. G-Jay Baker, 6-0, 230, Jr. C-Ryan Giblin, 5-9, 196, Sr. G-Ben Muiller, 6-2, 206, Jr. T-Chris Nieto, 6-3, 225, Sr. TE-Chebon Dawes, 6-2, 280, Sr.

QB-Clint Pinnick, 5-8, 160, Sr. RB-Clifton Sims, 5-5, 175, Sr. RB-Jake Green, 6-0, 162, Sr. 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-Penny Khaithianthong, 5-7, 187, Sr. RT-Dawes. RE-Rea. LB-Muiller. LB-Darren Sorem, 5-9, 158, Soph.

SS-Murphy Ray, 6-0, 162, Sr. CB-Pinnick. CB-Chris Gaston, 6-0, 163, Soph. FS-Green.

P-Dawes.

Through two games of the high school football season, Lawrence High finds itself in a pleasant, yet recently unfamiliar, spot.

At 2-0, the Lions currently sit atop the Sunflower League standings, tied with two other teams.

With victories over Shawnee Mission North, 10-3 in Week 1, and SM East, 24-7 in Week 2, the Lions established themselves as a team headed in the right direction. What makes the back-to-back victories even more impressive is that LHS picked up both victories on the road.

The early-season success hardly has the Lions in awe.

“Everyone’s looking at us now,” senior quarterback Clint Pinnick said. “And I’m sure everyone’s saying we’re a surprise team right now. But we knew we were going to start 2-0. We’re sky-high and ready to keep it going.”

Doing so becomes considerably tougher tonight when Lawrence plays host to Shawnee Mission West at Haskell Stadium.

Like the Lions, the Vikings enter tonight’s 7:30 kickoff with a 2-0 record.

West not only brings size and talent into the game, but also experience winning at Haskell Stadium. In Week 1 the Vikings knocked off Free State, 40-19, scoring 22 fourth-quarter points to turn a closely contested battle into a blowout.

SMW racked up 438 yards of total offense in that one, including 383 yards on the ground. Senior Darron Harvey, a 6-foot-2, 275-pound stallion of a running back, recorded 275 yards on 23 carries.

Last week, the Vikings dumped Olathe South, 21-14, behind another steady performance from the SMW offense.

One of the most intriguing storylines from tonight’s clash of unbeatens pits West’s offense against Lawrence’s defense. The Lions have given up just 10 points in two games and have held their opponents to an average of 161 yards of total offense per game.

“The biggest key for our defense has been getting everybody on the same page,” sophomore linebacker Darren Sorem said.

Even though LHS has jumped out to a solid start, head coach Dirk Wedd said his squad was well aware that the Lions would be facing their most formidable opponent of the season tonight.

“We’re off to a good start,” Wedd said. “But we’re going to get thrown into the frying pan big-time (tonight). Hopefully the kids will be ready and will step up to the challenge.”

In addition to having huge implications on how the Lions fare the rest of the season, tonight’s game is homecoming, which typically puts a charge into the home team. If that’s not enough of a lift, the Lions could benefit from the return of senior Penny Khaithianthong, who is expected to return to the starting lineup.

Khaithianthong, the defense’s starting nose guard in the season opener, missed last week’s game because of an injury.