JD Woods (11) works through the SM South defense for yards in the first half on Thursday, Oct. 2, 2014, in Overland Park.

Overland Park ? Lawrence High’s football team flirted with disaster for the first two minutes of its game against Shawnee Mission South on Thursday night.

The Raiders scored a touchdown on the fifth play and recovered a pooch kick — a miscommunication by the Lions — on the ensuing kickoff at Lawrence’s 27-yard line.

But the Lions’ defense didn’t allow them to add to their lead after the Raiders missed on a pair of wide-open passes, and the Lions had a pass deflection in the end zone on fourth down.

That’s all it would take to inspire the defense, as LHS shut out the Raiders for the remainder of the game and watched the Lions’ offense run for 306 yards in a 19-7 victory at SM South District Stadium.

“They came out and punched us in the mouth,” junior linebacker Price Morgan said. “They were ready to go. We weren’t really playing our assignments that well. We regathered, figured everything out, and the scoreboard shows how we played.”

The Raiders (1-4) only ran for 35 yards, as the Lions’ defensive line clogged all of the gaps and linebackers used their speed to chase down running backs.

“It was all technique,” LHS junior lineman Trey Georgie said. “When you get the calls right and the coaches make the good calls, it’s just finding the ball and attack.”

The Lions (3-2) limited SM South’s passing game after halftime. Morgan broke up a few passes, and junior linebacker Konner Kelley had a key sack near midfield.

They also played most of the second half without junior lineman Amani Bledsoe, who leads the Sunflower League in sacks, after he injured his right knee on offense during a run play midway through the third quarter. Wedd said there was a chance Bledsoe could have played with a brace on his knee, but they opted to hold him out.

“Oh, I was so happy. A lot of guys stepped up,” Morgan said. “We needed to make some halftime adjustments, and I felt we really responded to that. We took the coaching, guys played their (behinds) off, and I couldn’t be prouder.”

The Lions’ offense was held without the long runs that have defined it this season, but LHS scored on its first three drives with a few clutch moments.

On the first possession, after juniors Coulter Strauss and JD Woods ran the ball past midfield, junior quarterback Alan Clothier sprinted past defenders during a fourth-and-one on a naked bootleg for a 30-yard touchdown.

“We did it a year ago on this field against Shawnee Mission West,” Wedd said of the bootleg. “You have to hold onto it and hold on it, then use it when you think you can score.”

On the Lions’ second drive, Clothier broke out of a defender’s grasp in the backfield on third down to run for a first down, which led to Woods going up the middle on fourth-and-one at the four-yard line for a touchdown.

A pair of runs longer than 25 yards from Woods highlighted an 11-play, 88-yard drive on the third possession, when Woods scored on an 11-yard run.

“He’s pretty special,” Wedd said of Woods. “If we can just get him to the linebackers, he’s so explosive.”

The Raiders moved the ball past midfield midway through the fourth quarter through a few passes, but the Lions recovered a fumbled snap to end any opportunity to score. Senior defensive back Zak McAlister also added an interception on SM South’s final drive.

“Our defense is amazing,” Georgie said. “We shut down people. Some of the points we can stop from happening. Not every play is a good play. But we’re a very, very good defense.”