Superior Bobcats ready to get started

SUPERIOR – As the Superior Bobcats football team gets ready for their first official practice in mid-August, players on the team are expecting to surpass the respectable results they achieved last year.

While the team only lost one game last year during the regular season and made it to the playoffs, they were knocked out of the post season in their second game. Two returning players, a senior and a junior, say they are prepared to do whatever it takes to perform even better this year.

Starting quarterback for the Bobcats Wyatt Zylawy and guard Aaron Kelly said they are already preparing for the upcoming season. Zylawy and Kelly said they will take lessons learned last year and apply them to the upcoming season.

“Our first game we lost to Charlotte but from then on we kept getting stronger and stronger every day,” Zylawy said. ‘We played to the best of our abilities. We were a little disappointed with the results last year.”

Zylawy said his expectations for this year include going further in the playoffs. Kelly said their chances are good because of the caliber of players they have returning this year.

“There is a lot of potential on this team,” Kelly said. “We just have to strive for greatness.”

Zylawy said while the team he has this year is somewhat younger than last year, he had confidence the team would execute on the field.

“We had a lot of good playmakers last year that we lost and we also lost a lot of our (offensive) line,” Zylawy said. “We have a lot of underclassmen that are going to step up and fill their shoes.”

The key this year, according to Zylawy, was to make adjustments from what worked last year and learn from their mistakes. He said the biggest challenge for him was the mental aspect of the sport.

“We need to keep our heads in the game,” Zylawy said. “We need to stay focused and play with our hearts. As soon as you get down on yourself, that’s when you’ve lost already. We need to just keep working and working and not let the other team out work us.”

Kelly said for him to have a successful season and contribute to the team, it’s all about practice.

He said it’s the work they do before they ever suit up and step on the field that is important.

“It all starts with practice,” Kelly said. “I need to be quicker and get bigger. I need to communicate with Wyatt on the field. I’ll be working hard at practice and any off time I have. I’ll be spending a lot of time in the gym.”

According to the starting QB, while the team lost some of their best starters to graduation, the returning squad has some attributes that make his job somewhat easier. Zylawy said the difference this year is size.

“Last year we had short receivers,” Zylawy said. “They were quick and fast and they had hands but they were short. This year we have huge targets out there. We have a lot of taller receivers this year. The line this year, they might not be as big or strong as last year, but they are just as quick and that can make up for strength.”

Zylawy said, ultimately, the team dynamic was what will lead them to victory during the 2014-2015 football season. He said the Bobcats work together and have a bond that shows up on the field every time they step out under the lights, in front of a crowd on Friday nights.

“We are all brothers out there,” Zylawy said. “You have to be one with your teammates out there. You don’t want to let your brother down.”

The first official practice for the Bobcats football team is Friday, Aug. 15.