Montgomery County wildcats

Montgomery County Football 2022 was a tale of two seasons. The team started off 0-5 and struggled to play good football the rest of the season. During the 5-game losing streak to begin the season, the Montgomery County Offense averaged 5 turnovers per game and this made it difficult to find success against tough opponents, like state-ranked Monroe City and Bowling Green. The overall play improved in the next four games with 2 consecutive wins over Wright City (5-0) and scrappy Louisiana team; followed by two one score losses to North Callaway (42-38) and South Callaway (28-22). The season ended in districts on a low with a loss to a good Clark County team. Head Coach John Klekamp is counting on the return of 7 starters on each side of the ball to get back to consistent competitive play. Of the 7 offensive starters returning, six are seniors. Leading the way are a trio of senior skills players; Jacer Brower (6’1, 180) a wide receiver had 253 Receiving Yards last year, Landon Massey (6’, 175) had 98 Receiving Yards from his WR spot and Mason Leu (6’, 175) totaled 147 Yards in just the last two games last year. Leu will be playing both running back and receiver this season to utilize his athletic ability and get the ball in his hands whenever possible. Senior Dayton Simmons (5’10, 160) is a tremendous athlete who had a great summer of football and will be in the mix at receiver along with sophomore Chase Queathem (5’10, 155) who will provide depth at running back and receiver after a productive off-season in the weight room. Junior Trenton Birkner (5’11, 160) will look to be a productive player at

Class: 2

Conference: EMO

Head Coach: John Klekamp

Years at School: 13 HC (23 Total)

Record at School: 57-72

Returning Lettermen: 15

Returning Starters Offense: 7

Returning Starters Defense: 7

Last Year’s Record: 2-8

RB after a very productive summer. Senior Jace Ellis (6’, 210) and junior Jacob Hogue (5’11, 160) will battle it out for the starting QB position. Both are good athletes who can move the ball in different ways. Don’t be surprised if both players see some time early in the season. The O-Line should be a strong point for the Wildcats with 4 starters back. Seniors Conner Finke (6’2, 250) and James Pollard (5’11, 260) are starting for their third year and senior Christian Naylor (5’11, 185) and junior Tatum Wessel (6’2, 210) are entering their 2nd year starting on the line. Sophomore Ashton Johnson (5’11, 255) will look to make a push to round out the O-Line. Expect the Multiple Spread look from the Wildcats again this season as they try to continue the balance from last year. They may not have scored a lot of points, but they were very balanced in the attack; 140 rushing yards and 141 passing yards per game last year. Putting the ball in the endzone will be the priority, so they can im prove on the lackluster 18.6 points per game they averaged in ’22. “The 2023 Montgom ery County Offense will look much different after losing a 3 year starter at QB (Adam Cz erniewski) and SR Jace Ellis and JR Jacob Hogue will look to solidify our QB position,” explained Coach Klekamp. “The focus will be on fundamentals starting with taking care of the football. “The BALL is the PROGRAM” ~Coach PJ Fleck. We must understand we have to hold on to the football and make good decisions with the football in the passing game. This is and will continue to be the focus of our football team going into the 2023 season.” On the defensive side, the secondary should be a strength with the senior trio of Mason Leu, Weston Marshall (6’2, 175) and Landon Massey. Leu earned All-Conference, All-District and All-State honors and had 56 Total Tackles, 6 TFL, 2 INT, 1 FF and 1 PBU. Marshall had 29 Total Tackles, 1 TFL, 3 PBU, 1 INT and Massey recorded 31 Total Tackles, 4 PBU and 1 INT. Jacob Hogue and Chase Queathem will add depth to the defensive backfield. The linebacker corps will feature senior Bryson Hoffman (5’9, 175) who made 41 Total Tackles, 8TFL/4.5 Sacks, 14 QBH, 2

FF and was named All-District. Senior Jace Ellis was also named All-District after having 47 Total Tackles, 8 TFL/4.5 Sacks, 2 FF, and 3 FR (1 TD) last season. Three other players will be in the Backer rotation; senior Dayton Simmons, juniors Trenton Birkner and junior Tatum Wessell (6’2, 210). Tatum will look to take over at MLB this season and Simmons and Birkner will be at outside linebacker. The line will see the return of seniors James Pollard and Ben Rajchart (6’2, 240). Pollard earned AllConference, accolades after racking up 48

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Total Tackles, 4TFL/1.5 Sacks and 2 QBH and Rajchart was named All-District after making 50 Total Tackles, 5TFL/0.5 Sacks, 3 QBH, 2 FF and 1 FR. Sophomore Ashton Johnson will join them and provide depth on the D-Line. “The 2023 Montgomery County Defense will focus on the things that helped them be successful last season, but will work on consistently executing these keys to success,” explained Coach Klekamp. As on offense, the focus will be fundamentals on the defensive side of the ball as well. We will focus on continuing to be a better defensive unit by alignment, focus on our keys at the snap of the ball, and working tirelessly to become the best tackling team on the field every Friday night. We did have success on defense when we consistently played with discipline; with 7 returning starters we have the opportunity to be much improved on the defensive side of the ball.” Coach Klekamp and his assistant coaches: Joe Basinger, Sam Turner, Cody Hasekamp, Sam Poggas and Kyle Schroer, will do their best to put their players in the best possible position to win. “The 2023 Montgomery County Football season will be about OPPORTUNITY,” stated Coach Klekamp. “Our players started in November with an opportunity to get better everyday in the weight room as an athlete. Spring brought an opportunity to begin our focus on fundamentals for the upcoming season. The Summer brought an opportunity for our players to begin conditioning their bodies for the battles ahead on the gridiron. The Fall will be the opportunity to make the best of all this work on Friday night under the lights.”