FOOTBALL
By Tim Falls, Sports Editor
The Lawrence High School football team’s Homecoming game went according to plan.
All the plays the offense called seemed to work as Lawrence defeated Trenton, 35-0, on Saturday.
The Cardinal defense also kept the Tornadoes well away from the endzone as Lawrence recorded its first shut out of the season.
”We said coming in we have to get this win,” said Lawrence senior quarterback Anthony Russ. “We had our game plan and sometimes you have a game plan and kind of have to deviate but we felt like we did everything on our game plan and it all worked. Our backs were running hard, our receivers were making catches and I was doing what I had to do. We all came together as a unit.”
Lawrence coach Rob Radice said his team had to change plans in a loss to Notre Dame the previous week that dropped the Cardinals’ record to 2-2. Against Trenton, Lawrence followed a winning formula. The win over the winless Tornadoes (0-5) made Lawrence 3-2 and kept alive the Cardinals chances for playing in the post season.
”Our mentality the rest of the way is we’ve got to win out to get where we want to go,” said Russ, who was chosen as the Cardinals’ Homecoming King during a ceremony at half time. “It’s a great honor to have your pears vote for you in something like that, it means a lot.”
While Lawrence struggled after falling behind at the Irish’s Homecoming week, the plays the Cardinals ran against the Tornadoes led to an early 14-0 lead in the first quarter and a 35-0 lead by the end of the first half.
”It’s definitely good to come back in our place at Homecoming and get a win on the board,” said Lawrence’s Sean Pearson. “When your getting three touchdowns on the ground and one 88-yard run, it’s always a good day.”
Peason punched in a one-yard touchdown and a two-yard touchdown in the first quarter and carried the Cardinals from almost their own end zone to the Trenton goal line in the second quarter to set up Lawrence’s third unanswered touchdown.
Pearson’s second touchdown came after Lawrence’s Kalen McCallum recovered a fumble and put the Cardinal offense in scoring position.
Pearson praised his teammates for the blocks that let him gain 142-yards on 16 carries and score three times against the Tornadoes.
”It’s not just the linemen, though they do a great job,” said Pearson, “but it’s the backs, with Keith (Sherman) at fullback and the split ends out there blocking for me on the corners. They’re all doing a great job.”
Sherman ran in a four-yard touchdown after Pearson’s big gain and capped Lawrence’s scoring with an eight-yard touchdown reception from Russ after Sherman’s big punt return put Lawrence in scoring position. Sherman had four rushes for 25 yards and helped keep the Cardinals’ offense on the field by recovering two Trenton fumbles.
Pearson also scored on a one-yard run in the second quarter.
While Lawrence’s running game obviously paid off, the Cardinals passing plays were just as productive.
Russ completed 10 passes for 126 yards with Sherman catching four balls for 55 yards and Nick Brackett making three catches for 41 yards.
After Lawrence shutout Trenton in the first half and instituted the mercy rule with the five-touchdown lead, neither team scored in the second half.
”We were really stressing ‘no mistakes,’ and playing hard-nose football,” said Lawrence’s Case Jemison. “It was definitely one of our defense’s best performances of the seaon. We shut them out and haven’t done that yet this year.”
Trenton was troubled by fumbles and bobbled balls. The Tornadoes fumbled six times and the Cardinals recovered three of them. Several bad snaps let the Lawrence defense tackle the Tornadoes behind the line of scrimmage.
”They’re fast, but the were a little disorganized,” said Jemison. “They’re unpredictable so you never know what they’re going to be like.”
Had Trenton handled the ball a little better, the Tornadoes’ offense might have been able to threaten the Cardinals’ defense a bit more.
”Trenton is a dangerous team,” said Russ. “They’ve got a lot of athletes and anytime they see an opening they’re going to attack it. (Their trouble with ball control) worked in our favor. If it didn’t, maybe the score would be a little different. They could have put up two, maybe three touchdowns.”
Lawrence made sure to shut down Trenton and come away with a victory and the Cardinals are hoping to add more wins when they play Steinert on Saturday and Ewing the following Friday.
”We needed this win,” said Jemison. “We’re trying to go to playoffs and we had to get the win if we want to go to the playoffs.”