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LAWRENCE – The defending-state champ and the current consensus No. 1 is a tough foe for any team. For a rebuilding squad playing under a first-year coach, the task is even tougher. Lawrence found that out Friday night, when the Lancers escaped being

LAWRENCE – The defending-state champ and the current consensus No. 1 is a tough foe for any team. For a rebuilding squad playing under a first-year coach, the task is even tougher.

Lawrence found that out Friday night, when the Lancers escaped being shutout with a late touchdown in a 35-8 defeat to Everett.

“It was scheduled last season before I took the job,” said Lancer coach Rhandy Audate. “We just wanted to see the kids get some competition against the best in the state. We wanted to test what we’ve got.

“I’m happy with the toughness of the kids with the way they played. They were very aggressive and played with tenacity. We wanted to see if they played the whole game, and they rose to the challenge.”

After watching Everett (4-0) score twice by run, once on a blocked punt and two more via pass to take a 35-0 lead, Lawrence (0-3) rode a nice drive to avoid the goose egg. A 13-yard pass from Jacob Tamayo to Manuel Lara capped a nine-play, 80-yard possession with 1:49 left in the game. Gianni Vargas ran for the conversion.

On the Everett sideline was offensive assistant coach Reynaldi Audate, brother and former Crimson Tide teammate of Rhandy.

“At the end of the day, we’ve grown up with the game and we have such a love for the game,” said Rhandy Audate, who graduated from Everett in 2006 – two years behind his sibling. “This goes beyond just football for us. This is a family thing that we’ve been doing a long time. I definitely want to beat big brother … But we’ve learned so much from each other that there’s no bad blood between us.”

Everett, which features an offensive line with three players more than 250 pounds and averages 235 pounds, scored on four plays of 20 yards or longer. But the Crimson Tide often found yardage tough to come by.

“I knew we were going to be in for four quarters because I knew it was my brother,” said the elder Audate, 32. “And they have some athletes. We knew it was going to be tough to execute because they have tough players, too. So, it was exactly like we thought it was going to be … They’re going to be good for the next couple years.”

Tamayo led the Lancers with 44 yards rushing and 82 passing. Lara finished with 71 yards on six of Tamayo’s seven completions and added an interception. Offensive guard Erek Gomez was taken off the field on a stretcher late in the second quarter and taken to the hospital for x-rays on his left foot.