photo by: Landon Cory/Journal-World photo

Lawrence High's defense, including Connor Nowak (85), Zander Thomas (3) and Micahi Hernandez (14), drags down Olathe East's Gerard Reed III during the game at the College Boulevard Activity Center Thursday, Sept. 21, 2023.

Olathe – Picking up right where and when it left off, the Lawrence High football team never recovered from a sluggish start on Thursday night – before the game was suspended due to lightning – and went on to fall at Olathe East 24-6 when the game concluded Friday.

The game saw LHS (3-1) struggle on both sides of the ball, allowing 246 yards rushing primarily to talented senior O-East running backs Gerard Reed III (101) and Jalen Proctor (70). Offensively, the Lions failed to establish their run game and junior quarterback Banks Bowen never quite clicked under center.

LHS head coach Clint Bowen said he was more disappointed with the way his team opened the game on Thursday night before the eventual suspension of play.

“We couldn’t find ways to lessen the impact of their players,” Bowen said. “The whole night was funny, really, you finish that game with 36 plays of offense and you go home in the middle of that game and almost reimagined what we were doing.”

On Thursday night, the Lions found themselves down 7-0 facing second-and-9 from their 33-yard line with 5:45 left to go in the second quarter. LHS, unable to capitalize on false start and horse collar penalties, forfeited possession on fourth-and-9 near midfield.

Senior end Connor Nowak anchored the Lions’ defense on the following drive, making a key tackle on third down to force a punt by the Hawks near their 35-yard line. Penalized on the punt return, LHS sputtered again offensively and punted away with 1:48 left in the half.

O-East fit in another score, a 38-yard TD connection from Jack Cornell to Reed, with just 41 seconds before halftime.

Down two scores, 14-0, at the break, LHS opened the second half with possession but could hardly find a rhythm throughout much of the third quarter.

Things truly hit a wall on the Lions’ second drive, when O-East sophomore Milo Burton picked off Bowen near the LHS 39-yard line and took the ball clear to the end zone for a pick-six with 6:49 left in the third quarter.

Forcing his quarterback to throw the football was always part of O-East’s plan, Clint Bowen said.

“(Burton) was bound to take away any QB run game whatsoever,” he said. “We’ve had some success with that, but part of our offense got eliminated by our inability to get him blocked.”

Eager for an answer, LHS found a groove on the corresponding drive with first-down catches by junior Gabe Wingerd and senior Malcolm Paul leading up to the O-East 12-yard line. Paul charged into the end zone for a short-yardage score cutting the Hawks’ lead to 21-6 after a failed PAT attempt by Andrei Lefort.

In the fourth, the Lions seemed to be flipping the script with a big-time defensive stand on fourth down to reclaim possession near their 26-yard line with over eight minutes to go. The drive started with a 14-yard connection from Bowen to Wingerd, but the Lions couldn’t push past midfield and turned the ball over on downs with 5:25 left.

Nursing the clock, O-East junior Cameron Speier tacked on a manageable 30-yard field goal to widen the Lions’ deficit to 24-6 with just 2:46 left on the clock. Back on offense, Bowen found senior Mason Mosiman on three consecutive first-down catches before throwing his second interception, picked off again by Burton, to effectively stamp the loss on LHS’s schedule.

Clint Bowen said the word “physicality” is at the top of his drawing board after Friday’s loss.

“We have to learn to play with leverage,” Bowen said. “We have to learn how to get off blocks … We’re not getting that done as coaches, not getting taught, and we’ve got to get it executed. Somewhere there’s a breakdown because the way we’re tackling right now isn’t how you play the game of football.”

LHS returns home next week to Shawnee Mission North (1-1) in another tough Sunflower League battle. Kickoff is slated for 7 p.m. at LHS.

GAME STATS:

Lawrence 0 0 6 0 – 6

Olathe East 7 7 7 3 – 24

LHS | O-East

First downs 7 | 13

Rushing yards 82 | 246

Passing yards 145 | 81

Total offense 227 | 327

Fumbles lost 1 | 0

Interceptions 2 | 0

Penalties-yards 2-15 | 5-30

HOW THEY SCORED:

1Q:

0:43 – O-East touchdown: Reed 4 run. Speier kick is good. (LHS 0, O-East 7)

2Q:

0:41 – O-East touchdown: Reed 38 pass from Cornell. Speier kick is good. (LHS 0, O-East 14)

3Q:

6:49 – O-East touchdown: Burton 31 interception return. Speier kick is good. (LHS 0, O-East 21)

1:11 – LHS touchdown: Paul 6 run. Lefort kick is no good. (LHS 6, O-East 21)

4Q:

2:46 – O-East field goal: Speier 30 kick is good. (LHS 6, O-East 24)

INDIVIDUAL STATS:

Rushing: LHS – Paul 11-38, Edwards 7-25; O-East – Reed 7-101, Proctor 10-70, Mburu 5-42, Smith 4-7, Hayles 1-4.

Passing: LHS – Bowen 12-25, 145, 2 INT; O-East – Cornell 5-16, 81, 1 TD.

Receiving: LHS – Mosiman 5-53, Becker 2-41, Wingerd 2-30, 2-15; O-East – Reed 2-71, Gooding 1-7.

photo by: Landon Cory/Journal-World photo

Lawrence High wideout Mason Mosiman runs with the ball during the game at the College Boulevard Activity Center Thursday, Sept. 21, 2023.

photo by: Landon Cory/Journal-World photo

Lawrence High quarterback Banks Bowen looks to pass during the game at the College Boulevard Activity Center Thursday, Sept. 21, 2023.

photo by: Landon Cory/Journal-World photo

Lawrence High defensive end Connor Nowak drags down an Olathe East wide receiver during the game at the College Boulevard Activity Center Thursday, Sept. 21, 2023.

photo by: Landon Cory/Journal-World photo

Olathe East’s Ray Smith III gets tackled by Lawrence High’s Jah’ir Johnson (32) during the game at the College Boulevard Activity Center Thursday, Sept. 21, 2023.

photo by: Landon Cory/Journal-World photo

Lawrence High’s defense, including Connor Nowak (85), Zander Thomas (3) and Micahi Hernandez (14), drags down Olathe East’s Gerard Reed III during the game at the College Boulevard Activity Center Thursday, Sept. 21, 2023.