Recap and Gallery: Football vs. Lawrence Free State

Recap by Julia Poe:

All at once, the Lawrence Free State student section exploded. Junior quarterback Bryce Tornaden scrambled to his feet in the end zone, lofting the football over his head, as the Lancer defense looked back at their head coach.

The scoreboard read 7-7. It was only eight minutes into the first half, and the game already looked like it was becoming a shoot out.

But the next drive, the Lancer defense forced Lawrence Free State to punt after three smothering stops at the line of scrimmage. And the next drive, they stopped the offense again. And again.

Heading into the game, the Lancers were aware that their main threat was on defense — Torneden. The quarterback entered the game ranked fourth in the league, rushing for 433 yards and four touchdowns. Torneden can run, pass and pitch effectively, and he also plays defense as one of the best corners in the league.

With this in mind, the Lancer defense put all their pressure on Torneden’s pocket. Although they never successfully sacked the quarterback, senior Kyle Ball and junior Ryder Terry led the charge in roping Torneden down for short gains on every run. This wore down the Free State offense, which began relying on other running backs and finally subbed out an exhausted Torneden at the end of the game.

Meanwhile, the Lancer offense continued to steamroll through Free State. Junior Wyatt Edmisten came alive, driving up the middle for a touchdown and anchoring the Lancer’s rushing game. With Edmisten pounding the middle, senior quarterback Gunnar Englund was free to rush the ball and also make long passes to senior Alec Dean in his flexbone offense.

In the third quarter, senior Charley White brought the opening drive to life with a 40-yard kick return that brought the Lancers into easy scoring position. The play set the tone for the half, as the Lancers switched between their passing game and running the ball with Edmisten and junior Calvin Jones.

With only one fumble and few offensive mistakes throughout the game, the Lancers’ offense was difficult to stop throughout the game. By the middle of the fourth quarter, the team was ready to swap in junior quarterback Luke Kaiser and wind down the clock on another successful win.

“Last night I felt like was our most complete game of this year,” Englund said. “We had limited our mistakes and pounded the ball at them with a high tempo pace. It was a big win in the fact we lost to them last year. They were one of the better opponents we are going to play in the regular season.”

Gallery by Katie Lamar and Phoebe Aguiar: