Chase Queathem waited exactly 301 days for this moment.

The Montgomery County senior running back/linebacker was back on the football field as he played his last first game in a Wildcats uniform at Hermann High School. He was looking forward to playing since MCHS’ season-ending loss to Bowling Green in district play on Nov. 1, 2024.

“As soon as it ended, I couldn’t wait to get back on the field,” Queathem said.

Queathem’s senior year got off to a flying start. He scored two touchdowns to lead the Wildcats to a 26-18 season-opening win over the Bearcats. In last year’s season opener against Hermann, he finished with a team-high 12 tackles, but his team lost 26-6.

“It’s a good turnaround from last year,” Queathem said. “We had a lot of guys working hard. It wasn’t pretty, but a win’s a win. We still have a lot to work on offensively and defensively. Penalties killed us. We just have to be more disciplined.”

The senior said he was happy that his team pulled out the win despite the Bearcats rallying with two touchdowns in the fourth quarter that cut the Wildcats’ lead to single digits.

“No one gave up,” the 6-foot-1, 180-pound Queathem said. “We were working hard the whole game. These last two or three weeks of practice we had were the hardest I have ever seen these guys work. We were just giving it to them up front. We could have been better with pushing. I don’t do anything without my O-line. A big part of that is them. Our defense in the first half was pretty good. It could have been better. I think the reason we won was just grit. We had a lot of grit tonight.”

Now, Queathem hopes his team continues having grit for the rest of the season. A year ago, the Wildcats finished 3-7 after losing their first five games.

“It’s going to take a lot of hard work,” Queathem said. “We have a tough schedule. Coach (Matt) Smith is doing the right things in getting us back on track, but we still have so much that we have to work on in getting better.”

Queathem recorded his first two-touchdown game of his high school football career against Hermann. He scored a two-yard run with eight minutes left in the second quarter to give the Wildcats a 6-0 lead. He extended the lead to 26-6 with an 11-yard run with 2:34 to go in the third. Queathem also made several tackles in the contest.

The senior said he has things to improve on offensively and defensively.

“I have to work on reading my blocks when I’m running,” he said. “I have to work on wrapping up when I tackle. I have to work on being more downhill on defense. There are just little things, really, I have to see the field a little better, know what’s going on, go and watch some film and get better.”

Queathem is one of the Wildcats’ top returning players from the 2024 season. He earned all-Eastern Missouri Conference and all-district honors after recording a career-best 91 tackles, second on the team to now-graduated Tatum Wessel.

Queathem said although getting selected all-EMO and all-district was an outstanding feat, he was upset that his team finished with a losing record last year.

“It was nice getting it, but I’d rather see the team succeed than me personally,” Queathem said. “I don’t care about any of those awards. I’d rather have the team win and that’s what I care about. I care about these guys. They’re out there working with me every day and putting in the work.”

Queathem has been playing football since third grade, when he joined the Montgomery County youth program. He started playing varsity with the Wildcats in his freshman year. He was one of 18 freshmen on the MCHS roster in the 2022 season. This year, Queathem is one of 10 seniors on the team.

“I wouldn’t trade it for the world,” said Queathem, who also plays basketball in the winter and baseball in the spring. “These guys are my best friends and I get to go out and play the game I love with them.”