Nixa (13-0) faces Lee’s Summit (9-4) for the Class 6 state championship at 7 pm on Saturday.

At the bottom of this article, you will find a statistical comparison of the team, but it does not tell the whole story as it relates to Lee’s Summit.

The big question leading into this game has been “how did Lee’s Summit go from 0-4 to a state championship game appearance?”.

The answer is: Preston Hatfield.

Hatfield is the player that makes Lee’s Summit go. He played in the first game against Liberty but only got eight carries. After that, he did not play again until Week 8 against Staley.

Below you will see that Lee’s Summit averages 27.8 points per game with 363.5 total yards and 265 total rushing yards per game.

Discarding the first game, Lee’s Summit played six games with Hatfield and six without. The six games they played without Hatfield, the Tigers averaged 24.5 points per game with 253 rushing yards and 345 total yards. In the six games since, Lee’s Summit is averaging 33.5 points per game with 295 rushing yards and 395 total yards per game.

Hatfield is averaging 180 rushing yards per game since he returned in Week 8.

Those are stark differences and explain the resurgence of Lee’s Summit. Lee’s Summit faced unbeaten Jackson in the semifinal round last Saturday. Hatfield carried 49 (yes, 49) times for 259 yards and four touchdowns in a 35-28 win. Those 49 carries are tied for ninth-most in a game in the MSHSAA record book.

For Nixa, the goal is simple: stop Preston Hatfield. As he goes, so does Lee’s Summit.

Looking at this game, two big keys for Nixa are getting Lee’s Summit off schedule by forcing 2^nd and 3^rd and long and building an early lead.

Last week against Jackson, Lee’s Summit threw for 13 yards and rushed for 318. On the year, Lee’s Summit has 10 passing touchdowns and 9 interceptions on offense. If Nixa can force Lee’s Summit to throw the ball, it brings into play a great secondary that has 22 interceptions on the year led by eight from Randy Flint. Nixa’s secondary against Lee’s Summit’s passing game is a big advantage for the Eagles on paper. Lee’s Summit’s offense has 11 turnovers on the season with nine of them coming on interceptions.

Playing from ahead is a two-fold positive for Nixa.

First, it forces Lee’s Summit to play with more urgency and throw more which, as outlined above, is a distinct advantage for Nixa. Second, it allows Nixa to stay on schedule focusing on the run. Like the Nixa secondary, Lee’s Summit’s secondary is opportunistic with 12 interceptions as a team on the year.

This game will be decided up front. Whoever’s offensive and defensive lines do a better combined job on Saturday will win this game.

INDIVIDUAL LEADERS