The Staley Falcons are taking a road trip to take on the Lee's Summit Tigers at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Staley has a tough task ahead: they'll enter the contest with three straight losses, while Lee's Summit will come in with three straight wins.
Staley is headed into the game out to prove that what happened against Lee's Summit West on Friday (when they were outscored in every quarter) was just a minor bump in the road. The Falcons lost 42-16 to the Titans. The last quarter was a mere formality, since the game's final score was reached by the end of the third quarter.
Despite the defeat, Staley got top-tier performance from Luke Bontrager, who picked up 127 receiving yards and two touchdowns. Connor Jones was another key player, having thrown for 251 yards and two touchdowns.
Meanwhile, it was a proper cat-fight when Lee's Summit challenged Raymore-Peculiar on Friday. The Tigers took down the Panthers 31-14. The home team had taken home the W every time these teams have met since October 6, 2017, but that streak is no more.
Staley better focus on containing Karsten Fiene and Drew Benassi as the pair were huge in Lee's Summit's win. Fiene rushed for 268 yards and three TDs while picking up 14.9 yards per carry, while Benassi rushed for 153 yards and one score while picking up 8.5 yards per carry. Those 153 rushing yards gave Benassi a new career-high.
Lee's Summit was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 449 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 218 rushing yards in four consecutive matchups.
Lee's Summit didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off two passes before the game was over. In fact, those interceptions all came courtesy of defensive juggernaut Marz Guein.
The victory was their first on the road , bumping their record up to 3-4. As for Staley, their loss dropped their record down to 2-5.
Friday's contest might be decided on the ground. Staley has been excellent on the ground this season, having averaged 157 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Lee's Summit struggles in that department as they've been averaging 225 rushing yards. There's a good chance Friday's game turns into a tough fight on the ground.
Staley took a serious blow against Lee's Summit when the teams last played back in October of 2024, falling 63-28. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of the Tigers' Preston Hatfield, who rushed for 278 yards and three touchdowns while picking up 17.4 yards per carry. Now that the Falcons know the damage he can cause, will they be able to stop him this time? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
