Lee’s Summit 35, Jackson 28

Like it did during the season, Lee’s Summit saved its best for last.

The Tigers scored 21 unanswered points in the final 17 minutes of its Missouri Class 6 semifinal to beat Jackson, 35-28, at LSHS on Saturday afternoon.

Lee’s Summit (9-4) opened the season with an 0-4 record, but recovered from injuries and has won nine straight to find itself facing Nixa in the state title game next Saturday night at 7 pm at Spratt Memorial Stadium in St. Joseph.

The Indians (12-1) took a 28-14 lead after a Jaylen Hampton 50-yard touchdown run with 6:52 left in the third quarter. But Lee’s Summit started the ensuing possession at midfield, Karsten Fiene ripped off a long run and set up a Preston Hatfield touchdown scamper for a 28-21 margin with 4:20 in the third.

Lee’s Summit held a Jackson threat in its territory, then Hatfield capped another drive with a touchdown for a 28-27 deficit after a PAT attempt was blocked with 7:23 left.

Jackson then fumbled at its own 20 on a third down, which led to Hatfield’s fourth and final touchdown run of the game. Hatfield finished with 251 yards in the contest.

Peyton Hatfield followed with a two-point conversion for a 35-28 lead with 2:56 left. Lee’s Summit then held Jackson on downs to seal the win.

 Kearney 56, Festus 24

After weaving across Missouri for over four hours and waiting another two hours for a delayed kickoff, Kearney walloped Festus, 56-24, in the Missouri Class 4 semifinals on Saturday.

Now the Bulldogs can head west on highway 92 and north on I-29 to the state title game in less than an hour next Saturday.

Kearney (13-0) scored five unanswered touchdowns to propel itself from a 17-15 deficit to the host Tigers midway through the second quarter, to leading 52-17 early in the fourth quarter. A good payoff for having to wait two extra hours for kickoff due to weather, after the long bus ride to southeast Missouri.

Quarterback Temple Carter rushed for a game-high 237 yards and three touchdowns on runs of 22, 26 and 23. Running back Corbin Emmons also went berserk with 147 rushing yards and two touchdowns, while Hendrix Dydren joined the action with 70 rushing yards and two scores as well. For the game, Kearney racked up 472 rushing yards compared to Festus mustering 77 on the ground.

Kearney will face the winner of St. Mary’s South Side and Hannibal, which play Sunday at 1 pm due to postponement.

Lift for Life 48, St. Michael the Archangel 28

Lift for Life wasn’t an uplifting sight for St. Michael the Archangel’s first trip to the semifinals.

The St. Louis-area charter school scored six straight touchdowns to own a 42-0 lead by 4:26 in the third quarter, and rolled to a 48-28 win in the Missouri Class 3 semifinals at Lee’s Summit North on Saturday afternoon.

St. Michael the Archangel (10-4) did find the end zone on a Luis Tellado three-yard run with :56 left in the third. Then Tellado scored another three-yard touchdown with 7:05 left for a 42-14 margin. The Guardians running back finished with 170 rushing yards on the day.

Then SMA quarterback Gage Burgess scored from nine yards out for a 42-22 deficit with just over two minutes remaining.  Another Hawks touchdown pushed the lead out before Burgess concluded the scoring with a 12-yard touchdown with :17 left in the game.