St. Regis tops Superior in I-90 football rivalry

With the new alignment of the Western B 8-player conference, the I-90 football rivalry between Superior and St. Regis will take place each year.

And if the young talent displayed on both sides of the ball during St. Regis’ 48-28 victory over Superior this past Friday night was a harbinger of things to come, area football fans are in for a treat for the next several years. 

With two of the best young quarterbacks in the area, St. Regis’ sophomore Conner Lulis and Superior sophomore Landon Richards at the controls of these two evenly matched teams, the level of play will continue to blossom for at least two years after this season. 

Lulis threw four touchdown passes and ran for another for the Tigers, who traveled a mere 14 miles to face the Bobcats in Superior. 

As St. Regis head coach Jesse Allan said earlier in the season when contemplating the rivalry, “this game is going to be good for several years out barring the unexpected.  We both need this win as the loser may be on the outside looking in come playoff time”. 

St. Regis junior Barrett Bessette had an outstanding night for the victors, on both sides of the ball.  He hauled in two of Lulis’ TD strikes and returned a kickoff 55-yards in the early moments of the second quarter for his third touchdown of the night.  Bessette had several long runs and receptions that consistently set the Tigers up with good field position and kept several key drives alive. 

St. Regis scored first, when with 9:30 left in the opening quarter, Lulis capped a Tigers dirve with a 10-yard TD toss to Bessette, a 6-1 tight end/defensive end who exceptional speed.  Bessette ran for a successful two-point after touchdown conversion (PAT), giving St. Regis an early 8-0 lead. 

Later in the opening quarter, with Bessette leading a swarming defensive rush that kept Richards scrambling most of the night, St. Regis scored again, topping off another drive when Lulis hooked up with sophomore Nathan Bohn for a 22-yard aerial touchdown.  The two then connected on a successful PAT pass, giving the Tigers a 16-0 advantage with 4:31 left in quarter number one. 

Richards then showed why he is also a highly regarded quarterback when he connected with speedy sophomore wide receiver Gannon Quinlan on a 49-yard catch and run TD that, with a successful PAT run by Phin Cataldo, chopped the St. Regis lead to 16-8. 

In the opening moments of the second quarter, the Tigers cashed in on another drive as Lulis flipped an eight-yard pass to senior Kaden Sanders, putting St. Regis up 24-8 with 10:45 to go in the first half.  The PAT try was no good. 

Before the busy second quarter ended, Superior struck back, capping a drive of its own with a one-yard TD plunge by sophomore running back Turner Milender.  The PAT attempt failed, leaving St. Regis ahead, 24-14. 

On the ensuing kickoff, Bessette took the ball at the 25 yard line and raced down the sideline for a 55-yard kickoff return TD.  The PAT try was no good, but with 8:51 to play in the first half, the Tigers lead grew to 30-14. 

Two minutes later, Superior hit back, finishing a long drive with a five-yard scoring run by Milender, who then ran in on a successful PAT play, cutting the Tigers’ lead to 30-22. 

Then, with 1:17 to play in the first half, Bessette grabbed a pass from Lulis and once again outran the Bobcats’ defense on his way to a 42-yard touchdown.  Lulis ran in a successful PAT try, boosting the Tigers lead to 42-22 with 1:17 to go in the opening half. 

In the second half, Superior scored on a 16-yard run by the team’s only senior, Tristan Avila in the waning moments of the third quarter.  The PAT try failed, leaving the score 42-28 with one quarter to play. 

Lulis capped off a fourth-quarter Tigers drive with a two-yard touchdown run at the 5:03 mark of the final quarter, putting the score at 48-28.  That score held up the rest of the way as St. Regis boosted its record to 3-1, while the loss dropped Superior to 1-2 on the season. 

Coach Allan had high praise for his team, and for the Bobcats. 

“What a game”, he said afterward. “We knew Superior was never going to quit, and they showed true grit and determination until the final horn sounded.  Coach Schultz and his staff do an amazing job with schemes on both sides of the ball.  No matter how much film you watch, coach Schultz has a new wrinkle that really makes his squad tough to defend”. 

Allan also lauded Bessette and the Tigers team. 

“Once again Bessette continues to make his case as one of the top players in the Conference, but I cannot say enough about our other guys,” he said. “We had four guys with double digit tackles and a handful of guys who just flat-out work, specifically on the defensive line”. 

And, Allan said, the rivalry delivered on the hype. 

“I know there is an imaginary line between Tiger and Bobcat country,” he said. “But I think Mineral County was well represented last night, both teams battled with pride and respect. It’s really, really cool to see the young men from both teams hugging it out after the game.  Pretty amazing stuff if you ask me”. 

Milender finished the game with 103 yards rushing and two TDs.  He also had six tackles on defense.  Quinlan led the Bobcats with nine tackles, while Sam Doughty had six. 

Coach Schultz also acknowledged the high level of play while already focusing on the next challenge on the schedule. 

“We have some work to do,” he said. “But the potential is there”. 

Next up for the Bobcats is a road game this Friday (Sept 27) versus Plains.  St. Regis, meanwhile, will be preparing for its Homecoming clash with Seeley-Swan this Saturday afternoon (Sept 28, 1 p.m.) in St. Regis. 

    Superior sophomore quarterback (#14) is hit as he releases a pass during the Bobcats home game vs St. Regis this past week. (Chuck Bandel/VP-MI)