Youthful Lawrence preps for fall ball

With seven sophomores and one freshman starting and playing major minutes, Lawrence football head coach Jason Supple is looking for this spring’s action to translate into better results in the fall.
However, numbers throughout the program are becoming a big issue, he said. “I’m honestly not sure what’s going to happen next season because we’re not playing middle school sports in our district this year,” Supple said. “Hopefully the kids who’ve always played football will be hungry to get back on the field come August.”
This spring, the Golden Tornadoes are rolling with 28 on the varsity roster and only 22 at the JV level. Supple’s team, minus three key contributors from 2019, stands at 1-4 after falling to upstart North Shore 42-20 last Saturday. Lawrence will conclude the condensed six-game season this Saturday at home versus Carle Place at 2 p.m.
“We’re super young, especially at the skill positions,” Supple said. “These guys are getting valuable experience that they can use as a springboard into the fall.”
The lone victory came March 26 at Malverne when the Golden Tornadoes, after shutout losses to Cold Spring Harbor and Seaford to open the campaign, scored three touchdowns and held on for a 19-14 win. The eventual winning score came on defense when junior lineman Andres Valle pounced on a botched shotgun snap by the Mules in the end zone late in the third quarter.

“It was a solid game that didn’t go well at the start,” said Supple, who noted Malverne scored on its opening possession. “After that first drive we place tough defense and limited their big plays.”
Malverne’s Deandre Blagrove rushed for 128 yards on 27 carries and scored both of its touchdowns. “He was a handful and ripped off some long runs early before we stepped up and contained him better,” Supple said.
Lawrence responded to Blagrove’s first TD with a long scoring drive of its own, capped by sophomore Jackson Mondesir’s 4-yard touchdown run, and trailed 7-6 at the half. Sophomore Jared Alexander gave the Golden Tornadoes a 12-7 lead in the third quarter with a 3-yard score, and Valle’s fumble recovery made it 19-7. Blagrove returned to the end zone midway through the fourth, but the Mules’ final possession was halted at midfield and the visitors ran out the final 80 seconds.
Mondesir and seniors Kaine McHale and Luke Kirchner made six tackles apiece to lead Lawrence’s defense.
Offensively, the Golden Tornadoes returned five linemen with starting experience — Kirchner at center, Yuri Martinez and John Calderon at guard, and McHale and Aiden Gwyn at tackle. Sophomore Kody Kirchner is the starting quarterback who never played the position prior to this March. “He’s a three-sport athlete who’s very smart and there was never any hesitation on his part to play quarterback,” Supple said.
The backfield has Mondesir, Alexander and freshman Zaire Garraway. Senior split end Mikell Henry leads a group of targets that includes senior Jonathan Martinez, junior Dennis Cabrera and sophomore Jahking King.