The Montgomery County football team didn’t celebrate another season-opening victory over Hermann on Friday.

The Wildcats trailed 12-0 after the first quarter and never recovered in the 26-6 loss to the Bearcats at Jim Blacklock Field. MCHS dropped to 0-1 and will play Monroe City in a Week 2 game at home on Sept. 7. Monroe City, which finished 8-3 last year, is 0-1 following a 47-14 loss to Valle Catholic on Friday.

Wyatt March provided the only offense for the Wildcats, scoring a 10-yard touchdown catch with 8:22 left in the second quarter to cut Hermann’s lead to 12-6.

The Bearcats scored a pair of touchdowns in the fourth quarter to boost their lead to 26-6.

Last year, the Wildcats beat Hermann 27-21 on the road to start their season. MCHS lost to its Highway 19 rivals 27-14 in a Class 2 district quarterfinal game at Hermann.

In the last 10 years, the Wildcats lost 11 out of 13 meetings to the Bearcats, nine of them were season openers.

District assignments were recently released. Both MCHS and Hermann will be in the same district again as they are part of a Class 2, District 2 field that includes Bowling Green, Priory, St. Pius X, Grandview and Jefferson High School of Festus.

The Wildcats have four home games this season. They also have home contests against Mark Twain on Oct. 4 and Wright City on Oct. 18.