FOOTBALL
By Tim Falls, Sports Editor
The Lawrence High School football team hoped for hard practices this week.
The Cardinals wanted to be ready for the first round of the NJSIAA Central Group III playoffs. Lawrence hosts Middletown South at 1 p.m. Saturday.
Lawrence finished the Colonial Valley Conference season, 7-2, with a 35-6 victory over Allentown (0-8) on Friday night.
While Lawrence did all it could in the previous weeks to secure the best bid possible in the playoffs, the Cardinals were still waiting for the seeds to be announced while playing the Red Birds.
Even though the Cardinals did not know who they would be playing, they knew they’d have to be prepared.
”Everyone knows how much is on the line here with Lawrence never winning a state playoff game before,” said Lawrence senior Brian Mills. “We’re all ready for it. During the week, every play of every practice, no matter if you’re just catching the ball or doing blocking drills, we’ve got to go all out.”
The Cardinals know how tough the postseason can be after losing in the first round the last three years. Top-seeded Lawrence lost to eighth-seeded Moorestown, 19-14, last season.
”We’ve been thinking a lot about the playoffs,” said junior quarterback Anthony Russ. “It’s on everybody’s mind. I know, personally, I’ve been thinking about it since last year.”
All that history, gave the Cardinals ample motivation to want to work hard in the practices leading up to the game.
”Hopefully, we’ll have hour hardest practices,” said Mills. “It’s a tough week, We don’t know who we’ll face yet, but we know they’ll be tough and we know we’ll have to practice our hardest.”
As soon as Lawrence learned it would play last season’s Group III Central champions, Middletown South, the Cardinals started studying their opposition every chance they could get.
”As soon as we find out who they are we’ll be in the classroom watching film on them during lunches and after school before practice,” said Mills. “We have to be prepared for them. So once we get in there, we have a feel of who they are and how they run.”
Lawrence has shown itself capable of contending against the top teams in the Colonial Valley Conference.
”During the season you know who you’re playing,” said Russ. “You know what you have to prepare for. Our offense has done a great job all year and if we play the way we know how to play, I think we can hang with anybody.”
Against Allentown Friday night, Lawrence’s offense struck with several big plays. Mills had an 86-yard touchdown run on the Cardinals’ first possession. Sophomore Sean Pearson ran 56 yards for a touchdown to send Lawrence ahead, 14-0, after the first quarter.
Ken Sherman and Keith Sherman ran in touchdowns for the Cardinals in the second quarter. Marcus Eaddy capped the scoring with a 3-yard run in the fourth quarter before Allentown scored on a touchdown pass to keep for being shutout.
Mills led Lawrence with a 146-yards on six carries, while Pearson had 102 yards on six carries. Eaddy ran 73 yards on 11 carries. Ken Sherman had five carries for 45 yards and Keith Sherman had four runs for 40 yards.
”We didn’t play a great game,” said Russ. “We wanted to get in and get out healthy.”
Lawrence wanted to be a full strength and properly prepared for Middltown South.
”Everybody’s real excited about it,” said Russ. “We don’t want to over-emphasize this game, or make any game bigger than it is, but we know it’s a huge game for us. The last three years we’ve gone out and lost, so we know we’ve got to buckle down at practice.”