For the Wright City Wildcats, a season that has brought many challenges continued to do so last weekend, with another necessary change in quarterback taking place — for now — in a 26-15 loss to Louisiana.

With the loss, the Wildcats fell to 1-6 on the year. Louisiana is now 4-4.

Sophomore Joey Gendron, who had eight completions for 96 yards against Louisiana, gave way to the previous starting quarterback, senior Hayden Beck, but that, too, may be a temporary arrangement.

“Joey has started the last three games after we decided to make a move earlier in the year that was best for the team. We moved Hayden to receiver at that point with injuries we suffered to receiving corps,” said coach Tyler Rickard. “It panned out pretty well for us. Hayden is a mismatch and a big threat, and Joey has done a good job for us. He got a little banged up Friday night so we put Hayden in and he got us a touchdown towards the end. As long as Joey is healthy we will stick with him as of now and Hayden will be back as a receiver.”

While in the game as quarterback, Beck completed three passes in four attempts for 74 yards — including a 61-yard touchdown pass to Jeremiah Davis, who had three catches on the night for 85 yards.

“We came out and we played okay,” said Rickard. “If you look at the game, we outgained them offensively and our defense played really well and got us on a couple of big plays — a big pass and a big run. I was proud of the way the defense played outside of a couple of plays, they were solid. Turnovers hurt us — the wet field made the ball slick and we had four turnovers — three in the first half. Those really hurt us because they were on drives where we were moving the football. That hurt our momentum.”

Next up is a contest against South Callaway, who enters the game with a record of 4-4.

“South Callaway is a solid ballclub. They went toe-to-toe with Bowling Green last Friday but weren’t able to hold on. They’re a physical team that runs the triple option,” said Rickard. “They love to run, so we will have to be very sound on defense and understand our option responsibilities. We will need to be flying to football at all times. We have to continue to make progress on offense, take it another step with consistent drives and finish them off.”

Despite riding a losing streak, the Wildcats continue to push forward.

“It’s not easy any time you lose five in a row, so I’m proud that they continue to respond and don’t allow outside distractions to deter their actions,” said Rickard. “They come out every Friday with their best effort, and as a coach that’s exactly what you want regardless of the outcome. They come out and compete and do everything they can to put us in position to win, and they continue to do that showing growth and maturity. We continue to build on each and every week.”