Like other seniors who have played Lawrence High football since the late 1990s, Nolan Kellerman is flying blind this time of year.

When underclassmen and first-year varsity performers start asking questions about pursuing a state championship, he doesn’t have any answers.

“We’re on our own. We don’t have a state championship under our belt,” said Kellerman, a two-way star at running back and strong safety. “We don’t know what it feels like.”

On the gridiron, anyway.

While the tradition-rich Lions have not won a state title since 1995, LHS does have excellence to tap as it prepares for Friday night’s showdown with unbeaten Olathe South in the Class 6A state quarterfinals.

Kellerman is a defending state wrestling champ who was unbeaten last season at 160 pounds. Tight end/linebacker Scott Penny is the defending state champ in the shot put, and quarterback Brian Heere helped win the state American Legion baseball title this summer with the Lawrence Raiders.

While each is quick to brush non-football accomplishments aside, LHS coach Dirk Wedd considers himself fortunate to have a roster sprinkled with seniors who have tasted success.

“I truly believe when it comes right down to it, when you have to make a play, when you’ve been successful in other sports … you’ll be able to handle it in whatever sport you’re in,” Wedd said.

“What happens is, when we get down to the one-yard line … those kids can be the ones in the huddle that say, ‘I’ve been here. This is how we get it done.’ And the other kids will listen.”

Penny has started every game dating to the season opener his sophomore year, Kellerman also started a handful of games as a 10th grader, and Heere won the LHS quarterback job as a junior.

However, it’s the effort put into those feats – not the actual state titles and varsity letters themselves – that Penny and Kellerman believe have accounted for the most credibility with coaches and teammates this fall.

“It takes a lot of guts to go 42-0,” said Penny, pointing to Kellerman’s record on the wrestling mat last winter. “I look to him as the leader of the team.”

“You always want people on your team who are going to compete hard,” Kellerman said. “We may not have the most talent, but one thing we definitely have is a bunch of winners and people who are going to try their best to get it done.

“That’s what you need to do in high school football.”

Wedd agrees, saying the current crop of Lions has the best shot at a state title since Free State opened in 1997.

“It’s been such a struggle since the split,” Wedd said. “You walk in the gym and see all the banners, you know what type of pressure these kids are under.

“This group has come the closest to understanding what it takes to be a state champion at Lawrence High School. When we’ll get there, we’ll see. … We’re not happy until we win it, but we like where we’re at right now. It’s because of those kids.”