LEE'S SUMMIT, Mo. — For the first time ever, Lee's Summit is practicing football in December.
"It's just a blessing to be here with all this snow and still playing," said senior quarterback/running back/corner back Preston Hatfield.
The Tigers have played for a state title before, but that was way back on Nov. 30, 1985.
"You go around into the grocery store, Hy-Vee, and they're giving you high fives and saying 'Go Tigers!;" said second-year head coach Todd Miller. "I haven't been around that in a long time."
Lee's Summit's run is thanks in large part to a diminutive player - 5'9", 170-pound Preston Hatfield.
But nobody was bigger in the Tigers' win over previously undefeated Jackson on Saturday.
Hatfield, who plays quarterback and running back depending on the play, rushed 48 times for 251 yards and four touchdowns.
"My (offensive) line did a lot of it, opening holes, opening gaps. I was just following," said Hatfield.
Preston also threw seven passes. Of the Tigers' 68 plays, 80% of them were him.
Or someone who looks like him...
"We've been best friends for our whole lives so it's like any accomplishment he makes I'm proud of and vice versa," said Peyton Hatfield, Preston's identical twin brother.
That's right, Tiger opponents have been seeing double this season. Twin brother Peyton is a running back and receiver. But he also filled in for Preston at quarterback when he was injured this season.
"We're kind of Swiss Army knives," said Preston, this week's Hy-Vee Athlete of the Week. "We play defense, offense, just kind of everywhere they need us."
"That's just what we do, right? We're not afraid to snap it to multiple guys," their coach said. "We just let our imagination take this offense where it's kind of evolved to right now."
"And we're having a lot of fun with it."