For the first time in 262 days, the Montgomery County boys basketball team was back on the court as it tipped off its 2024-2025 season on Nov. 26 at Fatima.

The Wildcats definitely had a happy bus ride back from Osage County as they cruised past the Comets 64-48 in a battle of district championship teams from last year.

The last time MCHS was on the court was on March 9, when it competed in the Class 3 Show-Me Showdown in Columbia and finished fourth. Senior Jay Rodgers said his teammates were definitely excited to start a new season at Fatima High School, which is located in Westphalia.

“We were all really looking forward to it,” Rodgers said.

After starting their season against Winfield the last 10 years, the Wildcats decided to begin their 2024-25 season with a new opponent against Fatima, which won 22 games and captured its first district championship in eight years last winter.

“We tried to schedule them last year,” MCHS coach Scott Kroeger said. “The date we picked fell through because their conference schedule got shuffled, so we had to take them off and we had to fill it with a different game. Then, we said we wanted to make it happen for sure this year, no matter where we had to put it.”

MCHS trailed 44-41 with 1:20 left in the third quarter before going on a 19-2 run that carried into the fourth quarter. It was the first time the Wildcats played the Comets in Kroeger’s eight-year coaching tenure as MCHS.

“I’m really thankful that they had us down here to play,” Kroeger said. “This environment is always awesome. It’s intense. They’re a well-coached basketball team. We saw some of the most complex offensive schemes that we’re going to see in game one.”

Rodgers played a key role in the victory, scoring 20 points with four 3-pointers. With the game tied at 46 late in the fourth quarter, the senior hit a three-pointer with 6:58 left that started a 14-0 run.

“Jay practiced a lot of hours,” Kroeger said. “It showed up tonight offensively. I thought he did a really nice job defensively for the most part. He drew their best player on defense some of the time, but he really stepped up and kept his head. I yelled at him a couple of times and that’s what I’m pleased about. But he did a nice job of staying with it. He didn’t let me freak him out thankfully. He’s a tough-minded kid. Whenever you leave him open, it’s not a good thing for the other team.”

Rodgers said his goal was to bounce back from a disappointing effort in the CBC Jamboree on Nov. 21.

“I didn’t play my best in the Jamboree and I went and played my hardest,” Rodgers said. “Coming into this game, I just had the mentality that I had to play my hardest.”

Eight players, including Rodgers, return from last year’s MCHS team that won 25 games and competed in the Show-Me Showdown for the first time since 1974.

Against Fatima, Rodgers was part of an all-senior starting lineup that included Morehead State-bound Clayton Parker, Isaiah Thomas, Sean Rodgers and Tyler Erwin. Parker finished with 22 points and Thomas added nine.

“I’ve been playing with these dudes since we were in first or second grade,” Rodgers said.

This year, the Wildcats have strengthened their schedule, which includes a trip to the Norm Stewart Classic on Dec. 12 at Mizzou Arena in Columbia, an appearance at the Great 8 Tournament in Jefferson City on Dec. 27-29 and contests against last year’s Class 1 state champion Chadwick on Jan. 3, Battle on Jan. 7 and St. Francis Borgia on Jan. 10.

“We built our schedule to make it tough this year,” Kroeger said. “Obviously, we want to be playing our best basketball at the end of the season. That’s always going to be our goal. We want to be extremely competitive in the playoffs just like every team. We want to go as far as we can.”