There were some people who speculated that some key losses via graduation might mean the Superior Bobcats would not be as good this year as they have been in recent seasons.

Silly people.

A much-improved Victor team would probably be among the first to agree after the Bobcats pulled away from a narrow four-point lead and ran to a 48-14 win in their second game and second rout of the 2021 Montana eight-man football season.

Clearly this was not your grandpa’s nor your older brother’s Victor team, at least for the first 24 minutes of play.

Both defenses were nearly impenetrable in the first half, with a 1-yard touchdown run by Bobcat junior quarterback Orion Plakke being the only score during the first 12 minutes of play. An unsuccessful point after touchdown attempt left the Superior squad with a 6-0 lead at the end of one.

And shockingly so considering lopsided scores between the two teams in recent years, Victor took the lead in the second quarter.

That short-lived advantage was generated by an 8-yard touchdown run by the Pirates, who then converted a two-point after touchdown play for an 8-6 lead.

But football purists, including those who passionately follow the sport in this part of the state, may have raised an eyebrow or two when the Pirates put 44 points on the scoreboard against Mission in their season opener last week. They still lost 66-44, but this year’s squad apparently has an offense.

“They are much improved over last year,” said assistant Bobcat coach Charlie Crabb. “It took us awhile to get going and we switched to more running plays, but they are a better team than we’ve seen before.”

Superior reclaimed the lead toward the end of the second quarter when rocket-armed junior quarterback Orion Plakke flipped a short 6-yard scoring pass to speedy junior wide out Decker Milender, capping a Bobcat drive. Another failed PAT attempt produced a slim 14-8 halftime lead for the Bobcats, who thrashed a young, inexperienced Plains squad 66-8 in their season opener last week.

So where had the Bobcat offense gone?

Not far was the answer as the Cats came out of the locker room at the start of the second half.

Plakke got the Superior group going in the early moments of the third quarter when he topped off a Bobcat drive with a seven-yard stroll into the end zone. The PAT was again no good, but the score upped Superior to a 20-8 lead.

Not long after that, Plakke threw another short TD pass, this one to junior Carter McLees. That, coupled with another missed PAT try, bumped Superior into a 26-8 lead midway through the third quarter.

Before the third quarter came to an end, Plakke tossed his third TD pass of the game, connecting with his other rapid wide receiver, junior Lucas Kovalsky for an 11-yard score.

This time, the extra point try was good when Plakke flippped the 2.5 yard PAT score to Milender, a tally that gave the Bobcats a 34-8 lead heading into the final 12 minutes of play.

That scoring combo was repeated in the early part of the fourth quarter as Plakke found Kovalsky again, this time from 10 yards away. Milender converted the extra point try on a running play which gave the visitors from Mineral County a 42-8 lead.

Victor put points on the board midway through the final quarter via a 56-run for touchdown. The PAT try was no good.

Leading 42-14 with time ticking toward the conclusion of the game, Plakke put the finishing touches on the last scoring drive of the day when he ran for a 4-yard touchdown.

The scoreboard read 48-14 when the final ticks slipped to zero.

Plakke completed 23 of 41 passes for 235 yards and four touchdowns. The one negative was a pair of interceptions.

In addition to racking up yards through the air, Plakke ran for three 82 yards and three touchdowns.

Milender had another good game, piling up 101 yards on five receptions, one of them good for six pooints. Kovalsky was the second leading receiver with 61 yards, while Acker added 55 of his own.

On the defensive side of the ball, McLees lead all tacklers with 13, including a sack. Sophomore defensive lineman Chandon Vulles had seven tackles and one sack for the game.

With the win, Superior moved to 2-0 on the season, with both games played on the road. They return this Friday for their home opener when they take on Troy at 7 p.m.

After that they will take to the road again, this time for a crucial early season encounter with unbeaten Thompson Falls on the Blue Hawks home field Sept. 17.