So far, Mason Leu is enjoying an outstanding senior year at Montgomery County High School.

First, he earned all-state honors in football for the second year in a row. Now, he’s part of an Eastern Missouri Conference championship basketball team.

Leu and the Wildcats won their second straight EMO title and their eighth overall after wrapping up league play with a 55-39 win over the Clopton Hawks in their regular season finale on the road on Feb. 15. MCHS finished 10-0 in conference play and extended its EMO winning streak to 20 games.

“It feels good,” Leu said. “We had high expectations and had high goals. We have executed them so far. Everybody contributed in all different types of ways.”

MCHS finished its regular season at 20-6, making it the first time since 2021 it reached the 20-win mark. The Wildcats also surpassed last year’s win total of 19.

“I feel like our main goal has been accomplished heading into district play and that is we have improved during the season,” MCHS coach Scott Kroeger said. “That’s all you can ask for as a basketball team.”

MCHS will focus on winning its third district title in four years. The Wildcats are the top seed in the Class 3, District 7 tournament at New Bloomfield. They will play North Callaway in a semifinal game at 6 p.m. on Feb. 22. MCHS lost to North Callaway in the district semifinals last year.

“The district is competitive from top to bottom,” Kroeger said. “Hermann and South Callaway are really tough basketball teams. We played both of them already, so we’re going to take it one game at a time and we’re going to try to attain our goals.”

The MCHS boys had an easy time in the conference play this winter, beating all of their opponents by an average margin of 30 points per game. They won all of their contests by double digits.

“We didn’t overlook any teams,” Leu said. “We played every game like we were playing the state champs. We just played to win.”

Last year, the Wildcats clinched an undefeated conference season by beating Elsberry on a buzzer-beating shot by Clayton Parker. They didn’t need a buzzer beater against Clopton on Feb. 15. MCHS led 18-14 at halftime before going on a 9-0 run to start the third quarter and never looked back.

Parker, a junior, finished with 22 points, including 20 in the second half. Senior Jake Stellwagen finished with 10, eight of them came from free throws. Junior Jay Rodgers scored 13 points, six in the first quarter and seven in the third.

The MCHS boys also completed the sweep of EMO titles. Just three days before, the girls team clinched its fifth straight conference championship with a 10-0 record.

“As always, it pales in comparison to our ladies program and what coach (Joe) Basinger, coach (Bruce) Powers and (former) coach (John) Klekamp have accomplished the last five years,” Kroeger said. “Winning two in a row is pretty stinking awesome.”

The Wildcats also won championships in 1989, 1990, 1992, 2017, 2020, 2021 and 2023. Kroeger said this year’s crown was pretty special for the senior class of Leu, Stellwagen, Cade Smith and Maddox James.

“Our seniors have been leaders from day one,” he said.

Leu, a point guard, has been playing with the MCHS program since he was a freshman. When he was a sophomore, he helped his team win a district title. Last year, he averaged four points and had 57 assists and helped the Wildcats capture an EMO crown.

This year, Leu has been one of the Wildcats’ top guards despite missing several games due to a sprained Achilles tendon he suffered at the South Callaway Tournament in January.

Leu, who plans to continue his football career at Culver-Stockton next year, said he’s thrilled to be part of a successful MCHS boys basketball program. The Wildcats have won 76 games during Leu’s career with the team.

“Kroeger has built a great program here,” Leu said. “He’s been active with all of the JV guys all the way up to the varsity guys. Everybody gets coached the same. He pays attention to everyone. He has done a good job.”