Recap and Gallery: Lancer Football Defeats Lawrence, 26-3

A strong first half performance by SM East secured the team a 26-3 victory over the Lawrence Lions, despite special teams difficulties and a scoreless second half.

The game opened favorably for the Lions, as senior East quarterback Christian Blessen fumbled the ball on his first possession and forced the Lancers to punt after three downs. Lawrence found some early momentum and brought the ball to the Lancers’ 30 yard line, where they scored a field goal for the first points of the game.

After their first defensive possession, the Lawrence defense was unable to slow the momentum of the Lancers. East ran Delaney’s triple-option offense, which gave Blessen the ability to make quick decisions from the pocket during every play.

This allowed Blessen to run for the first two Lancer touchdowns of the night. In the first quarter, he made a 30 yard run to the endzone on a quarterback keep. In the second quarter, Blessen faked a hand-off and was able to penetrate the Lawrence middle for another touchdown.

The special teams unit was the only weak link during the first half. The unit missed two attempts at a point after a touchdown, and the second kick was solidly blocked by a Lawrence player. The greatest scare for the Lancers came directly after Blessen’s second touchdown, when Lawrence was able to run back a kick to the Lancer 29 yard line.

Two possessions later, however, the Lions fumbled the ball and the Lancers recovered the ball. The play proved to be a costly error for Lawrence, as Christian Blessen was able to connect a 10 yard pass to senior Mitchell Tyler, who then ran for 76 yards for the third Lancer touchdown. After the first successful point after of the night, the Lancers led 19-3.

With the second quarter coming to a close, the Lancers were able to make one last offensive maneuver. Penalties by the Lions gave East 30 free yards, putting them in perfect position on the 10 yard line for Blessen to lob a pass to junior Alec Dean, who caught the ball in the back of the endzone. At the half, the Lancers led 26-3.

The second half saw less action in the endzone, as play mainly stayed in the middle of the field. Due to several huge sacks and defensive plays, neither team was able to get even within field goal range throughout the second half.

There was a higher number of sloppy plays seen from the Lancers in the second half, as the team fumbled the ball multiple times when trying to set up their triple-option offense. One fumble resulted in the Lions getting position on the Lancers’ 35 yard line; an interception forced the Lancers to deliver defensively when the Lions gained position on their 30 yard line.

In their final plays of the game, the Lancer offense made a slow and steady push to the Lawrence 20 yard line. Just as they looked poised to score a final touchdown to finish the game, another fumble gave Lawrence the ball. From there, the defense was able to keep the Lions scoreless in the second half, and the Lancers won the game, 26-3.

The Lancers are now 2-0 on their season, and will play Olathe Northwest on Friday, Sept. 20. Olathe Northwest is the current team of former Lancer head coach Chip Sherman, and the football team is hoping for a victory. Watch the live broadcast of the game next week at 7 p.m. here on smeharbinger.net.