The 2025 football season came to an end for the Monterey Wildcats Thursday night with a road loss to the Bledsoe County Warriors.
The Warriors’ effective offense, especially the running game, racked up five touchdowns in the first half, igniting a 40-14 win over the Wildcats.
“We knew coming in that Bledsoe was explosive and that they had great athletes as they had already locked up the region’s second seed for the playoffs, and that speaks volumes to the talent on their team,” said Monterey Coach Scott Hughes. “We gave up some explosive plays, but we did some things right.
“It wasn’t lack of effort; our guys were flying around but missed angles and things like that. Good football teams do that to you as well. They speed you up and you must move at a different rate of speed, and Bledsoe County is good at what they do. I tip my hat to them.”
Bledsoe scored less than four minutes in on a 31-yard rush with 8:38 left in the first quarter. The point after touchdown kick was good to make it 7-0. Bledsoe scored again, this time on a 75-yard run, with 6:08 left in the period. The kick made it 14-0.
Just before the quarter came to a close the Warriors found pay dirt again on a 7-yard run with just 24.9 seconds left to take a 21-0 advantage into the second quarter.
The Wildcat running game with Donald Musall, Tanner Brown and Jack Blaylock did get Monterey moving in the right direction early in the second quarter, but the Warriors second ranked defense stopped the Wildcats drive on a fourth-and-short, resulting in a turnover on downs.
Bledsoe scored later on a 2-yard rush with 2:56 left in the first half but the point after touchdown attempt went wide left to keep the score at 27-0.
Monterey would spoil Bledsoe’s shutout bid 1:40 later after a 55-yard catch-and-run from Eli Phillips to Matthew Phillips set up the Wildcats inside the Warrior 5. Musall would score on a two-yard rush and a good Nick Mendez kick narrowly cleared the crossbar to make it 27-7 with 1:16 left in the half.
Bledsoe would score on a 40-yard touchdown reception with 55.8 seconds left after a blown assignment in the Wildcat secondary. The Wildcat defense nullified the following two-point attempt to keep it 33-7.Both teams would add a score in the second half, Bledsoe on a 47-yard rush with 3:53 left in the third. The kick made it 40-7.
Monterey would come back with another touchdown before the end of the game. Musall and Blaylock would work the ball across the midfield stripe and Blaylock would score on a punishing 39-yard run with 39 seconds left in the game. Mendez’s kick was good to make it 40-14.
“If you go back and look at the start of the season, we didn’t know where we were, we didn’t have an identity,” Hughes said. “We had so many new faces, some injuries and had to move guys around. We were asking guys to play new positions they spent all spring and summer not playing due to those injuries. They never shied away from it.
“Our guys battled all year, I believe Monterey football means something to this group and I am very proud to say I got to coach this group of young men. It’s a group of seniors that I truly believe will be successful in our society and their futures will make us better.”
In his 12-year tenure at Monterey, this is only the second time a Hughes-coached team has missed the playoffs. The Wildcats finish the season with a 2-8 overall record and 0-4 mark in Region 3-2A play.