Thompson Falls football falls to Superior

Andrew Waite

In their first game back in Class B competition, the defending Class C state champion Superior High School Bobcats played a nearly “flawless” game to beat the Thompson Falls Bluehawks in Thompson Falls Friday night.

“I think (Bobcat Coach) Dan (Lucier) had his troops ready, and I think they played a pretty flawless game really,” said Bluehawk Head Coach Doug Padden following his team’s 28-12 loss. “Play a game like that, especially in the first game, and you’re going to win it.”

Christofer “Goofy” Eriksson led the Bobcats’ rushing attack with 49 yards on ten carries and one touchdown.

“Goof’s a warrior,” Lucier said of his player after the game. “He’s the ultimate competitor. He’s going to flat tear your head off if it’s not hooked on correctly. He’s a workhorse. He’s going to run the ball hard. He’s going to keep his feet moving.”

Though Eriksson’s effort stood out for the Bobcats (1-0), Matt Campbell’s kickoff return for a touchdown to open the second half really changed the tone of the game.

“You just hate to have that done to you,” Padden said. “To have them take one to the house at the start of the second half, that’s a tough one. It’s tough on the kids.”

For Lucier, it was his team’s defense more than its big plays that made the difference.

“Offensively we’re explosive. But the defense? Holy cow our kids are tough. I’m not going to say I was surprised. I expected it out of them,” he said. “Man, they’re just a tough bunch of critters.”

Padden noticed his team’s struggles against the Bobcat coverage.

“We couldn’t get the running game going in the first half. We tried to bounce it outside, but they just had too much speed to get outside on them,” he said.

Superior grabbed the lead early in the game, scoring on an Eric Steinebach six-yard touchdown trot on its first offensive possession after the Bobcats’ defense forced a punt on Thompson Falls’ opening series. Steinebach rushed for 40 yards on nine carries in the game.

The Bluehawks took advantage of a Tanner Coon interception, scoring on a fourth and goal strike from only one yard out to make it a 7-6 game with 4:49 left in the first quarter.

With 7:32 remaining in the second quarter, Campbell grabbed a short touchdown completion to extend the Bobcat advantage to 14-6. The touchdown came after a must-have fourth and one scamper near midfield to keep Superior’s drive alive.

Coon threw two of his three interceptions on the evening within 20 seconds of each other at the end of the first half.

“It’s noisy, it’s hard,” Lucier said, explaining his quarterback’s night. “There were a few misses, but he got the ball in some holes that were real tight.”

Despite the blunders before the half, Superior took an eight-point lead into the break. Campbell extended Superior’s lead when he rocketed down the Thompson Falls sideline for a touchdown on the second-half opening kick.

“That really gave us the breathing room we needed to stay up,” Lucier said.

With 1:49 to go in the third, Superior struck again. Coon released a 42-yard bomb to Steinebach, which led to Eriksson’s touchdown run.

Thompson Falls tried to make it a game with 4:21 left in the contest when Mike Wood, who scored both Bluehawk touchdowns, snatched a 20-yard TD pass making the score 28-12.

“We just put her behind us,” Padden said of the defeat. “We take a look at the film, we make personnel adjustments and we head to Fairfield. We hop on the bus and go.”