Lawrence visits West Windsor-Plainsboro South SaturdayTwo 3-4 squads will take the field in West Windsor Saturday.
By: Steve Feitl
The losing team will fall two games away from the .500 mark, while the victors will earn a shot at a winning season.
The Lawrence High School football team wants that shot.
Last week, the Cardinals fell to Trenton, 21-3, to fall back to 3-4. They try to get back on track at 11 a.m. Saturday at West Windsor-Plainsboro South.
With only a few games left in the season, time is of the essence for a squad that has already improved upon last year’s 2-8 mark.
Now Lawrence wants more – a winning record.
"We’re healthy and the attitude has just been great," head coach Rob Radice said at practice Tuesday. "I think the seniors are starting to feel that their season is running out. We have a goal of being .500 or above at the end of the season. That’s how the seniors want to go out. They haven’t seen a winning season around here in a long time."
In order to achieve that goal, the Cardinals will need to contend with the Pirates’ quickness. Radice attributed much of the Trenton loss to the superior speed of the Tornadoes.
The coach said while assignments were performed as planned, too often the Cardinals saw holes close up before yardage could be gained.
"I haven’t seen that kind of speed all year," Radice said of Trenton. "Nottingham was the most physical team we played this year. Trenton was the fastest."
Against the Pirates, Lawrence will also see a strong defense.
West Windsor-Plainsboro has had several strong defensive showings in recent weeks including a 17-7 victory over Hightstown and an impressive performance against Hamilton. While the Hornets rolled to a 55-7 win against Lawrence, the Pirates held Hamilton to just eight points.