photo by: Parker I. Johnson/Special to the Journal-World

Lawrence High players celebrate after scoring a touchdown on Friday, Oct. 30, 2026 at Lawrence High School in Lawrence.

Lawrence football is moving on to the regional round of the 6A playoffs after defeating Shawnee Mission South 52-7 on Friday.

An explosive second quarter in which quarterback Joey Dooley was perfect through the air put the Lions up by 24 points, and the Lions held control of the game the rest of the way.

Shawnee Mission South won the coin toss and elected to receive the ball first, but the Lions kept the Raiders from getting a first down. Senior defensive end Alex Bart pressured Raiders quarterback Rylan Kuhasz on the third-down throw, and junior cornerback Truth Pope broke the pass up.

The Lawrence offense started hot with a 46-yard completion from junior quarterback Joey Dooley to senior receiver Ethan Curry. Lawrence struggled on the next three plays and had to settle for a 41-yard field goal that junior kicker Tahchuhsee Brewer converted to put Lawrence up.

The Raiders looked stopped on their second drive and faced a third-and-9 before a double-pass trick play went 71 yards for a score, giving Shawnee Mission South a 7-3 lead.

Lawrence was driving downfield on its next drive when Dooley fumbled while being hit trying to step up in the pocket, giving the Raiders the ball at their own 16-yard line.

The defense stayed tough, preventing a first down, and a big punt return from Pope for 44 yards got Lawrence right back at the Shawnee Mission South 16-yard line. Sophomore Acein Goodman scored Lawrence’s first touchdown of the game, going 15 yards in two plays to put the Lions up 10-7.

Lawrence’ punt return team had consistent success all night long, both in the returns and in getting pressure on the punter. The Raiders punted with a fourth-and-2 at midfield, but pressure on the punt led to a shanked attempt that traveled a yard from the line of scrimmage.

The Lions moved the ball through the air, and a 13-yard throw from Dooley to Pope put Lawrence at the 13-yard line. After a short run, Dooley finished the drive with an 11-yard rushing touchdown.

Lawrence overcame a facemask penalty on the next defensive drive and forced the Raiders to punt on a fourth-and-12. The punt only went 10 yards, and Lawrence scored on the next play with a 55-yard play-action pass to Pope.

Shawnee Mission South tried to go for it on fourth-and-9 on the following drive, but a botched snap doomed the play before it could start, and Lawrence took over with enough time for one drive before halftime.

A holding call moved the ball backward, but the Lions got the yardage back with a 38-yard touch pass to Curry to get Lawrence to the 14-yard line. Dooley hit Pope for seven yards to get to the 1, and after a 2-yard loss, Dooley hit Pope again for a 3-yard touchdown, giving Lawrence a 31-7 lead at halftime.

Lawrence got the ball out of halftime and scored on the drive. Senior receiver Caleb Wingerd dropped a pass on third-and-2, which was only the second incompletion of the night, but Curry picked up the first down on a 3-yard run. Senior running back Kayden Pitts finished the drive with an 18-yard touchdown run.

The Raiders punted on their next drive, and Curry took the punt 26 yards to get to the 39. Wingerd made up for his earlier drop with a screen pass that went 30 yards to the 9-yard line, and Dooley finished the drive with a pass to Pope for a touchdown, his third of the game.

Dooley was just about perfect through the air, throwing 281 yards and three touchdown passes on 84% completion.

Pope nearly had a pick-6 on the following drive but couldn’t hang onto the ball. The Lions still forced the Raiders to punt, and Lawrence scored one final time with a 65-yard run by Curry to take a 52-7 lead.

The Raiders punted on their final drive, and Lawrence finished the game with its backups driving the ball downfield with a running clock. The win secured Lawrence’s first playoff victory since 2023, and Lawrence will advance to the regional round on Friday.

Lawrence will host Olathe North on Friday, with kickoff at 7 p.m.