For 11 weeks, the Montgomery County Wildcats played some outstanding football, tripling their win total from last year, knocking off Wright City in an overtime thriller and winning their first district title since the George W. Bush Administration.

But at 3:40 p.m. on Nov. 22, their memorable season came to an end at St. Pius X High School in Crystal City.

MCHS dropped to the St. Pius X Lancers 14-0 in a Class 2 state quarterfinal game. The Wildcats finished their season at 9-3 and had their seven-game winning streak snapped.

After the game, Matt Smith wrapped up his first season as MCHS coach with a talk with his players.

“I’m just proud of them,” Smith said. “They worked their butts off all year. They got nothing to hang their heads about. I told them I love them.”

Eight MCHS seniors played their final game on Saturday. They were Adrian Combs, Chase Queathem, Colby Ellis, Cameron Knapp, Rylan Redditt, Ashton Johnson, Mac Farrar and Wyatt March. Five of them – Johnson, Farrar, March, Ellis and Queathem – were named to the all-Eastern Missouri Conference team.

“Our seniors were great and they worked their butts off,” Smith said. “I’m super proud of them as well as everybody else.”

St. Pius qualified for the Elite Eight for the first time in program history by beating Caruthersville 28-14 in a Class 2, District 1 championship contest on Nov. 14. The Lancers won their fifth district title and their first since 2001.

With the win over MCHS, St. Pius advanced to the Final Four for the first time. The Jefferson County Catholic school improved to 8-5 and will host Monroe City at 1 p.m. on Nov. 29 in a state semifinal game.

“They’re really physical,” MCHS junior Isaac Hinkel said. “On defense, we’re always changing stuff on blitzes and whatnot. They’re a physical, tough team.”

The Lancers have bounced back from an 0-3 start to enjoy their best postseason run in program history.

“We’re going to talk about that 0-3 run five years from now,” St. Pius coach Frank Ray said. “I don’t care if we get four state championships at that time. It made us. That wasn’t a problem. That was only a problem to the people on the outside who wanted to act like it was.”

MCHS got off to a slow start as well, going 1-2 in its first three games before going on its amazing run. Hinkel said he enjoyed being part of the 2025 team.

“These guys are going to be my lifelong friends,” he said. “These are memories that I will hold forever. It’s been nothing but exciting and fun for me and the team.”

Now, the Wildcats are already focusing on turning another outstanding season in 2026 even though they will be losing a strong senior class.

“We’ve got a lot of work to do,” Smith said. “Our young guys have to find the weight room and work out. We just got to get better. Our young guys have to step up to the plate and keep it going.”

The Wildcats advanced to the state quarterfinals for the first time since 2005 by beating Bowling Green 42-6 in a Class 2, District 2 final on Nov. 14. It was also the first time in 20 years the Wildcats won a district championship. They have won 12 district titles in program history.

MCHS played its first Saturday afternoon game since 2016. The Wildcats played their last 100 games under the lights on Friday nights.

“We talked about getting to bed (on Friday night),” Smith said. “It’s obviously different, but I want us to have the mindset that we’ll play anytime, anywhere. It’s just another game.”

MCHS had a chance to score in the first quarter after Queathem recovered a fumble on a St. Pius punt. The Wildcats had the ball at the Lancers’ 30-yard line, but they later turned the ball over on downs. 

The Wildcats had another opportunity to get on the scoreboard in the third quarter, when they had the ball at the St. Pius 27-yard line. But they lost that opportunity after Combs’ pass was intercepted by St. Pius’ Evan Eckrich on fourth down.

“You could get limited opportunities in these big games,” Smith said. “We just didn’t take advantage of it. A lot of it is my fault. I’ve got to do a better job.”

St. Pius scored all of its points in the fourth quarter. The Lancers got a 30-yard touchdown run by Brody Ervin and a 21-yard touchdown run and a two-point conversion by Cody Shaver.

The Wildcats were shut out for the first time since 2022. They came into the state quarterfinal contest averaging 34 points per game.

“We had a hard time blocking,” Smith said. “We couldn’t run the football. I think we were a little antsy. We had some guys open. We overthrew them. It’s just a culmination of things. I would like to say it’s more on us that it is on them.”

The Wildcats played their first road game since a Week 8 contest against Wright City.