Lawrence High junior defensive tackle Kem Allen lines up against Shawnee Mission North on Friday, Sept. 30, 2022.

With August in full swing, fall sports are soon to follow and the Journal-World has everything you can expect from Lawrence High athletics.

Here’s the outlook for the LHS squads:

Football

It’s safe to expect more from the Lawrence High football team in 2023. There’s been plenty going on behind the scenes as head coach Clint Bowen enters his third season back at his alma mater.

At the front of this year’s returning squad is arguably the toughest offensive tackle pairing in the state with seniors Kem Allen and Will Hendricks. These two have put in serious work during the summer and will certainly serve as anchors alongside five more returning linemen.

The quarterback room returns both its main gunslingers from last year’s team. Senior Tyson Grammer and junior Banks Bowen traded snaps late during last year’s 6-4 finish and continued sharing QB duties during the postseason.

Behind a circle of senior leaders, LHS had a highly productive spring that translated into a busy summer. Clint Bowen said the team fit in all 15 practices during the offseason and traveled to multiple schools to work with other area talent.

“We made a lot of gains in terms of strength, changing direction, speed and just getting guys together on a daily basis,” Bowen said at the LHS Draft in late July. “The summertime hits heavy in Kansas, in terms of what high school athletes and football (players) are asked to do.”

Gone from the offense are power running backs Tyrell Reed and Brayden Heck. Tasked with replacing that pair’s 1,500-plus rushing yards will be senior Mason Mosiman and junior Turner Juelsgaard. LHS also returns a seasoned receiver in junior Gabe Wingerd, accompanied by sophomores Jaxon Becker and Andrew Shenouda.

Defensively, the Chesty Lions have the pieces for growth after allowing an average of 21.7 points per game during the 2022 regular season.

At tackle, junior Andrew Nelson is a proven returner, and senior ends Connor Nowak and Cameron Clark are slated for the edges. Senior linebacker Hayden Reese is another force to keep track of, as is senior cornerback Elijah Hernandez in the secondary.

Coming off a season tripped up by late-season losses, LHS will be out to reestablish its offense this season with plenty of returning talent to get the job done behind Bowen’s staff.

While the summer has done wonders in evaluating depth, Bowen’s roster remains flexible.

“There’s a lot of positions where there’s a pretty good battle going on,” Bowen said. “I think these guys understand that. We’ve talked about the competition there and there’s no way to avoid it.”

The Lions open their schedule at Olathe South on Sept. 1.

Volleyball

The Lawrence High volleyball team is still searching for its first winning season since 2018 and can expect three starting seniors to aid its quest in improving from last year’s 12-21 campaign.

Despite a roller-coaster 2022 schedule, LHS fought tooth and nail to reach the Class 6A substate finale, where the Lions fell to Wichita Northwest in two sets.

“Every match matters,” head coach Stephanie Scarbrough said. “It’s such a quick season that you get to substate so quickly that every match we run into will be critically important to that placement.”

photo by: Matt Tait

LHS volleyball coach Stephanie Scarbrough addresses her team during a break at practice on Monday, Aug. 22, 2022, at LHS.

Familiar faces from that postseason run include All-Area first-team outside hitter and New Mexico commit Seenane Brewer, senior middle blocker Isabelle Waisner and senior libero Brecken Ostronic.

Scarbrough, in her 17th year leading the Lions, said there are several unknowns when it comes to the younger names, but that she expects a handful of her underclassmen to come in right away and compete for full-time work.

“We have a good group of young players that will keep pushing our seniors,” Scarbrough said. “I think they’ll all have an opportunity to put a mark on the season. Everyone’s going to impact the season in their own way and we’ll see how that shakes out.”

LHS opens its schedule at Blue Valley Northwest on Aug. 29.

Boys Soccer

It’s a season of new beginnings for the Lawrence High boys soccer team, as the club hits the pitch with a not-so-brand-new head coach in Joe Comparato this fall.

Comparato, who’s manned the girls’ team for the past two seasons, took charge of the boys’ head coaching job back in the spring and has been hard at work combining both programs in practices this offseason.

The boys’ team, which stalled in the second half of last year’s campaign (5-11-1), went back to the drawing board this summer.

“It’s a new challenge and the staff’s excited,” Comparato said during a June practice. “We’re ready to work and, for me, this is kind of great because so many of these kids, the seniors, I’ve coached since they were little kids, when I probably coached their first competitive season.”

Lawrence High head soccer coach Joe Comparato has been prepping his squad since school let out in May. It’ll be Comparato’s first year coaching the boys and girls teams this coming school year.

Most recently, the LHS boys team returned from a summer showcase event with Free State in St. Louis.

This season, LHS is working with a particularly small senior class. Among the upperclassmen, forward Colin Sandefur and midfielders Ocean Comfort and Asher Sikes – all Journal-World All-Area selections last season – are set to push the team this year.

The starting 11 is far from cemented, Comparato said. The main goal, no matter who takes the pitch on Day 1, is building a sustainable brand of aggressive soccer that pushes away from the mistakes from last season, the LHS coach said in June.

“We have to fight amongst ourselves to make ourselves better and there’s a lot of play that happened last year that needs to not be the same,” Comparato said.

LHS opens its schedule at Topeka High on Aug. 29.

Cross-Country

A hot summer will, hopefully, translate into a successful fall for the Lawrence High cross-country team, which has its sights on making big strides in head coach Kyle Morgison’s second year.

Thanks to returning senior leadership, LHS maintained a consistent summer regiment and training schedule, Morgison said. Some of those upperclassmen include seniors Danny Phalen, Isaac Outka and Isabel Klish.

“We’ve had a lot more commitment from our upperclassmen this year,” Morgison said. “They’ve been great mentors to younger kids coming in and we’ve got a nice freshman class of boys coming in. And, hopefully, from that, we’ll develop this nice little culture that can continue.”

Standouts from the younger runners include incoming freshmen Oliver Schwartz and Adelaide Chaney, who both bring experience running distance from their junior high stints.

Last season, LHS missed out on the state championships after the girls’ team placed fifth and the boys’ team placed sixth at the Class 6A regional meet at Warner Park in Manhattan.

LHS opens its schedule at the Manhattan Invitational on Sept. 2.

Girls Tennis

It’s a season of what-ifs for the Lawrence High tennis team. With both returning and incoming talent, LHS head coach Chris Marshall will certainly have his hands full.

At the front of the pack is returning senior Emily Brandt (16-9 in singles), who just barely missed out on the Class 6A state championship at in the fifth-place regional match last fall.

Joining Brandt this season in the leadership role will be juniors Harper Jay and Channing Saint Onge, Marshall, now in his 14th year with the girls’ program, said.

Jay, a doubles player, is expected to continue playing doubles and will need to quickly find a partner as preseason practices ramped up beginning Monday. Saint Onge, on the other hand, may very well make the jump into singles, Marshall said.

“It’s going to be interesting to see how everything comes out,” Marshall said of his anticipated roster. “The key is finding which players can push each other in a competitive way to be successful on the court.”

LHS took a heavy course in serving this offseason, and Marshall says he expects his team to improve immensely in that department this fall.

LHS opens its schedule with a road quad against Olathe West, Leavenworth and Shawnee Mission West at the CBAC in Olathe on Aug. 24.

Girls Golf

The Lawrence High girls golf team will lean on senior leadership this fall, as the program returns a wide range of experience from last year’s campaign.

While no Chesty Lions pushed through the Class 6A regional ceiling, there’s plenty of room for a breakout golfer this season, seventh-year LHS head coach John Moos said.

Among the list of returners, seniors Lily Fisher and Kaelyn McClorey are slated to pave the way for the varsity six. Moos also has his eye on sophomore Abril Guereca as a promising prospect with enough JV experience to make a buzz this fall.

LHS opens its schedule against Free State at Lawrence Country Club on Aug. 28.

Gymnastics

The FireLions gymnastics program, under the direction of first-year coach Alexis Gonzales, will host its annual home showcase at Jayhawk Gymnastics on Oct. 14. The event will serve as senior night for both LHS and FSHS gymnasts.

Looking for Free State? Here’s everything you need to know about the Firebirds this fall.