After back-to-back losses against the top two ranked teams in the state, Lawrence High’s football players are confident that they’ve only improved.

No matter their opponent, the Lions believe they can compete with the top teams across the state. They’ve seen strides on both sides of the ball and they hope it will show up on the scoreboard when they face Blue Valley Northwest at 7 tonight at LHS, potentially the team’s final home game of the season.

“I feel like we’ve progressed each week,” senior running back Angel Garcia said.

The Lions (4-4) scored 40 points against Shawnee Mission East, the top-seeded team in the Class 6A East bracket, and lost by three against Free State, the No. 1 seed in the West bracket. ?

Senior defensive back Harry King said one of the biggest differences in those last two weeks is the intensity from players in practice and while watching film.

“It’s been a learning experience in the past two games,” King said. “A lot of learning.”

The Huskies (2-6) feature an offense based off of run-pass option plays with senior quarterback Payton Hartman (1,990 yards, 12 touchdowns, 14 interceptions).

There’s four receivers with at least 15 catches that Lawrence’s secondary will have to keep their eyes on, which includes senior 6-foot-4 tight end Jackson Heath, who has 54 catches for 771 yards and six scores in eight games.

“They are a little bit of a different animal than what we’ve seen,” Lawrence coach Dirk Wedd said.

Practices have remained with similar intensity from their past two games with the win-or-go-home nature of the postseason. Along with the team’s list of seniors, it could be the final home game of Wedd’s coaching career because he plans to retire at the conclusion of the year.

“As a coach, you just worry every Friday night that you’ve prepared your kids,” Wedd said. “You pour your heart and soul into that. It hasn’t dawned on me that it could be the last one.”

At halftime of last week’s game against Free State, Wedd was met on the field by a long line of his former players. Some were from his first year as head coach in 1999. Others were from his time as an assistant coach at LHS or when he coached baseball.

It all came as a surprise for Wedd, who nearly walked past his on-the-field tribute before his wife, Junior, grabbed his attention.

“They put it all on Facebook and I had no clue,” Wedd said. “In fact, people were telling me, ‘You need to walk down the middle of the field.’ We were getting the kickoff so I was trying to get three plays ahead and I had my head down. Junior came over and said, ‘There’s people waiting for you.’

“I looked over and I saw some guys and I said, ‘Who are they?’ She goes, ‘Those are all your former players.’ That was so cool.”

LHS probable starters

Offense

LT — Kristian Russell, sr.

LG — Nick Englebert, sr.

C — Jacob Mills, sr.

RG — John Ely, sr.

RT — Bryce Tibke, jr.

QB — Dante Jackson, sr.

RB — Hunter Krom, sr.

WR — Ekow Boye-Doe, sr.

WR — Jalen Dudley, sr.

WR — Brett Chapple, jr.

WR — Bryson Cummins, jr.

K — Ross Brungardt, jr.

P — Dante Jackson, sr.

Defense

DE — Nick Miller, jr.

DT — Tim Vongphachanh, sr.

DT — EJ Jewsome, jr.

DE — Sam Bart, jr.

LB — Ja’Relle Dye, sr.

LB — Cole Mondi, fr.

LB — Caleb Mondi, jr.

CB — Ekow Boye-Doe, sr.

CB — Jalen Dudley, sr.

SS — DeShon Lewis, so.

FS — Harrison King, sr.