Opportunity is knocking for the Superior Bobcats football team.

One year removed from a season that was really good but maybe could have been better, coach Jeff Schultz’s veteran Bobcats appear to be ready to right that wrong and make another serious run at the Montana 8-Man playoffs this fall.

The Bobcats open season play hosting the Arlee Warriors Friday.

The Bobcats went 7-3 last year, falling to Flint Creek in the first round of the 8-Man playoffs. Superior’s three losses were all on the road to other playoff teams in St. Regis, Seeley-Swan and Flint Creek, and the Bobcats beat Darby, another team that advanced to the postseason.

Still, Schultz thought the Bobcats had their chances to win in all three of those 2025 losses.

“We were right there with all of them, led by 10 at halftime against St. Regis, had some opportunities in both of the other games but weren’t able convert in key situations at the time,” he said. “We want to take advantage of situations like that this season.”

And who’s to say the Bobcats won’t?

With a strong senior class led by returning first team all-conference and all-state selections Turner Milender, Gannon Quinlan and Landon Richards, a large junior class and a couple of outstanding sophomore prospects, the Bobcats appear to be well-armed for the 2026 season, and ready to take advantage of their opportunities this time around.

Also helping the Bobcats is the fact that the games with Seeley and St. Regis are in Superior later this season.

Schultz said he is getting strong team leadership in the locker room from his six seniors, the three all-staters, plus Conrad Talbot, Jack Kemp and trusted team manager Henry Hanson. “They are a very tight group, been through a lot together,” Schultz said of his seniors.

Amarie Johnson and Rory Talbot are the promising sophomores and both provide enviable size and depth on the line for the Bobcats right out of the box. Both are over six feet tall and 200 pounds, while still agile and mobile.

Superior has 21 players out for football this season, Schultz said.

Schultz thinks Seeley-Swan, St. Regis, Darby and possibly Mission should all be quite good again this year, promising another interesting Western Conference race. And he’s not discounting what he considers to be a dangerous Arlee team Friday either.

“Arlee is a very physical team, we aren’t looking past anyone,” Schultz said. “They have some weapons on offense, we will have to defend.”

Stopping the Bobcats on the other hand could be a tough proposition for the Warriors, or any opponent this season. Milender and Quinlan are proven commodities, productive runners and effective pass catchers, and Richards, a track and field athlete of some note, is also one of the best (and possibly the tallest at 6-4) returning quarterbacks in the conference.

Victor has reportedly dropped its football program for the season, and its remaining players have entered into a co-operative with Darby at least for the current season, Schultz said.