And the beat goes on for the Superior Bobcats.

Seeming to be marching to a championship beat this season, the still unbeaten Bobcats dispatched the previously undefeated Darby Tigers 56-26 in a showdown of conference leaders in Darby Friday to take sole possession of first place in the Western B-C 8-Man football race. Superior improved to 6-0 while Darby fell to 5-1.

With the explosive pair of Turner Milender and Gannon Quinlan drawing away a lot of the defensive attention, All-State quarterback Landon Richards went off for a career rushing game to lead the Bobcats, gaining an amazing 295 yards on only 13 carries and scoring five touchdowns, also finding the time to complete five of eight passes for 87 yards and yet another touchdown.

Facing down their biggest test yet in Darby, the Bobcats built a big lead early, 22-0 at one point, and watched the Tigers come back after that to make things interesting before putting their stamp on the game, taking control right before halftime.

“Darby had scored with 51 seconds left in the first half to make the score 28-20,” coach Jef Schultz said. “But our guys answered. We marched down the field and scored in 40 seconds, making it 34-20 going into the half. I was impressed with how we answered the challenge in Darby right there. That ended up being a key to the game.”

Taking advantage of their chances when they did get the ball, Milender added 139 total yards (60 rushing and 79 receiving) and a touchdown and Quinlan 49 yards on four carries and another TD.

John Hughes added a touchdown pass catch and intercepted two passes on defense.

Schultz said his skill players benefited from the continued strong play of the offensive line. “It all starts with our players up front, they have been controlling the line of scrimmage all season, taking care of business,” he said, “making everything easier for everyone else.”

The Darby win is only the latest in a string of impressive wins by the Bobcats this fall.

The final point spread of 30 with Darby is in fact the closest an opponent has gotten to Superior yet this season, and the 56 points the Bobcats posted in Darby represent their lowest total scored in a game so far.

Superior has scored 394 points in six games while allowing only 84, for the record.

Schultz looks to keep the Bobcats running hot as the inevitable playoff season comes into view. After visiting Plains this week, Superior closes out the regular season hosting Mission Oct. 16 and Mineral County rival St. Regis Oct. 23.

“Darby is a good team, we feel good about getting past them,” he said. “But we still have games to play, at Plains this week and big ones to close out the season at home with Mission and St. Regis.

“There’s a lot more football to play,” he added.