In week 6 play, the 3-2 NKC Hornets take on the 1-4 Lee's Summit Tigers, in a conference matchup with big playoff implications.
 
The Tigers record doesn't jump off the page, however, with their difficulty of schedule, a losing record can be almost expected. Their lone win came in week one over Oak Park (42-21), they have since dropped 4 straight at the hands of 4 ranked teams. They dropped week 2 to #2 ranked Lee's Summit North, then week 3 to #23 Lee's Summit West. Week 4 they traveled across the state line to take on Blue Valley and fell 67-36. Last week, they lost a close game to #14 Park Hill.
 
In parallel, the Hornets sit at 3-2, in a season with unseen twists and turns. After dropping week 1 to #29 Raytown (35-14), the Hornets picked up a big momentum win against St. Joe Central 38-0. They followed that big win up with another even big win against #22 Fort Osage (28-13) and cracked the top 25 for a brief stint. The next week, the Hornets came back down to earth in an eye-opening 29-0 loss to #19 Platte County. Last week, the Hornets defeated the Staley Falcons for the first time in history, 10-8.
 
After a big win, the Hornets seem to be fired up to continue the defensive hot streak, led by Kaden Torres, Domonique Orange and Edric Hill, also following the emergence of Jaden Browning off the edge as a solid option against good running teams. When this unit is firing, the Hornets are borderline impossible to beat. Oh yeah, Keilan Powell and Jelani Murray also make key receiver threats obsolete and even more susceptible to the pass rush.
 
Tonight's story will be one of offense. JJ Johnson has shown definite flashes of elite production qualities, but has struggled to put together a solid multi-week effort. No knock to the QB1, however, wins are wins, and the Hornet offense has done enough to get some big ones, so far.
 
On the Tiger side, junior quarterback Elijah Martinez has caught fire through the air in recent weeks after a big week 1 rushing game, however almost isn't enough; especially in football. The Tiger rushing game has fared well in recent weeks, in general. With the statistical production of this offense, to sit at 1-4 is truly a worst case scenario. 
 
This matchup can answer a multitude of questions for both teams. For the Hornets, will the pass rush come through against a high-production team? Can the Hornet offense take over against a susceptible defense? All can hopefully be answered, tonight.
 
We hope you can make the drive down to Lee's Summit, but if you can't we've still got you covered. Visit nkchornets.org/coverage for tonight's stream information!