Montgomery County junior quarterback Adam Czerniewski got a surprise visitor in his season-opening road game against Hermann on Aug. 27.

It was his brother, Eric, who was a football standout at MCHS and the University of Central Missouri and was inducted into the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame last year.

“It was really nice,” Czerniewski said. “He doesn’t come out to many games. He’s busy.”

Czerniewski turned in a performance that definitely impressed his older brother. He helped the Wildcats snap an eight-game losing streak to Hermann after rushing for 149 yards on 21 carries with two touchdowns and throwing for 119 yards with a touchdown. MCHS defeated the Bearcats 31-16.

“Getting a win over Hermann with him out here is super special,” Czerniewski said.

Now, Czerniewski is hoping to finish with another strong season as the Wildcats’ quarterback. Last year, he threw for 983 yards with 14 touchdowns and rushed for 604 yards with five touchdowns.He also helped MCHS finish 7-4, its second straight winning season.

“This team can go far as long as we work hard, not only in games, but in practice,” Czerniewski said. “We’ve got to give it everything we got. If we stay together, we can do something really special this year.”

Against Hermann, Czerniewski scored a pair of touchdowns – a 58-yard run in the second quarter and a 15-yard run in the third – and threw a 14-yard touchdown pass to senior Ty Leu in the second.

“He played absolutely amazing,” Leu said. “I can’t thank him anymore for playing that well. That means a lot to me and the rest of the seniors. He put it all out there to get this win for us.”

Czerniewski’s effort helped the Wildcats beat Hermann for the first time since 2013. The junior credits MCHS coach John Klekamp for his outstanding effort against the Bearcats.

“He works us hard in the weight room,” Czerniewski said.

Czerniewski started playing quarterback when he joined the Montgomery County youth football program. He said he was interested in playing the position so he could follow in the footsteps of his older brother.

During his four years at MCHS, Eric finished with 1,236 pass attempts, 775 completions, 11,557 yards and 140 touchdowns and helped the Wildcats finish runner-up in the Class 2 state tournament in his senior year.

“I wanted to be like him,” Czerniewski said.

Klekamp said he’s pleased with the way Czerniewski has been playing for the Wildcats after two years.
“A lot of what I used to see in Eric is what I see in Adam,” Klekamp said. “He’s just a super competitor.”