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.

After a few months on the job, Lawrence football coach Jason Thoren is excited and ready for his first season leading the program.

Over the last few months, the Lions have spent the summer training for the season, and Thoren has liked what he’s seen.

“I like the group — I think we have a good group of seniors who have been working hard, and I’m just excited to get to work with them,” Thoren said. “We’ve had a good summer. They’ve come and attacked it every day, which is good.”

Thoren has been impressed by how the seniors have stepped up to lead the team. The Lions have an experienced senior-led offensive line with a senior running back behind them.

Running back Tahj Edwards has a lot of confidence in his offensive line. Over the years and through this summer, the senior has developed a chemistry with the group, which can help him carry the load on offense in a run-heavy system. Guard Bailey Johnson predicted Edwards will have a 1,000-yard season this year.

“I’m confident with their ability to go against a defensive line,” Edwards said. “I have to trust them. If I run outside, I’m going to get blown up. You have to have trust in your line.”

Where the Lions don’t have varsity starting experience is quarterback. The starter hasn’t been decided yet, and Thoren said that competition could continue into the season. Sophomore Joey Dooley and junior Colton Curry are the two in contention.

“They’re really smart and they’re really athletic,” Thoren said of the quarterbacks. “I could see (the competition) roll for a while. It’s all about who gets it done when we’re going and it’s real. I’m excited to see how it goes.”

The two quarterbacks have impressed the team as well, and whoever wins will have a strong supporting cast at receiver and the run game, making the transition to starting quarterback easier.

“We’ve got some shoes to fill, having such a prestigious quarterback last year,” lineman Wyatt Hendricks said. “I think the QB battle has helped develop both players and has made them work harder. I think we’ve got a good offensive line, we’ve got good weapons and we’re ready to step up this year.”

The defense is where Thoren has spent most of his coaching career, and the players are excited about what he can bring to the team’s defense. Defensive end Devin Foster said the coaches have been moving people around a lot in practices, and linebacker Josh Galbreath added that the defense is able to put players in position to make big plays.

The Lions return the same defensive coordinator, John Ely, as before, so the defense will have a combination of new things and what they’ve run in previous years. Thoren said the biggest difference might be the presentation of blitzes or coverages to opposing offenses, or how the defense disguises its coverages.

“It’s all football, so maybe there are some things that I’ve done that are a little different… but that’s football — you do that every year,” Thoren said. “There’s going to be new coaches with new backgrounds that have seen and done different things. I like to learn, I like to do some of that.”

Lawrence is coming off a 4-5 season that concluded with a three-game losing streak and a first-round loss to Shawnee Mission East in the playoffs. The returning Lions learned a lot from that season, including the importance of relying on each other. A fast start this year would go a long way to building a successful season, and the hope is the work the team has put in during the summer will lead to a tighter group and a strong start.

“We need to lean on each other more,” Hendricks said. “There was kind of some looseness last year, and I think we need to be able to look at the guy next to us and say, ‘I’m going to run through a wall for this guy.’ If we do that, no matter the result, I think we’ll have a better season.”

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

Lawrence running back Tahj Edwards pushes forward during a game at Shawnee Mission West on Friday, Nov. 1, 2024, in Overland Park.