Football Wildcats top Hermann in season opener

By Theo Tate

Posted 8/29/25

Matt Smith enjoyed a successful debut as Montgomery County head football coach on Friday.

The Wildcats began their 2025 season with a 26-18 win over the Hermann Bearcats on the road. It was …

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Football Wildcats top Hermann in season opener

Montgomery County players shout thanks to the fans after the game against Hermann.

Theo Tate video

Montgomery County players get fired up before the game against Hermann.

Theo Tate video

Montgomery County senior quarterback Adrian Combs takes a snap in the second quarter against Hermann on Friday. Combs and the Wildcats defeated the Bearcats 26-18 in the season opener for both teams.

Theo Tate photo

Posted Saturday, August 30, 2025 12:41 am

By Theo Tate

Matt Smith enjoyed a successful debut as Montgomery County head football coach on Friday.

The Wildcats began their 2025 season with a 26-18 win over the Hermann Bearcats on the road. It was Smith’s first game as the team’s head coach. He took over head coaching duties for the Wildcats this fall after working as an assistant coach last year.

MCHS also snapped a two-game losing streak to its Highway 19 rival. Last year, they lost 26-6 to the Bearcats in a Week 1 game at Jim Blacklock Field.

Senior Chase Queathem scored a pair of touchdowns and senior Adrian Combs and junior Isaac Hinkel each had a touchdown for the Wildcats, who will take on Monroe City in a Week 2 game on the road on Sept. 5. The Panthers began their season on Friday with a 41-22 road loss to Valle Catholic.

MCHS knocked off a Hermann team that finished with winning records in each of the last three years, including an 8-3 in 2024. The Wildcats are looking to improve on their 3-7 record from last year.

Queathem, an all-Eastern Missouri Conference performer on defense last year, finished with his first two-touchdown game of his high school football career. He had a receiving touchdown last year.

The 6-foot-1, 180-pound Queathem gave the Wildcats a 6-0 lead with eight minutes left in the second quarter after scoring a two-yard touchdown run. It ended an 11-play, 60-yard drive.

Queathem scored his second TD of the game with 2:34 left in the third quarter, an 11-yard run that increased MCHS’ lead to 26-6.

Combs scored a 1-yard touchdown with 3:36 to go in the second quarter that broke a 6-6 tie. He followed with a two-point conversion to give the Wildcats a 14-6 lead.

As time expired in the second quarter, Combs threw a 12-yard touchdown pass to Hinkel to boost the lead to 20-6. Hinkel scored his first TD of his high school football career.

Combs is back at quarterback this season after turning in a strong junior year in 2024, throwing for 1,932 yards with 15 touchdowns and rushing for 499 yards with six TDs.

Kohlt Witthaus scored two touchdowns and Trent Chasteen had a touchdown to lead Hermann.