Lawrence High's Alan Clothier looks for running room in the second half Friday night at Olathe District Athletic Complex.

Olathe ? After trailing by 29 points at halftime, nobody expected Lawrence High’s football team to have a chance to win against Olathe South on Friday night.

Yet here the Lions were after three second-half touchdowns, on the six-yard line with 18 seconds left, looking for a possible game-tying score.

But a comeback for the ages wasn’t in the books, as an interception in the end zone stopped any storybook ending in a 29-21 loss at the Olathe District Athletic Complex.

“I’ve never been so disappointed in a football team in one half,” LHS coach Dirk Wedd said, “and so proud of them the second half.”

With more than three minutes remaining, LHS junior running back JD Woods dove over linemen on a fourth-and-goal at the one-yard line for a touchdown.

Afterward, the Falcons only needed to run out the clock. They came close with two first downs, forcing the Lions to use all their timeouts, but a fumbled shotgun snap forced them into a long third down. They decided to throw for a first down and essentially a victory, but LHS senior cornerback Luke Zenger broke up the pass in man-on-man coverage.

That gave the Lions the ball back, after a punt, at their own 28-yard line with 42 seconds left.

On the first play, junior quarterback Alan Clothier found junior Price Morgan for a 22-yard pickup to the 50-yard line. Two plays later, Clothier connected with senior receiver Nyle Anderson for a 44-yard play to the six. However, after a spike, Clothier’s pass to bring the score within two points was intercepted by O-South senior cornerback Jonathon Sands, his third interception of the game.

“We came out flat,” Wedd said. “They punched us in the mouth, and we didn’t respond. At halftime, we challenged them. We’re a really young team. We don’t know how to win yet, but we’re learning.”

The Falcons (5-1) dominated the line of scrimmage and had 263 yards in the first half, including two touchdown runs by junior running back DaeVonte’ Nance in the last three minutes of the half. Nance finished with 245 yards on 25 attempts.

LHS (3-3) defensive coordinator Adam Green gave a fiery speech in the locker room at halftime. Sophomore lineman Jacob Unruh also told teammates they weren’t out of the game.

The Lions started believing midway through the third quarter, when their defense stopped the Falcons four times inside of the two. The offense then went 99 yards in six plays, capped by a 19-yard touchdown run from Woods.

“We just came out with a fire under our butt,” said Clothier, who threw for 109 yards. “We just came out hitting. That big stop at the goal line really helped us a lot, because I think if they scored there, our heads would’ve dropped even more. But it was just great and got us back in the game.”

After a few more defensive stops, Woods found room for a 59-yard touchdown sprint to the end zone. Senior safety Dearion Cooper had an interception midway through the fourth quarter, his second of the game, to set up the Lions’ final touchdown.

“We were running a guard pulling play and there was a cut back every time because their guy over the center was coming down hard,” said Woods, who ran for 179 yards and three touchdowns on 24 carries. “I just looked to cut back pretty much every time we called that play.”

Some of the Lions had tears in their eyes after their comeback bid fell short, but they realized how stunning their turnaround was in the second half.

“We can be one of the best teams if we want to,” Woods said. “We just have to play 48 minutes.”