2024 was a year Lafe McCurdy wants to forget.

He not only missed most of the season due to injury, but saw his Montgomery County football team suffer its second losing season in three years.

Now, McCurdy is looking to help make the 2025 season a very memorable one for him and the Wildcats.

McCurdy, a junior, helped MCHS pull off a come-from-behind, 28-14 victory over the Van-Far Indians in a homecoming game on Sept. 26 at Jim Blacklock Field. His 34-yard touchdown run with 3:50 to go in the third quarter gave the Wildcats an 18-14 lead they never relinquished.

“That was big,” said McCurdy, who has two touchdowns this season. “That put us back up on top.”

The Wildcats climbed back over the .500 mark with the win over Van-Far. They improved to 3-2 overall and 1-1 in Eastern Missouri Conference play. They also won a homecoming game for the seventh consecutive year.
MCHS won its second straight game after losing to North Callaway 44-16 in its home opener three weeks ago. The Wildcats have matched their win total of three from last year.

“After that loss (to North Callaway), everyone started caring a lot more,” MCHS junior lineman Tyler Rodgers said. “Last year, we did a lot of losing. No one wants to do that again. We just want to keep winning.”

The Wildcats will look to continue their winning ways at 7 p.m. on Oct. 3, when they travel to Mark Twain to take on the Tigers. Mark Twain is 1-4 overall and 0-2 in EMO play and has lost its last four games.

“We’re looking forward to the next week,” McCurdy said. “We’re working on the next week, the next week and the next week. We’ll see how long we’ll keep this thing going.”

McCurdy was selected to play with the varsity last year as a sophomore, but his first varsity season was short-lived after suffering a season-ending ankle injury against Monroe City in a Week 2 game. He scored a 45-yard touchdown catch with 12 seconds left in the third quarter against Monroe City.

“That was tough because I was ready for it to be a big season,” McCurdy said. “My first and second weeks were pretty good weeks. I was ready to improve from there. Then, right at the second game, I broke it.”

McCurdy said he was excited to get back on the football field when practices began in August.

“I was so ready as soon as I came out of that boot,” the junior said. “I was ready to go. I was back in the weight room working as soon as I could. I was ready to go all summer.”

McCurdy is a running back on offense and plays safety on defense. Last year, he caught for 71 yards on three receptions and had seven tackles before getting injured.

“I love playing both sides of the ball,” McCurdy said. “I don’t like coming off the field.”
McCurdy scored his first touchdown of the 2025 season against Monroe City on Sept. 6. He scored on a 74-yard kickoff return in the fourth quarter in the Wildcats’ 32-6 loss.

McCurdy’s huge touchdown against Van-Far ended a nine-play, 67-yard drive. He also played a key role on defense in the second half, helping the Wildcats outscore the Indians 16-0 in the third and fourth quarters.

“It’s good,” the 5-foot-6, 140-pound McCurdy said. “We had a pretty bad first half and we came out in the second half ready to fire back because the end of the first half wasn’t very good, letting them get a touchdown with a second left.”

Seniors Mac Farrar, Chase Queathem and Adrian Combs also scored touchdowns for the Wildcats, who played their third straight home game.