The Montgomery County girls and basketball teams hung another Eastern Missouri Conference title to their banners this year. 

In a span of three days, the Wildcats clinched conference championships with 10-0 records. The girls clinched their crown on Monday with a 28-22 win over Elsberry at Ballew & Snell Court. The boys completed the sweep with a 55-39 win over Clopton on the road on Thursday.

It’s the fifth time in school history that MCHS won conference titles in the boys and girls divisions in the same year. The other years were 1992, 2020, 2021 and 2023.

With the victory over Elsberry on Monday, the Wildcat girls extended their conference winning streak to 51 games. They haven’t lost an EMO contest since 2019.

The girls cruised past their competition in conference play, beating all of their opponents by almost 30 points per game. The Wildcats held Elsberry to its season-low point total en route to the victory in their conference finale on Monday.

Senior Malia Rodgers scored eight points to lead the Wildcats and made some key plays down the stretch. With MCHS leading 26-22, Rodgers made a steal with 14.5 seconds left, then hit two free throws to seal the victory.

The MCHS girls won their fifth conference championship in a row and their ninth in program history. They won titles from 1991, 1992, 1993, 1997, 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023.

After a loss to St. James the following night, the Wildcats finished their regular season at 21-5, guaranteeing them their seventh straight winning season. MCHS will play either North Callaway or Hermann in a Class 3, District 7 semifinal game at 6 p.m. on Feb. 21 at North Callaway. The Wildcats are the top seed in the seven-team district tournament and they are the two-time defending district champions.

The MCHS boys also had an easy time in the conference play, beating all of their opponents by an average margin of 30 points per game. They won all of their contests by double digits.

Last year, the Wildcats clinched an undefeated conference season by beating Elsberry on a buzzer-beating shot by Clayton Parker. They didn’t need a buzzer beater against Clopton on Thursday. MCHS led 18-14 at halftime before going on a 9-0 run to start the third quarter and never looked back.

Parker, a junior, finished with 22 points, including 20 in the second half. Senior Jake Stellwagen finished with 10, eight of them came from free throws. Junior Jay Rodgers scored 13 points, six in the first quarter and seven in the third. Junior Tyler Erwin added seven points and senior Cade Smith scored three points.

The Wildcats won their second straight conference title and their eighth overall. They also won championships in 1989, 1990, 1992, 2017, 2020, 2021 and 2023.

MCHS is the top seed in the Class 3, District 7 tournament at New Bloomfield. The Wildcats will play either New Bloomfield or North Callaway in a semifinal game at 6 p.m. on Feb. 22. They lost to North Callaway in the district semifinals last year.

MCHS finished its regular season at 20-6, making it the first time since 2021 it reached the 20-win mark. The Wildcats also surpassed last year’s win total of 19.

Editor's note: Print versions of the girls and boys basketball team's Eastern Missouri Conference championships will be published in the Feb. 21 edition of the Montgomery Standard.