Bobcats fall to Blackhawks; Horsemen up next
JOHN HAMILTON | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 10 months, 4 weeks AGO
SUPERIOR QUARTERBACK Landon Richards drops back to pass in Seeley Lake Friday. The Blackhawks outscored the Bobcats 56-42 and remain undefeated in Western conference 8-Man play. (courtesy photo by Kami Milender)
As the No. 10 team facing the No. 6 Seeley-Swan Blackhawks on their home turf, the Superior Bobcats did not flinch, but still fell 56-42 to the conference-leading Blackhawks in Seeley Lake Friday.
Now 4-2 overall and in Western C 8-Man conference play, coach Jeff Schultz and his Bobcats are set to host winless Plains Friday in Superior. The Horsemen have played only two games this season due to low roster numbers, the most recent a 52-32 loss to Arlee in Plains last week, but Schultz said Plains’ coach assured him that the Horsemen would play Superior Friday.
“I sure hope so,” Schultz said. “We have only three games left in the regular season and would love to get this one in.” The Bobcats will complete regular season action at Arlee October 17 and hosting Victor October 24.
Shultz said defensive mistakes hurt the Bobcats in Seeley, but that the physicality his boys played with was encouraging. “We did a good job of staying in the game but we made too many mental mistakes early,” he said. “If we would have played the first half like we played in the second, we might have had a chance of winning.”
Shultz said the Bobcats matched Seeley-Swan’s superior overall size advantage with some hard-hitting play. “We were more physical than they were, played really well on the line,” he said. "Stayed with them most of the night.”
The Blackhawks were as good as advertised Shultz said. “They maul you up front and have good speed in the backfield,” he offered. “But I was impressed with how we played them.”
The wild first half, which ended with Seeley leading only 42-34, set the stage for a physical second half, where the Blackhawks managed to stay ahead and win.
Superior quarterback Landon Richards played a hand in five touchdowns for the Bobcats and Turner Milender scored the team’s other TD rushing.
Former Superior student Derek Brovold hurt the Bobcats the most from his receiver position, Schultz said. “We pretty much stopped their running game,” he said. "They mostly hurt us with their passing.
Schultz said that senior George Hanson led Superior defensively with 11 tackles in Seeley.
ARTICLES BY JOHN HAMILTON
Lady Hawks feel the pain, enjoy gain in Mission
The Hawks ended up playing Troy, Loyola and Anaconda in round-robin games to 22 points, and then Plains in a best-of-three games match to 15 points to top off their appearance in Mission.
Blue Hawks wallop Wolves in season opener
Consider this a wakeup call for the rest of Western B. The Blue Hawks are to be taken seriously this season, wanting to prove themselves contenders in the Western B football playoff race right up front.
Hawk soccer falls to Breakers, ties with Pirates
The Thompson Falls-Plains-St. Regis Blue Hawk girls opened season soccer plays with a couple great efforts on the pitch, playing well but falling 4-0 to Loyola Friday, and battling Polson to a 1-1 draw on their own field Saturday. Both matches were played in Polson.