Clayton Parker and Tyler Erwin accomplished another milestone on Feb. 28 after their Montgomery County boys basketball team defeated the Hermann Bearcats 58-41 in the Class 3, District 7 championship game at South Callaway High School.

Two weeks before, they were honored by breaking the school record for most victories by a senior class. With the Wildcats’ victory in the district finals, Parker and Erwin now have more district titles than any other seniors with three.

“There’s no better feeling,” Parker said. “It’s awesome.”

For two years, Parker and Erwin were teammates on the Montgomery County Middle School boys basketball team that finished with a 27-0 record. Before they entered high school, they were teammates on the Brad Beal Elite 14 and under team.

Now, Parker and Erwin are part of a MCHS boys basketball program that is enjoying its most successful run since the 1970s. The Wildcats won their fourth district title in five years and clinched their sixth straight winning season.

“It’s been a freaking blast from my freshman year to now,” Erwin said. “I don’t know if I ever learned so much stuff like coach Kroeger. He’s probably the best coach I ever had in my life. He taught me so many things in not just basketball, but outside of life.”

The Wildcats won their ninth district championship in program history. MCHS started district tournament play on Feb. 26 with an 82-35 win over North Callaway in the semifinals. With the win over Hermann in the finals, the Wildcats captured their third tournament title of the season. They also came out on top in the Montgomery County and Hermann tournaments.

The Wildcats' season ended at 28-2 with a 77-55 loss to Principia in the Class 3 state quarterfinals on March 7 at Webster Groves. They defeated Steelville 62-33 in a sectional game at Fulton four days before.

MCHS won its second straight district championship, making it the second time in program history the Wildcats won back-to-back district crowns. They also won back-to-back in 2021 and 2022.

“It’s a kid’s dream,” Erwin said. “Every kid dreams to win a district and go to the state tournament. Obviously, it takes hard work and a hard-working group of guys. We do that everyday in practice. We have dudes fighting each other, not literally, but argue with each other in practice. We wanted it more than anybody else.”

Parker and Erwin were on that 2022 district championship team that beat Hermann 52-44 in the district finals at South Callaway. Parker was named to the all-district team.

Last year, Parker and Erwin helped the Wildcats cruise past Hermann 62-37 in the district finals at New Bloomfield, en route to a fourth-place finish in the Class 3 Show-Me Showdown.

Both players turned in strong performances in this year’s district final. Parker scored 18 points, while Erwin had seven. Parker is the team’s leading scorer this season at 23 points per game, while Erwin is averaging almost seven a contest.

Also for MCHS, senior Isaiah Thomas finished with 16 points, senior Andrew Moore added 11 and senior Jay Rodgers had six.

Trailing 7-3 late in the first quarter, the Wildcats went on a 10-0 run that carried into the early part of the second quarter and never trailed the rest of the way.

“That was pretty big for us,” said Erwin, who plans to attend the University of Central Missouri next year. “The first time we played them, we weren’t playing our game, so we knew we had to come into this game playing our own game and speed the game up for them and get them out of their game.”

The Wildcats had plenty of support at the district finals as they had 350 people in attendance.

“It was an incredible crowd and an incredible student section,” Parker said. “We couldn’t have done it without them.”

Since Parker and Erwin joined the MCHS program in their freshman seasons, the Wildcats have won 88 games. Before the Wildcats’ home game against North Callaway on Feb. 15, Parker and Erwin were honored for having the most victories by a senior class with 84. They set that record the night before, when MCHS defeated Louisiana 80-31 on the road.

“All I can say is it’s the best program in Missouri,” said Parker, who plans to continue his basketball career at Morehead State University next year. “It’s awesome. We have a great coach. We compete in practice every day. It’s a fun group of guys to be around. We all have fun with each other.”

With the win over Hermann, the Wildcats finished 9-0 in February, making it the second year in row they turned in an undefeated February.