Superior dominates Victor in homecoming win

It could become a new tradition, making the Pirates walk the plank on Homecoming night.

It may have felt like a stroll on the plank for visiting Victor, as they ran into a Superior High offensive buzzsaw and a stifling defense that resulted in a home team 70-12 Homecoming football win for the Bobcats this past Friday night. 

Adding insult to injury for the Pirates was a rainy, windy environment and a fired up Superior crowd. 

The Cats, who lifted their season record to 3-2 win with the rout, struck first when Superior junior running back Phin Cataldo broke free early in the first quarter on a 55-yard touchdown run.  The point after touchdown (PAT) run by Cataldo was good, giving the Bobcats an 8-0 lead. 

Midway through the first quarter, Superior scored again, this time on a 33-yard scamper by senior Trizten Avilla.  Sophomore running back Turner Milender ran for the PAT, enhancing the Superior lead to 16-0. 

The Bobcats scored again before the first quarter came to an end, as sophomore Gannon Quinlan, who was named Homecoming King at halftime, waltzed in from nine yards out.  The PAT kick was no good, but at the conclusion of the opening quarter, Superior held a 22-0 lead. 

It was more of the same in the second quarter, with Milender breaking free on a 72-yard touchdown romp in the opening minutes of the quarter.  Quinlan ran the extra point in, leaving the Bobcats with a commanding 30-0 advantage. 

In the middle of the quarter, the Bobcats defense recorded a two-point safety on an end zone stop by sophomore Sam Doughty.  Before the first half ended, Superior scored when Cataldo hauled in a 17-yard TD toss from sophomore quarterback Landon Richards.  Cataldo ran the PAT in giving Superior a 38-0 lead at the half. 

Early in the second half, Milender scored his second touchdown on a seven-yard burst, then watched as Richards scored on a PAT run.  At that point, with 7:45 to go in the third quarter, Superior’s lead had grown to 46-0, invoking the mostly non-stop clock via the Mercy rule. 

Victor got on the scoreboard on the ensuing kickoff when Sawyer Agee returned the boot 65 yards for a Pirates score.  The PAT try failed, but at that point Superior was up 46-6. 

The Bobcats scored twice more in the third quarter, both on touchdowns by yet another Superior sophomore, Conrad Talbot, who found the end zone on runs of two yards and seven yards, the last score coming with seven seconds left in the quarter. 

Leading 62-6 heading into the final quarter, Superior yielded a 15-yard interception return for a touchdown to the Pirates.  The PAT attempt failed. 

With 3:25 left in the game, Superior freshman Ethan Durovey continued the Bobcats’ underclassmen onslaught when he sprinted 61 yards for his first TD of the season.  That put the final score to 70-12. 

Turner had his third straight 100+ yards rushing game, racking up 121 yards and scoring twice.  Cataldo finished with an even 100 yards running, while Brydon Drey added 33 yards to the Bobcats ground game. 

Quinlan led the Bobcats smothering defense with 11 tackles, while Milender added eight stops and Doughty and Cataldo had seven tackles each, to go with one sack apiece. 

“The guys played very physical,” said Superior head coach Jeff Schultz.  “They played very well.  Valley (Christian) beat Seeley so that’s huge for us.  We hope we can keep it rolling”. 

Valley Christian leads the Western B 8-player conference with a 6-0 league mark, while Seeley is second at 5-1.  Mission is third in the current conference standings with a 4-1 record, while Superior, Darby and St. Regis all have 3-2 records in the ultra-competitive Western conference. 

Next up for Superior is a home game this Friday (Oct 11) against Charlo at 7 pm. 

    Maggie Haworth was named Homecoming Queen and sophomore Gannon Quinland was chosen as the King during halftime Homecoming ceremonies this past Friday night in Superior.  (Photo by Kami Milender)