The Montgomery County football team gave its seniors a nice sendoff on Oct. 16.

Seven seniors celebrated a victory in their final home game at Jim Blacklock Field as the MCHS Wildcats cruised to a 26-2 win over the Wright City Wildcats under chilly and windy conditions. Jack Barker, Dallas Hans, Isaac Hinkel, Lafe McCurdy, Troy Quesenberry, Tyler Rodgers and Owen See make up this year’s senior class.

“It means a lot for me and the guys to come out here and win at home,” Quesenberry said. “The last home game is really important to them, so it makes it important to me.”

Now, the seniors are setting their sights on getting a win in their last regular season game in a MCHS uniform. The Wildcats wrap up their regular season at 7 p.m. Friday with a road game against the Louisiana Bulldogs, who are 6-3 this year after winning just three games last year.

“It will be a great win,” Hans said. “Louisiana is pretty good, but we have to win it for Coach (Matt) Smith. That’s his hometown, so we have to go out and win.”

The Wildcats improved to 5-3 overall and 3-2 in Eastern Missouri Conference play with the win over Wright City. MCHS also finished its home season at 3-1.
The Wildcats defeated Louisiana in each of the last six years. A win on Friday would guarantee them their second straight winning season. A year ago, they finished 9-3.

Quesenberry said he’s thrilled to be part of a winning squad in his final high school football season. He returned to the team this fall after a year hiatus.

“Being able to be a part of a winning team, it really feels like I’m really contributing to it,” Quesenberry said. “That’s really something special.”

All of the seniors – plus first-year managers Sarah Waters and Noah Lacy – were recognized with their parents before the contest with Wright City.

“It feels great,” Hans said. “You always look up to your seniors. Being one of the guys whom someone can look up to means pretty much.”

Most of the seniors have played with the MCHS program since they were freshmen. In the 2023 season, the Wildcats had 11 freshmen on their team.

“We’ve all known each other for a really long time,” Quesenberry said. “We hold each other to high standards. It gets really intense at times, but it makes us all better.”

Quesenberry said his favorite moment of senior night was seeing his father, Roger, at the game.

“It was great to be able to have my father come out here and watch me play tonight,” the 5-foot-10, 165-pound guard/linebacker said. “It was great to win in front of him.”

Three of the seniors scored touchdowns against Wright City. McCurdy scored a one-yard touchdown run with 6:27 to go in the second quarter to give MCHS a 6-2 lead. Hinkel extended the lead to 12-2 with a 40-yard touchdown reception with 3:08 remaining in the second. Hans scored a six-yard touchdown catch with 10:33 left in the fourth to give the Wildcats a 26-2 lead.

Hans said he was surprised that he scored a touchdown.

“To be honest, I was supposed to block,” the six-foot-tall, 170-pound senior said. “I stepped back and I was wide open at the end zone, waved my hands and (quarterback) Jackson (Benney) threw it to me. Give credit to him.”

Last year, the Wildcats defeated Wright City 26-20 in overtime on the road. In this year’s contest, MCHS gave up a safety in the first quarter before scoring 26 unanswered points to get back on the winning track after losing 55-34 to Bowling Green in a Week 7 game. MCHS also defeated Wright City for the 10th consecutive meeting.

“Coming off a loss last week, we had a bounce back win, so that was good for us to come out and play good tonight,” Hans said.

Junior Marshall Bishop also scored a touchdown for the Wildcats, who won their senior night game for the fourth year in a row. He scored a 35-yard touchdown catch in the second quarter.