Payback Complete: Ponies roll Rangers

A slow start to a football game doesn’t always indicate an uphill battle for a team. In the sport of football, the necessary adjustments can make all the difference. And if the entire team can find a way to execute after those adjustments, the momentum can shift very quickly.

The Havre High football team stole all momentum on Friday night as the Central A Blue Ponies hosted the conference rival Livingston Rangers at Blue Pony Stadium for homecoming. The Ponies defeated the Rangers 41-22. With the win the Ponies advanced to 2-2-1 overall and 1-0 in the conference.

“From a defensive standpoint,” Havre High head coach Jason Christenson said. “Livingston has a huge offensive line. And to be able to plug up that run for the most part, was fantastic. And I thought Dane (Warp) executed unbelievably well from the quarterback position, and did some great things. But Nate (Rismon) also had some great catches, Thomas (Gruber) stepped up and had some great catches, Kody (Pribyl) did a phenomenal job running the ball, as did Tristan (Manuel). It really was a great team win.”

But the great win came after a shaky start by the Ponies.

On Havre’s first drive of the night, the Ponies ran just five plays for 12 yards before turning the ball over on downs. But on Livingston’s first possession, the Rangers took over on their own 38-yard line and just five plays before finding the end zone. The Ponies knew they had to stop the Rangers’ running game after giving up over 600 rushing yards in their meeting last season, but Bobby Emter capped off the drive with an explosive 30-yard touchdown run at the 7:32 mark to give the Rangers a 6-0 lead after a failed conversion.

But after a Pony punt on their second drive, and after the Rangers turned the ball over on downs on their second drive, the Ponies settled in and never looked back.

As the first quarter expired the Ponies got on the board for the first time. And the Warp connection with Rismon on a 35-yard pass that gave the Ponies a 7-6 lead heading into the second frame, was the first of four unanswered touchdowns the Ponies would get. Also in the second quarter, Pribyl punched in a two-yard score on the ground, followed by a 73-yard TD from Warp to Rismon with just 33 second left in the half. The long scoring pass was set by a Gruber interception. But the momentum continued in the second half as the Ponies grabbed another quick score. Starting in Rangers’ territory after this time, a Pribyl interception, the Ponies used five plays to find pay dirt once again. This time Pribyl found the end zone on a three-yard carry, giving the Ponies a dominating 27-6 lead with 8:44 left in the third quarter.

Another long scoring run by Emter interrupted the HHS offensive clinic, but there was little damage from the 40-yard score late in the third. The Ponies simply answered back with a 25-yard pass from Warp to Gruber to take a 34-14 lead. This time the HHS score was set up by two big runs by Pribyl, totaling 30 yards, as well as a Warp scramble for another 13. And on fourth down Warp then found Gruber streaking down the field, scoring and putting the game out of reach with 1:06 left in the third quarter.

Gruber added another 10-yard scoring catch with 4:35 left to play to make the score 41-14, and the Rangers score once more as well. Empter scored on a 19-yard run late in the fourth quarter against the Ponies’ second team defense.

“Their (Rangers) first score,” Christenson said. “It just caught us off guard a little bit playing that style of offense. Facing that style means having very disciplined reads and keys by everybody, and you know, we just had a couple of breakdowns. But the kids gathered themselves, showed their maturity, and made the necessary changes to go on to have a great game.”

After the minor tweaks and changes following the Rangers’ first score, the Ponies turned in a very solid game.

Warp passed for 307 yards on a 16-for-25 outing, while Rismon benefited. Rismon caught six passes for 155 yards and two scores. Gruber also had four catches for 54 yards, and Parker Filius finished with three catches for 62. Manuel also had two catches for 36 yards. On the Ground the Ponies also racked up over 100 yards rushing, shy of the 200-yard goal, but still a good showing. Pribyl led the way with 74 yards on 15 carries, while Filius added 20 yards on five carries. Manuel and Gunnar Aageson also combined for five carries for another 14 yards.

“The offensive coaches have been working with me,” Rismon said about his performance. “ And Dane also helps me out by letting me know what I can do to help him, and I just do it. But I just watch to see what the defense does and just try to make the play I guess.”

The HHS defense was also impressive. The Rangers passed for just 11 total yards, but did manage to gain 290 yards on the ground. Jake Williams led the defense with 12 tackles, but Jace Billy added nine more, including five for a loss. Jordan Schroeder had seven tackles and a fumble recovery, while Pribyl had eight tackles and an interception. Jensen also added another six tackles, while Tyler Adams added five, two for a loss, Kyle Duitsman added six, two for a loss, Alec Drew forced a fumble, and Manuel caused a fumble for the HHS defense.

Overall the Ponies played outstanding in all areas of the game, but penalties are still looking to be cleaned up moving forward.

“Penalties are still our achilles heel and we have to clean those up,” Christenson said. “If we want to be one of the elite football teams in the state, we can’t keep shooting ourselves in the foot and have that many penalties. That is something we have to keep working on, and I think we will be alright once we take care of that.”

The Ponies will return to the road on Friday when they face the conference favored Belgrade Panthers in Belgrade.

Ponies 41, Livingston 22

Livingston 6 0 8 8 – 22

Havre 713 14 7 – 41

LIV – Bobby Emter 30 run (pat failed)

HHS – Nate Rismon 35 pass from Dane Warp (Gunnar Aageson kick)

HHS – Kody Pribyl 2 run (Gunnar Aageson kick)

HHS – Nate Rismon 73 pass from Dane Warp (pat failed)

HHS – Kody Pribyl 3 run (Gunnar Aageson kick)

LIV – Bobby Emter 40 run (Cole Jesson run)

HHS – Thomas Gruber 25 pass from Dane Warp (Gunnar Aageson kick)

HHS – Thomas Gruber 10 pass from Dane Warp (Gunnar Aageson kick)

LIV – Bobby Emter 19 run (Bobby Emter run).

Havre Individual Stats

Passing – Dane Warp 16-25-307

Receiving – Nate Rismon 6-155, Thomas Gruber 4-54, Parker Filius 3-62, Tristan Manuel 2-36

Rushing – Kody Pribyl 15-74, Parker Filius 5-20