This season the football team went undefeated in the regular season and ended their season with a district championship loss to the Lamar Tigers 13-15. This cemented a 10-1 season record.
The Wildcat’s disappointing loss came after having the first-round bye and then defeating Sarcoxie, 39-0.
Coaches recognized the work and sacrifice of the players.
“Our kids worked their tails off and put themselves in a position to be successful,” head coach Ryan Boyer said.
The season may have ended sooner than they hoped, but the players still recognized many successes of the season.
“We did really well in the regular season, beating Higginsville and Adrian but we just came up short in the district championship this year,” defensive back Jase Hubert said.
Lamar went on to win the state championship, but the sting of the district loss still hurt.
“I think the season was a pretty successful season but falling short made it difficult to understand how good it was,” senior linebacker Drake Murrell said.
The team trained in many ways to work together for the postseason. Coach Ryan Boyer said players trained all year for postseason competition.
“We develop great habits and team chemistry through the offseason, preseason, and regular season,” Boyer said.
Many of the seniors feel differently about this year’s postseason since it was their last chase to play Wildcat football.
“Well, it sort of makes the postseason way more meaningful than it has in the past,” Murrell said.
The younger players are already looking to improve on next year’s season.
“I will train to increase my speed on the field and my strength,” Hubert said.