photo by: Mike Gunnoe/Special to the Journal-World

Lawrence High sophomore Ty Sessions celebrates with sophomore Cesar Gomez after Gomez made a tackle for a loss against Shawnee Mission West, Friday, Oct. 4, 2024, in Lawrence.

Lawrence High School wasn’t messing around on Friday.

The Lions held their homecoming game against the Shawnee Mission West Vikings after falling short in back-to-back losses that saw opportunities to win slip through their fingers.

That wasn’t the case on Friday. The Lions entered with a dominant mindset and held more than their own to finish with a 55-0 win.

“I’m proud of the kids in the way they approached (the game),” coach Clint Bowen said. “We made plays to score every drive of the first half. We made a lot of plays on defense. The kids understood the situation and did what they’re supposed to do.”

The Lions won the opening coin toss and elected to receive. They marched downfield for a nine-play scoring drive. Senior quarterback Banks Bowen rolled to his left and threw a 6-yard touchdown pass to senior receiver Gabe Wingerd.

The defense brought the same intensity, allowing no more than one first down per drive through the first quarter. Shawnee Mission West quarterback Steven King showed his ability to scramble over the first few weeks, and the Lions came in prepared to attack him in the pocket. They did so with blitzes and numerous negative-yardage plays, which gave the Lions favorable field position in almost every drive.

“We’ve been working on gaps and doing our jobs,” senior defensive end Larney Finney said. “We’re trying to not be selfish and not be a hero. We know we have the physicality and the toughness, so we’ve been working on that technique.”

Bowen often stresses the importance of negative-yardage plays at the high school level, especially considering how often teams run a play on fourth down. Finney said that the team works on that in practices, and that over the past few weeks the intensity has picked up in those practices.

On the first play of the team’s second drive, Bowen threw a 47-yard touchdown pass to Kavon Price. The defense held the Vikings offense without a first down, and the same duo from the previous drive connected for a 36-yard touchdown.

“I’ve been working on speed because we have a lot of fast receivers,” Price said. “We can really spread out the defense.”

Price said that the receivers have a close relationship and are always helping each other get better. The Lions have spread the ball around through the top-four receivers so far, with each being able to attack a defense in a different way. Price said that it makes the group impossible to game plan against, which has led to the success the group has had.

The Lions defense continued to push the Vikings offense behind the sticks, including a sack from Josh Galbreath on a third-and-1 late in the first quarter. The Lions scored on a 15-yard run from Bowen, who ran through three defenders to get to the end zone.

After 12 minutes of play, Lawrence led 28-0.

Still, the Lions kept pushing. The defense kept sending pressure, which helped create a fumble recovery on the first play of the Shawnee Mission West drive while down 28-0. The Lions took over at the 7-yard line, and junior running back Tahj Edwards scored on the drive’s first play on a run up the middle.

The clock started to tick quicker in the second quarter, though the Lions still scored twice more.

Bowen found Price for a 45-yard gain and then hit junior Jaxon Becker for a couple of receptions. Galbreath finished the drive with a 14-yard touchdown catch where he ripped the ball away from a defender’s hand on a potential interception. After another stop, the Lions scored again with Wingerd for the seventh score of the half.

With a lead greater than 45 points, the clock ran continuously during the third quarter. After sophomore safety Ethan Curry intercepted the ball on fourth down, the Lions ran the clock down with its backups. Senior running back Evan Murray scored on a short, inside run for the final play of the third quarter with sophomore quarterback Colton Curry completing two passes at quarterback.

“We left our starting offensive line out there (on the first drive of the second half) to give Colton Curry a good look,” coach Bowen said. “We felt that, for Colton, he could get some experience and could execute the plays that he would get in the game, if something ever happened.”

The fourth quarter finished similarly quickly. The Vikings failed to pick up a first down on their first drive, and the Lions marched down the field. The Lions drained over seven minutes of clock on the drive and took a knee on the final two plays to bring the clock under two minutes. The Vikings also took a knee on their final two plays to end the game at 55-0.

The shutout was a confidence booster for the defense. After some early struggles, the Lions have moved players around and altered some of their schemes to try to put guys in the best position possible. It worked perfectly on Friday night, and there were numerous Lions that shined.

“Jah’ir Johnson is a perfect example,” Clint Bowen said. “Through the first three games, he didn’t show up. Tonight, in a whole different role and different responsibilities, he flashed all night and made plays.”

Johnson had one of the best tackles of the night on an open-field tackle on third-and-short. He, and several others, had a much-needed performance to give the defense confidence heading into the latter half of the season.

“It definitely helped our morale,” junior defensive end Devin Foster said. “After two losses, we were excited to come back out here and get a win.”

LHS next will play on Thursday, October 10, at the College Boulevard Activity Center on the road against Olathe East.

LHS 28 20 7 0…55

SMW 0 0 0 0…0

photo by: Mike Gunnoe/Special to the Journal-World

Lawrence High junior Wyatt Hendricks celebrates a touchdown with junior Kyree McGee against Shawnee Mission West, Friday, Oct. 4, 2024, in Lawrence.

photo by: Mike Gunnoe/Special to the Journal-World

Lawrence High junior Kyree McGee catches the ball for a touchdown against Shawnee Mission West, Friday, Oct. 4, 2024, in Lawrence.

photo by: Mike Gunnoe/Special to the Journal-World

Lawrence High sophomore Cesar Gomez sacks Shawnee Mission West’s Steven King Friday, Oct. 4, 2024, in Lawrence.

photo by: Mike Gunnoe/Special to the Journal-World

Lawrence High senior Banks Bowen throws a touchdown against Shawnee Mission West, Friday, Oct. 4, 2024, in Lawrence.

photo by: Mike Gunnoe/Special to the Journal-World

Lawrence High senior Gabe Wingerd wards off defenders against Shawnee Mission West, Friday, Oct. 4, 2024, in Lawrence.

photo by: Mike Gunnoe/Special to the Journal-World

Lawrence High head coach Clint Bowen smiles in disbelief after a call was made against Shawnee Mission West, Friday, Oct. 4, 2024, in Lawrence.