Preston Hatfield put the Show in the Show Me Bowl.

The senior tailback shattered the Missouri state football championship record for most rushing yards in the title game, previously held by Vianney’s Kyren Williams.

Yes, the Kyren Williams currently with the Los Angeles Rams, who ran for a state title game record of 289 yards in 2018.

Hatfield racked up 457 yards to propel Lee’s Summit to the Missouri Class 6 state title, 41-37, over Nixa on Saturday night at Missouri Western’s Spratt Memorial Field.

Yes that’s right – 457 rushing yards on 33 carries. In a state title game.

“He may not say too much tonight, he may be too tired. I’ve had the pleasure of coaching a lot of young men, and these guys are phenomenal, but that’s as good of a game as I’ve ever seen a young man play. I’m glad you’re on our team,” Lee’s Summit head coach Todd Miller said, as he turned on the postgame podium in Hatfield’s direction.

And Lee’s Summit needed every yard along the way in a game that endured seven lead changes.

Lee’s Summit (10-4) started the season 0-4 with a rash of injuries, but healed up and finished with 10 straight wins, capped by the first state championship in school history. The Tigers are the first team in Missouri history to start 0-4 and walk away with the state trophy.

“I’m going to remember everyone I played with, and all the adversity we faced and everything coach told us at the beginning of the year,” Preston Hatfield said. “Anything’s possible and that’s what we had to believe.”

In the end, it wasn’t Hatfield, but Karsten Fiene who scored the game-winning touchdown on a one-yard run with 5:24 left. Of course, a 77-yard dash by Hatfield set up the Fiene score.

Preston Hatfield gave Lee’s Summit multiple early leads on scoring runs of 41, 15, 4 and 89 yards, the latter to pull the Tigers to 28-28 with 9:27 left in the third quarter.

But an 18-yard touchdown pass from Adam McKnight to Randy Flint propelled Nixa to a 35-28 lead with 3:51 left in the third.

Moments later, twin brother Peyton Hatfield scampered 34 yards to tie the game at 35-35 with 1:59 remaining in the third quarter. Peyton finished with 86 rushing yards as well.

Nixa took a 37-35 lead with 8:03 left on a safety. But then Preston Hatfield broke off the 77-yarder to set up the go-ahead score by Fiene.