The Montgomery County football team started a new tradition this year.

Every time the Wildcats win, they would blast the song, “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough,” in their locker room.

After cruising to a 44-7 victory over the Hermann Bearcats on Nov. 7 in a Class 2, District 2 semifinal game at Jim Blacklock Field, the Wildcats celebrated by playing the popular 1967 tune that was performed by Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell.

“We play that after every game,” MCHS senior Rylan Redditt said. “It was just a tradition that (junior) Tyler Rodgers started.”

The Wildcats hope to play it again when they come out on top in the district championship game against the Bowling Green Bobcats on Nov. 14 at Jim Blacklock Field. MCHS will look to win its first district championship since 2005.

The Wildcats will take on a Bowling Green team that has won district titles in each of the last four years. The Bobcats won 54-12 over third-seeded Priory in a semifinal game on Nov. 7. MCHS beat Bowling Green 42-6 in the last meeting on Oct. 10. 

“It’s going to be a tougher game than last time,” MCHS senior Chase Queathem said. “We have to go watch film on them to see what’s new. I know they got some players back. So we shall work every day in practice and keep getting better.”

The last time the Wildcats played for a district championship was in 2007, when they competed in a winner-take-all district title game against Centralia in which they lost 58-6. During that time, Missouri football district play was in a different format in which four teams played in a round-robin format and the team with the best record advances to the state playoffs. District tournament play was switched to a single-elimination tournament format in 2012.

The Wildcats have won 11 district titles. Redditt said he hopes his team will snap a 20-year district championship drought against Bowling Green.

“It will mean the world,” Redditt said. “We’re going to play our hardest.”

MCHS improved to 8-2 with the win over Hermann. The Wildcats also won their seventh straight game. They haven’t lost since Week 3 against North Callaway.

Queathem said he enjoyed listening to “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” after every win.

“I’m going to remember that for the rest of my life singing with all of them in the locker room after the game,” Queathem said.

Queathem said a football movie from 2000 inspired the team to adopt the Gaye-Terrell song.

“We watched “Remember The Titans” as a team, so we kind of stole it from them,” the senior said.

The Wildcats beat Hermann for the second time this season. MCHS knocked off the Bearcats 26-18 in the season opener for both teams on Aug. 29. In the district contest, the Wildcats scored all of their points in the first half.

Queathem said his team improved tremendously from the first game of the season.

“I know we had some first game jitters we had to get out of the way,” he said. “When you do something over and over, you get better at it. That’s what we’ve been doing. We’ve been getting better every week. That’s really all that it is. We just executed better on offense and defense.”

Adrian Combs scored two touchdowns and Lafe McCurdy, Wyatt March, Jackson Benney and Colby Ellis each had a touchdown for the Wildcats, who defeated Hermann in back-to-back contests for the first time since 2012-2013.

A 52-yard touchdown run by McCurdy and a two-point conversion by Mac Farrar with 2:23 left in the first quarter gave the Wildcats an 8-0 lead. MCHS scored 36 points in the second quarter and led 44-0 at halftime.

MCHS held an opponent to single digits for the fourth time this season. Redditt credits junior Owen See for the team’s strong defensive effort.

“I think Owen See did more than enough for our team,” Redditt said. “He got a lot of sacks and worked hard.”

MCHS is the top seed in the seven-district tournament. The Wildcats earned a quarterfinal-round bye.

Queathem said his team enjoyed the week off.

“Lafe and I had some time to recover,” he said. “It was nice for everyone. I think it helped us a lot.”

The Wildcats played in the district semifinals for the third time since the playoff format change in 2012. The last time they played in the district semifinals was in 2020, when they lost to North Callaway 50-49 in overtime in a Class 2, District 5 semifinal at North Callaway. It was also the last time MCHS played a district game in November.