The Montgomery County football team turned in a historic season last fall that included nine wins and its first district championship in two decades.

The Wildcats were also outstanding in Eastern Missouri Conference play, going 5-1 and finishing second to North Callaway in the league standings.

MCHS will begin its quest for another successful season in EMO play on Friday, when it travels to Kingdom City to take on defending conference champion North Callaway. Game time is at 7 p.m.

MCHS also has EMO games against Van-Far (Sept. 25), Mark Twain (Oct. 2), Bowling Green (Oct. 9), Wright City (Oct. 16) and Louisiana (Oct. 23). Games against Mark Twain and Wright City will be played at home.

The Wildcats also have a road game against South Callaway on Sept. 18, but it’s a non-conference game as the Bulldogs are competing in their second year in the Central State Eight Conference.

The Wildcats lost to the Thunderbirds in each of the last two years. A year ago, they began league play with a 44-16 loss to North Callaway before rallying to win five straight conference games.

MCHS won four of its conference games by double digits. The Wildcats knocked off Wright City 28-21 in overtime on the road.

In 2024, the Wildcats went 3-4 in conference play and 3-7 overall.

On Friday, MCHS will take on a North Callaway team that finished 6-0 in conference play, but was eliminated by Tolton Catholic in first-round district play in 2025. The Thunderbirds return 13 players, seven were named all-conference last fall. Their head coach, Kevin O’Neal, earned EMO Coach of the Year honors a year ago.

The Wildcats returned four players who earned all-conference honors last year. They are seniors Lafe McCurdy, Isaac Hinkel and Tyler Rodgers and junior Jackson Benney.

McCurdy was named a second-team fullback/tight end, Hinkel was voted a second-team defensive back, Rodgers was a second-team defensive end and Benney was a second-team receiver.

MCHS and Van-Far were the only conference teams that won district titles last fall. Van-Far won a Class 1, District 2 championship.

The Wildcats have 21 conference championships, the last one coming in 2019. They won seven straight league titles from 2002-2007.