The Montgomery County football team has a small, but strong senior class this year.

Trenton Birkner, Jordan Hicks, Jacob Hogue, Bryson Nichols and Tatum Wessel are the Wildcats’ only seniors. Birkner, Hogue and Wessel have been playing with the program since they were freshmen. Hicks joined the team last year and Nichols is playing football for the first time.

On Oct. 18, the senior quintet will compete in their final home high school football game as the Wildcats take on Wright City in their home finale at 7 p.m. at Jim Blacklock Field.

“I watched them play youth football when they were in third, fourth, fifth and sixth grade all the way through,” MCHS coach John Klekamp said. “You had a big group of those guys playing football when they were younger. A lot of them kind of stopped playing. A lot of those guys were what I would consider role players when they were younger. Now, they’ve become the guys we count on.”

The Wildcats will take a 1-6 record into their home game with Wright City. They will wrap up their regular season the following week with a road game against Louisiana.

Hogue said he can’t believe that this is this final high school football season for him and four of his senior teammates.

“We just know that next year we’re not going to be able to help out,” Hogue said. “That’s something that’s kind of getting us right now. There’s only one of us I know who wants to play at the next level, but for the rest of us, that’s all we have for home games.”

Hogue has a team-high eight touchdowns this season, including three in the Wildcats’ 40-16 win over Mark Twain in a Week 6 game on Oct. 4. Last year, he threw 768 yards with six touchdowns and rushed for 337 yards with five TDs.

Last year, Wessel was named first-team all-Eastern Missouri Conference linebacker after recording 106 tackles. Birkner was voted second-team defensive back after finishing with 52 tackles and 6.5 sacks in 2023.

“Trenton Birkner is a phenomenal defensive player for us,” Klekamp said. “Jake and Tatum are really good players on both sides of the ball. Those guys have played a lot of varsity football from a young age.”

Hicks, an offensive lineman and linebacker, has six tackles.

“He worked really hard in the weight room and we love having him,” Klekamp said. “He’s been a big addition to our guys up front and has done a really good job there, starting for most of the season.”

Nichols, a wide receiver and linebacker, has seven tackles. Klekamp said Nichols has played a valuable role since he joined the team in August.

“Bryson has done some really good stuff for us and I really appreciate it,” Klekamp said. “He’s got a fantastic attitude and he’s just a really good kid. That’s what I always tell the boys. I don’t need you to be great football players. I need you to be a great kid and a great young man. That’s what I want to coach.”