Bobcats fight for the victory

The Superior Bobcats ran into their toughest opponent yet on Friday when the faced off against the Victor Pirates at home. 

In a slow start for the usually speedy Bobcats, Superior found themselves down 20-0 in the first quarter of the game. 

“We started slow, there’s no question about it. We had costly errors and they have some big weapons we didn’t account for.” Head Coach Allan Labbe said. “(But) if you match up with someone, the key to your success is going to be your ability to adjust. 

Coach Labbe said that both of his coordinators, Jeff Schultz on offense and Charlie Crabb on defense, made key adjustments during the first half of the game that resulted in a change of momentum. 

Crabb made several on the spot adjustments to the Bobcat defense that helped turn the tide. 

“I was really impressed with Charlie Crabb,” Coach Labbe said. “He made some really important adjustments and they (the players) listened to what he said, adjusted, and were able to shut some of that stuff down.” 

On offense, Coach Labbe said that Schultz was “amazing” in his ability to analyze how the opposing defense responds to certain plays and offensive schemes.

“We might throw a bad pattern but we see how they are covering so we know how to adjust for the next one,” Coach Labbe said. “He has a scheme in there that he can just see how they are doing one time and next time make a little adjustment and it’s wide open. I have to tip my hat to him.” 

After the coaches made the adjustments it was up to the players to execute them and the Bobcats did just that in the second quarter. 

Senior quarterback Billy Smith seemed to wrestle back the momentum from the Pirates with a couple of long runs before throwing a touchdown strike to Anthony Parkin to pull the game within reach at 22-26. 

In the next possession, the Bobcats used a bit of trickery on offense with Smith tossing the ball to Wyatt Zylawy before Zylawy found Smith 15 yards down field. The pass set up a touchdown pass by Smith to Adam Kay to put the Bobcats up 30-26 as the half wound down. 

From there the Bobcats didn’t look back. 

“I was so proud of them,” Coach Labbe said. “We pride ourselves in our conditioning – that other team is going to have trouble staying with us because we are well conditioned. We also tell them that there are times they are going to be behind and have to come back. That was a great test right there to be down 20.” 

Coach Labbe commended his team for keeping their cool when they were down big and said they “never lost their composure.” 

Throughout the game, Kay was double covered by the Pirates but Coach Labbe said “the rascal still made some plays.” 

“His performance was amazing,” Coach Labbe said. 

Superior continued to play tough on both sides of the ball and came out on top with a 54-46 victory. 

“I’m so proud of those guys,” Coach Labbe said of his squad. “How many teams get down by 20 and just quit? We didn’t and I couldn’t be happier for them.” 

The Bobcats will spend the next three weeks on the road, starting out this Friday against Noxon and Coach Labbe said “there are some big games” ahead for his team. 

“We have to instill in their minds that they are road warriors,” Coach Labbe said. “There won’t be any problem getting them to believe it.”