Any offense worth its salt needs an anchor, grounded and in complete focus, when problems arise, as they invariably do in athletic competition.

For the Wright City offense, and the team, in general, that anchor is senior center, Brody Buttry.

Ask him, though, as he’s just doing his job to help his teammates and coaches.

“It means that you have to be a leader in all different aspects of the game,” said Buttry of being a senior center. “When you mess up you have to pick your head up and be there for the others guys in the team and focus on the next play. I tell try and tell the guys that we can’t control the past but we can control the next play that is going to happen.”

For Wright City and Coach John Klekamp, Buttry has made sure the line and unit do what they need to do to get things done.

The 5-foot-9, 235-pound Buttry has led the Wildcats' line and looks to continue to do so as the team takes to the gridiron for its Class 3 District 4 first-round game at 7 p.m. on Friday when the Wildcats (3-6) play host to Fulton (2-7).

For a team that throws for 144 yards per game and rushes for 143 more, that balance has a lot to do with the work put in by players like Buttry, who not only get things started in the trenches but keep them going for his teammates by giving them time to do their jobs.

“Brody is, in every sense of the word, a leader for our football team,” Klekamp said. “Brody is committed, hard-working and the best teammate that any player on our team could ask for. When you think of leaders, people often look for players with outstanding statistics on offense or defense.  As an offensive lineman, there is not much fanfare and much of what you do goes unnoticed by the average high school football fan.”

Whether he’s worked hard to help open holes for running backs or give his quarterback the necessary amount of time to get a pass off, Buttry does his job. It’s a job he’s done since the age of seven when he began playing football because he liked the physical aspect of the game.

Away from the field, though, Klekamp said that Buttry has provided those around him with a blueprint for success. He’s shown teammates that hard work can go a long way, indeed.

“Brody has worked tirelessly over the past two seasons that I have had the opportunity to coach him, to be the best football player he can be whether being in the weight room, at every single football function, playing through injury, or helping his teammates out with anything they need,” Klekamp said. “He has been a player that the coaching staff can count on this season.”

While his name won’t show up in any significant stats sheets, Buttry’s impact has been clear.

It’s also an impact that Klekamp or teammates will not soon forget, the coach said.

“Brody has defined what it means to be a Wright City football player,” Klekamp said. “Brody will leave a mark on this program and will serve as an example that we hope to encourage our future players to live up to.” 

While he still has work to do this season, Buttry said he wants to keep playing the game that has meant so much to him for most of his life.

He’d love nothing more than to play college football.

“Football is something I want to continue,” Buttry said. “I have been to a couple of game-day visits and talked to a couple of coaches about continuing my football career at the next level.”