To no one’s surprise, Devin Neal can still run the football with extreme effectiveness. And when the Lawrence Chesty Lions hit the road for their first true test, the University of Kansas commit was ready to show the Sunflower League and the entirety of the state what was to come for his senior campaign.
Neal tallied three rushing touchdowns to help Lawrence to a 42-14 victory over Olathe West on Friday night at the Olathe District Activity Center.
“It was our big first test on the road and it was an opportunity to capitalize on everything going on,” Neal said. “I’m super proud of my team.”
Not that Lawrence coach Steve Rampy had any doubt. When asked if establishing the run with Neal was a focus, Rampy couldn’t help himself.
“Is it a focus to get No. 4 the ball?” Rampy asked with an obvious smile even through a mask. “Yeah, I’ve had him for three years. He’s awfully talented and he’s so fast and creates problems for people. … Yeah, so that’s great coaching on my part in trying to get No. 4 the ball. Thank you for that.”
Neal, who reeled off touchdown runs of 36, 1 and 65, each in the first, second and third quarters, respectively, credited the team effort for the victory.
“It felt great,” he said “It was really important for us going into next week. We’re just trying out new things on the offensive side of the ball, and it’s working. It was just a great win overall.”
Senior quarterback Jackson Dooley and senior receiver John Green formed a solid connection; as they connected on two separate touchdowns, the first a 37-yard score in the second quarter and the second a 17-yard touchdown to knot the scoring midway through the fourth.
Dooley had three total TD passes, with the other one going to senior Tre’ Jackson for a 19-yard score to make it 28-7 with 9:55 left in the third quarter.
Anthony Favrow, a Kansas State recruit, led the Olathe West rushing attack, including a 39-yard touchdown run to make the score 14-7 at the midpoint of the second frame.
Mason McGavran connected with Luke Bishop from 4 yards out to cut the lead to 35-14 with 9:10 left in the fourth.
Olathe West (1-1) returns to action next week against Olathe North (2-0). With the win, Lawrence, state-ranked No. 1 by Kpreps.com, improves to 3-0 on the season. The Chesty Lions’ next test is easily their biggest – a home contest against Mill Valley (2-1), who fell to Bentonville Friday.
Rampy is not worried about the potential hype around the contest.
“It’s not November,” he said. “It’s just a great game between two pretty good teams early in the year. Besides just playing well against a quality opponent doesn’t mean a whole lot.
“You got to go play and they’re going to challenge us because they’re physical, a great football team, and have a great tradition. And they’re where we’re trying to get to … We just have to try and go play as well as we can, no matter who we play.”
