photo by: Val Montanez/Special to the Journal-World

Lawrence High sophomore quarterback Joey Dooley attempts to run past the Shawnee Mission East defense on Friday, Oct. 3, 2025, in Lawrence.

Lawrence’s continued issues stopping the run allowed Shawnee Mission East to chew up yards and the clock in the Lancer’s 28-20 victory Friday.

While the game ended with a loss as the Lions fell short in run defense again, the Lawrence offense had one of its better nights overall, scoring on three of five drives outside of an end-of-half drive that started with under 10 seconds on the clock.

Lawrence scored a touchdown on its opening drive for the first time this season. Senior running back Tahj Edwards started the drive with a 5-yard carry, and sophomore quarterback Joey Dooley threw a 15-yard pass to junior receiver Ethan Curry in the slot for the first first down of the drive.

Edwards took a first-down carry 37 yards to get inside the Shawnee Mission East red zone. With a third-and-inches, Edwards got a 2-yard rush to give Lawrence a first-and-goal from the 6-yard line. Dooley kept the ball on an option run the next play and scored a 6-yard rushing touchdown.

Edwards finished with 110 yards on 12 carries, while Dooley added 43 yards on eight carries. Lawrence coach Jason Thoren said he was pleased with how the team ran the ball, particularly with zone blocking schemes.

“We had some big plays in the run game coming right at them,” Thoren said. “Last week it was more counter stuff, and this week it was more zone. That’s encouraging that we’re getting better at those looks. Our protection was good all night. The o-line played well all night.”

Shawnee Mission East stuck to the ground game on offense and was able to drive the ball down the field effectively. A key to that rush offense was senior quarterback Jack Reeves, who ran for 17 yards to move the chains after being held to a third-and-medium at the start of the drive.

“He’s a good football player, that No. 1,” Thoren said. “It’s his ability to find a little crease and get up through there. It’s muddy. It’s different because it’s so muddy, guys lose him.”

The Lancers challenged the Lions up the middle and on the edges, finding success early either way. Reeves kept the ball for a 6-yard rushing touchdown to tie the game late in the opening quarter.

Lawrence started with some strong running from Edwards and Dooley, but a 3-yard tackle-for-loss on third-and-2 put Lawrence in a fourth-and-medium situation. The Lions were prepared to go for it, but a false start put them in a fourth-and-10, and the Lions decided to punt the ball instead.

Shawnee Mission East drove down the field and scored, taking a 14-7 lead. On the drive, the Lancers threw their first pass of the game, a 9-yard completion on third-and-8 around midfield. The Lancers converted a third-and-1 in the red zone, and Reeves tucked the ball to run on a rollout and scored while running over the LHS defense on first-and-goal from the 6-yard line.

The Lancers scored with 2:35 left in the half, leaving plenty of time for Lawrence to tie things up with a 2-minute drill.

Lawrence started in great field position with senior receiver Jaxon Becker receiving the squib kick and returning it to the Shawnee Mission East 44-yard line.

The passing offense started with two 4-yard completions to Curry, and he picked up the first down after avoiding a tackle-for-loss on a jet sweep. A penalty on Shawnee Mission East gave Lawrence an extra 15 yards and set the Lions up at the 15-yard line.

The Lancers almost forced a turnover but dropped an interception, and some short runs after that put the Lions in a fourth-and-3 from the 8-yard line. Dooley hit Becker on a 7-yard slant, and Edwards scored on the 1-yard touchdown run on the following play.

Lawrence left 27.2 seconds left on the clock, seemingly keeping the Lancers out of enough time to score. But a 79-yard run on first down on the following drive put the Lancers up 20-14 before halftime.

Thoren said the last-second score put a damper on the team’s morale heading into halftime, but the Lions came out and put it behind them.

“We addressed it, said, ‘Hey, nobody wanted that to happen. But it can’t be the end of the world, there are 24 minutes left,'” Thoren said.

The Lancers started with the ball in the second half, but the Lions got their first defensive stop of the game. The Lancers were backed up with a botched snap and a sack from junior linebacker Alex Bart.

Stopping the Lancers on that drive was a critical confidence boost for the Lions, and it showed how the team turned the page after the end-of-half mishap.

“We knew if we could get them behind the sticks, that’s where we had an advantage,” Thoren said. “By the time they got out on the field (from halftime), they were ready to go.”

The Lions started their drive with the opportunity to take the lead back, but after a first down, the drive stalled at midfield.

Shawnee Mission East slowly worked its way downfield on the following drive, chewing up clock and yards. The Lancers held the ball for the rest of the third quarter and scored on the first play of the fourth. A successful 2-point conversion gave the Lancers a 28-14 lead.

Left guard Bailey Johnson, the biggest player on the team, came in at nose tackle late in the drive and stopped a run by Reeves on a third-and-short. Thoren said it was something that Johnson had lobbied to the coaches since June, and that it was the first time he’d seen Reeves get stopped on that specific play.

“They’re great at running sneak, we decided it was a good time to try (Johnson at nose tackle), and we stopped it,” Thoren said. “(Shawnee Mission East) was smart, and they decided they weren’t going to try that again and ran it outside. That last play we anticipated them going outside, but their kid is strong, makes one guy miss and was able to get the first.”

Edwards started Lawrence’s drive with a 42-yard run, which put the Lions deep into Lancers territory. Dooley then hit Becker for a 22-yard touchdown on a go route. A botched snap prevented the Lions from converting the point-after attempt, but the Lions made it a one-score game.

Dooley finished with 60 passing yards, going 6-for-12 on pass attempts. For the most part, the problem with the Lions offensively was a lack of possession. The Lancers controlled the clock and held the ball for the majority of the game, making it difficult for the Lions to score outside of strict situations.

The Lancers continued to slowly drive the ball downfield with the run game, taking over seven minutes to get to the red zone.

Lawrence had a chance to get off the field with a fourth-and-1 from the 21-yard line, but Reeves kept the ball for a 5-yard run, giving the Lancers a first-and-10 from the Lawrence 15-yard line and just over two minutes on the clock.

The Lancers got to the 1-yard line and knelt the ball to end the game, taking a 28-20 win over the Lions.

Lawrence will be on the road next week for Shawnee Mission Northwest on Friday at 7 p.m.

Box score:

LHS 7…..7…0…7 20

SME 7…13…0…8 28

photo by: Val Montanez/Special to the Journal-World

Lawrence High junior wide receiver Ethan Curry gets past the Shawnee Mission East defense on Friday, Oct. 3, 2025, in Lawrence.

photo by: Val Montanez/Special to the Journal-World

Lawrence senior running back Tahj Edwards runs past the Shawnee Mission East defense on Friday, Oct. 3, 2025.

photo by: Val Montanez/Special to the Journal-World

Lawrence High sophomore quarterback Joey Dooley carries the ball against Shawnee Mission East on Friday, Oct. 3, 2025, in Lawrence.

photo by: Val Montanez/Special to the Journal-World

Lawrence High sophomore quarterback Joey Dooley carries the ball against Shawnee Mission East on Friday, Oct. 3, 2025, in Lawrence.

photo by: Val Montanez/Special to the Journal-World

Lawrence High senior defensive back Joseph Lucas looks at referees on a touchback against Shawnee Mission East on Friday, Oct. 3, 2025, in Lawrence.

photo by: Val Montanez/Special to the Journal-World

Lawrence High senior running back Tahj Edwards (1) and junior tight end Alex Bart (89) celebrate in the end zone after Edwards scored a touchdown against Shawnee Mission East on Friday, Oct. 3, 2025, in Lawrence.

photo by: Val Montanez/Special to the Journal-World

Lawrence High senior kicker Trevon Creager prepares to kick an extra point after a touchdown against Shawnee Mission East on Friday, Oct. 3, 2025, in Lawrence.