The Montgomery County football team hopes to help make Matt Smith’s first season as head coach a successful one.

Smith takes over head coaching duties for the Wildcats for the 2025 season, replacing John Klekamp. A 2003 Van-Far graduate, Smith joined the MCHS coaching staff last year after working at Louisiana.

Smith takes over a program that won three games last year after going 6-4 the year before. His team has 19 returning players from the 2024 team, four of them were named on the Eastern Missouri Conference team.

Senior Chase Queathem returns after recording a career-best 91 tackles at defensive back and earning all-EMO and all-district honors last year. Another senior, Colby Ellis, was named on the all-conference and all-district team after finishing with a banner 2024 season as defensive lineman.

Queathem and Ellis lead a senior group that includes Adrian Combs, Mac Farrar, Wyatt March, Cameron Knapp, Rylan Reddit, Tim Emily, Ashton Johnson and Jackson White.

Combs returns as the Wildcats’ quarterback. He had a strong 2024 season as quarterback, throwing for 1,932 yards with 15 touchdowns and rushing for 499 yards with six touchdowns.

Also, Farrar caught three touchdowns, March caught for 217 yards with a touchdown last fall and Reddit kicked seven points after touchdown last year.
The junior class includes Owen See, Tyler Rodgers, Dallas Hans, Isaac Hinkel and Lafe McCurdy.

Last year, Rodgers was voted second-team all-EMO offensive lineman and See received second-team notice at strong safety/outside linebacker. Rodgers finished with 34 tackles and See had 54 tackles with 3.5 sacks.

Sophomores who are returning for another year on varsity are Jackson Benney, Lucas Bender, Elake Vance and Marshall Bishop.

Last fall, Benney played six games and threw for 165 yards with a touchdown and rushed for 29 yards with a TD and Bender, Vance and Bishop each had three tackles.

A year ago, the Wildcats won all of their games in the month of October. They defeated Mark Twain on homecoming, came from behind to beat Wright City on senior night and knocked off Louisiana for the fifth year in a row. MCHS finished with its second losing season in three years.

MCHS lost five players to graduation, including all-conference and all-district performers Jacob Hogue and Tatum Wessel.

The Wildcats will start their 2025 season at 7 p.m. on Aug. 29 with a road game against the Hermann Bearcats.

Last year, they began their season with a 26-6 loss to their Highway 19 rivals at Jim Blacklock Field.

MCHS travels to Monroe City in a Week 2 game on Sept. 5 before beginning its home season the following week against North Callaway.

The Wildcats also have home games against South Callaway (Sept. 19). Van-Far (Sept. 26), Bowling Green (Oct. 10) and Louisiana (Oct. 24).

MCHS will have its homecoming game against Van-Far, its Hero Night contest against Bowling Green and its senior night game against Louisiana.

Sam Poggas returns as assistant coach this year. He is joined by new assistants Jordan Aulbur and Austin Keith.