Wildcats hope to build off 2025 postseason success

EVANSVILLE, Ind. (WEHT) – The message this year for the wildcats, keep stacking on the positives from last year.

“The kids have come to work every single day ready to compete, ready to get after it, they have done a nice job in the weight room to be better versions of themselves.” said head coach Coach Hess.

Year one was all about establishing the culture and identity of what these wildcats want to be for years to come, and that certainly came with its share of growing pains.

Key injuries and the grind of facing quality SIAC teams each week contributed to Mater Dei ending the regular season with a 4-5 record. But coach Hess says his teams desire to learn and grow from the tough time, is how they found success in the end.

“If you ever try to overlook a team in the SIAC, you are setting yourself up for failure to happen on that Friday night, so we just try to focus game by game, week by week.” said Hess.

Seniors like Caden Thacker, Tate Mallory and Nolan Schickel were catalyst to the wildcats nearly sneaking into a sectional championship game, but now that they are gone, this coaching staff is eager to see who will step up and be that next generation of wildcat leaders.

“Be leaders and vocal leaders for this team and if we can have that then it gives us opportunity to do well on Friday nights, but we are definitely searching for guys to become leaders and take on those big roles and time will tell as we go on.” said Hess.

With the lessons learned from a season ago, the team is feeling much more certain about what lies ahead. And if they deal with any surprises this year, it could stem from some of these young cats growing ahead of schedule.

“We are just excited, it is the best time of year when football season starts so we are just excited and want to get after it.” said Hess.

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