After multiple seasons of success on the football field, the Superior Bobcats were thought to have lost, by some pundits, their explosiveness thanks in large part to a large number of key players who graduated last spring.

Saturday night in Darby, the Bobcats did a ‘Horton Hears a Who” message to those who doubt their ability now and in the coming years.

They did so with a resounding offensive outburst against the Tigers, a sub-.500 team with nowhere to go but up. And yet they haven’t.

The Bobcats 72-36 victory, much like the cries from Dr. Seuss' elephant character who hears the cries of a hidden group of creatures, should be a message that Superior is not gone, just re-stocking.

It didn’t look good at first for the visiting Cats, who came into the game with a 3-4 season record, a rarity for a Jeff Schultz coached team. The Tigers got on the scoreboard first when Darby scored on a 65-yard run. The point after touchdown (PAT) run was no good, but Darby had drawn first blood and taken a 6-0 lead.

The Cats answered that TD with one of their own when Chase Woodson gathered in a 15 yard TD pass from Superior QB Jaxson Green, then ran for the two point conversion, giving Superior an 8-6 lead.

After holding Darby on its next possession, Superior mounted a drive that ended with Phin Cataldo capping another possession with a short, two-yard pass from Green. Cataldo converted the PAT and gave the Bobcats a 16-6 lead.

Before the opening quarter came to an end, senior Lucas Kovalsky snared a pass from Green and scored from 42 yards out for Superior. Freshman quarterback Landon Richards converted the two point PAT try with a run, jacking the Bobcat’s lead to 24-6 at the end of the first 12 minutes of play.

The Cats continued to score seemingly at will in the second quarter, first via a 68-yard catch and run pass play from Green, then on a five-yard TD run by Green midway through the quarter. Both TD’s came with two-point PAT runs. Before the second quarter came to a conclusion, the Cats added to their already substantial lead when sophomore Logan Merrill caught a 16-yard touchdown pass. That PAT failed, but at the half, Superior held a 46-6 lead over the host Tigers.

Superior padded their lead in the opening minutes of the third quarter when senior Ramzee Boyle scored on a five-yard run. The PAT was no good, but the TD upped the Bobcats lead to 52-6. Darby cut into the Bobcats lead a short time later on an eight yard touchdown pass.

However, that score was soon answered by Superior in the form of a George Hanson TD pass reception thrown by freshman QB Landon Richards.

On the ensuing kickoff, Darby returned the boot 65 yards for a touchdown, but the PAT try was no good.

Before the third quarter came to an end, Cataldo hauled in a 23-yard TD strike from Richards.

The offensive outburst left Superior with a 64-22 lead heading into the final quarter of play. Darby scored twice against a mostly reserves Superior defense, and Superior scored one last time via 49-yard run by the 6-5 freshman Richards.

When the scoring dust settled, Superior had posted a 72-36 win.

Green had a productive night for the Bobcats, piling up 228 yards on 15 of 21 passes. He had five touchdown passes.

Richards also got in on the fun, throwing two TD’s while piling up 107 yard, part of a combined 335 yards passing by the Bobcats.

Five different Bobcat receivers caught passes, topped by Kovalsky and Cataldo, both of whom hauled in a pair of touchdown throws.

Kovalsky caugth six passes for 127 yards, while Cataldo snared seven passes for 94 yards. Freshman running back Turner Milender, part of a talented group of freshmen working their way up the Bobcats ladder, had 41 yards rushing on five carries, while Richards led the team with 69 yards on four carries.

Kovalsky also shined on defense, leading the Cats with eight tackles and one interception on the night.

The Bobcats close out their regular season schedule this Friday night when they take on the Mission Bulldogs in Superior.