Lawrence has plenty of motivation

Last season’s loss to WW-P South pushes Cardinals to 41-21 victory.

By: Tim Falls
   Lawrence High School football coach Rob Radice is finally calling the Cardinals a good team and he wants the rest of the Colonial Valley Conference to feel the same way.
   The Cardinals defeated West Windsor-Plainsboro South, 41-21, last Saturday.
   The victory gave Lawrence a bit of revenge for its only CVC loss last season. The Pirates defeated the Cardinals, 31-14, last year and it was a lost Lawrence remembered well.
   "They embarrassed us last year," said Radice. "I played down two running backs and they embarrassed us."
   That loss gave the Cardinals ample motivation.
   "We came in with a chip on our shoulder," said senior Alex Pearson. "It was a win we wanted from our gut."
   Pearson put Lawrence in position with a 68-yard run down to the nine-yard line near the start of the first quarter. Senior Bayshawn Wells carried the ball the rest of the way on the next play as Lawrence gained a lead it would never lose.
   The win over WW-P South proved Lawrence’s victory in its season opener against Notre Dame was no fluke and showed the Cardinals are ready for the best the CVC has to offer.
   "Last week everybody was asking, ‘how bad is Notre Dame?’ instead of ‘how good is Lawrence?’" said Radice. "We’re a good team."
   Until the win over the Pirates, Radice had held back saying the team was close to being good. Radice always admitted the Cardinals had the potential to be a great team, but said there was a difference having potential and actually accomplishing great things on the field.
   By defeating WW-P South so thoroughly, Lawrence proved itself as a good team and is still approaching greatness.
   The Cardinals scored on six of nine possessions, though on the ninth Lawrence simply tried to run down the clock.
   Sophomore quarterback Anthony Russ pushed the Cardinals down field, connecting on seven of eleven attempts for 225 yards with three touchdowns.
   "We played well all around," said Russ. "Our line made their blocks and our running backs found their holes."
   It also helped that the Pirates never seemed to be able to get a grip on senior Jim Gorksi.
   Gorski caught three touchdown passes, which WW-P South could have stopped for short gains. Instead Gorski escaped and raced into the end zone on a 63-yard touchdown pass, a 50-yard touchdown pass and a 23-yard touchdown pass.
   "I had some key blocks," said Gorski. "Once I got free, I used my speed."
   After Gorksi’s 63-yard touchdown reception, WW-P South’s Ryan Lupo scored in the final seconds of the first quarter.
   Wells answered back near the start of the second quarter with a 30-yard touchdown run and Lawrence held its 21-7 lead for the remainder of the half.
   "I didn’t make mistakes," said Russ. "I got the balls to the playmakers and they made the plays."
   Russ and Gorski connected on the 50-yard touchdown pass in the third quarter and even after Lupo ran the ball in for a second Pirate touchdown, the Cardinals still had twice the points, 28-14.
   Pearson, who got Lawrence’s momentum going with his 68-yard run in the first quarter, capped the Cardinals scoring with a 44-yard touchdown run.
   "The opening drive was the biggest," said Gorski. "That set the tone for everyone. There was no doubt after the second quarter, but you could not let up on a team like South."
   Lawrence gets another chance to prove how good it is as the Cardinals travel to play Steinert at 3 p.m. today (Thursday) in a shortened week.