The first five weeks of the 2022 season were something the Montgomery County Wildcats would like to forget.

The Wildcats got off to an 0-5 start after losing close games to Hermann and Van-Far and suffered blowout losses to Mark Twain, Monroe City and Bowling Green. It was the team’s worst start since 2015.

Despite losing 82-20 to Bowling Green on Sept. 22 in an Eastern Missouri Conference home game at Jim Blacklock Field, the Wildcats are back on the winning track after the first five weeks in 2023. They are 3-2 and have surpassed last year’s win total of two.

“Last year, we had a different mentality,” MCHS senior lineman James Pollard said. “We were puppies. This year, we have a lot of dogs. Last year, we gave up too early. As soon as they scored one touchdown, we were done. We sat down and gave up. This year is different.”

The Wildcats began their season on Aug. 25 by coming back from a 14-0 deficit to beat Hermann. They also beat Van-Far in their home opener on Sept. 8 and cruised past Mark Twain on Sept. 16 to snap a two-game losing streak to the Tigers.

“We’re averaging over 140 yards more a game on offense,” MCHS coach John Klekamp said. “We almost scored as many points in five games as we did all of last year. The kids like it. The kids play hard.”

Now, MCHS is looking to finish strong in the final four weeks of its regular season. The Wildcats travel to Wright City on Sept. 29. They also have Louisiana, North Callaway and South Callaway left in their regular season schedule.

“We want to go perfect for the rest of the season,” Pollard said. “We don’t want to drop a game to a team that we think we’re better than.”

Klekamp said it is important for his team to perform well in the final four weeks so it could get a higher seed in district play. This year, the Wildcats are competing in a district that includes Hermann and three Jefferson County schools.

“Our best option is we need to win out and we need to play good football to secure the best seed that we can,” Klekamp said.

The Wildcats had their two-game winning streak snapped with the loss to Bowling Green. They also lost to the Bobcats for the fourth straight year.

Seniors Mason Leu and Jacer Brower provided the scoring for the Wildcats. Leu scored a pair of touchdowns and Brower scored a touchdown. MCHS, which dropped to 2-1 in EMO play, scored all of its points in the first half. Last year, the Wildcats lost 74-0 to Bowling Green.

“I think offensively, we showed that we can still move the ball against a good football team,” Klekamp said. “(Bowling Green) Coach (Mark) St. Clair does a good job. They have a really good football team. They play fast, play hard and play through the whistle.”

The 82 points allowed marked a season-high for the Wildcats. MCHS gave up 263 points in its last four meetings against Bowling Green.

“In the end, we have to make plays on defense,” Klekamp said. “We can’t let the other team score every time they have the football. Some of that is on me. We have to get better defensively. We played really well defensively up until this game. They got after us.”

On Sept. 29, the Wildcats are looking to knock off a Wright City team that is 4-1 overall and 3-0 in conference play. MCHS won the last six meetings.

“We’re going to have to work hard,” Klekamp said. “We’re going to have to get better. We have to get ready for Wright City and coach (Tyler) Rickard’s group. We have to be able to defend a lot of stuff. They’re going to be a much different offense. They’re kind of spread open like we are. They’re going to throw the ball a little bit and they’re going to run the ball, too. We have to be ready for both.”

Pollard, a second-team all-conference selection last year, said he is optimistic that his team will bounce back from the loss to Bowling Green.

“We have to come back and fight hard next week,” Pollard said. “It’s a new day every day. You can’t live in the past. If you live in the past, that’s how you become a bad football team. We have really good players here I truly believe in. I think we’re going to go far.”