FOOTBALL
By: Tim Falls
The Lawrence High School football program runs rather deep.
Too deep for some of its competition to handle.
Lawrence wanted to take charge against West Windsor-Plainsboro North in a Homecoming game Monday. It didn’t take long.
Lawrence only needed nine plays to score four touchdowns and that was only the beginning as the Cardinals recorded a 76-0 shutout in a game that was rescheduled because of a flooded field on Saturday.
"We didn’t take this lightly," said Lawrence senior Bayshawn Wells, who was named the Homecoming King at the Cardinal’s Homecoming dance on Saturday. "We wanted to go out and play like it was a state game."
Lawrence may have treated the game like the playoffs, but the Knights weren’t ready for that level of play.
"We had no intention of running up the score," said head coach Rob Radice. "We didn’t play anybody but JV from the third quarter on. It just got out of hand."
Showing how deep the Lawrence program goes, the junior varsity Cardinals had just as much success.
Lawrence sophomore Jerry McClure scored the longest touchdown of the game, a 77-yard run, in the third quarter.
McClure made a bid for a starting position by leading the team in rushing yards with 117 yards on seven carries, including the 77-yard touchdown run and a 16-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter.
Even with the JV players on the field, Lawrence still managed to score 28 points in the second half.
"I’ve been on the other side of those scores," said Radice. "It’s not fun. I don’t like that score, but I am proud of my kids and how they played."
As much as Radice disliked adding to the blowout, what else could he have done? Can a coach ask a JV play eager to prove himself not to try? Wouldn’t having the quarterback take a knee from the start of the third quarter be even more insulting? Unfortunately for WW-P North, there is no ‘mercy’ rule and the Knights had to go the distance.
While Radice regretted the score, he had plenty to be proud of in his players. Wells scored three touchdowns, including a 36-yard punt return, a four yard run and a 48-yard run in the first half. Wells rushed for 86 yards on five carries.
Senior Alex Parson also got the job done in the first half with two touchdowns, 10-yard run and a 30-yard run and had 80 rushing yards on six carries.
Junior Ken Sherman helped the Cardinals take the lead with a 32-yard touchdown run and had 85 yards on three carries.
"We had great blocks and speed on offense," said Sherman. "All of our running backs had a touchdown and more, sot that’s pretty good."
Sophomore Sean Pearson scored on 1-yard run and had 79 rushing yards on five carries. Junior Nick Cannon scored a 15-yard touchdown and had 28-yards on two carries. Sophomore Case Jemison added a 1-yard touchdown run and had 49 yards on nine carries. Dion Russ also added to Lawrence ‘s 546 yards of offense with three carries for 26 yards.
Senior Jim Gorski scored more points than most of the running backs by connecting on all but one of his 11 extra point attempts.
Lawrence ‘s JV may be in for more action as the Cardinals take on Allentown (0-7) at 2 p.m. Saturday.

