Blue Ponies rally past Cowboys, move on in playoffs

In what turned out to be a wild eight quarters of football Saturday at Blue Pony Stadium, the Havre High football team started things off with a bang. Trailing Miles City 21-7 at halftime of a Class A first-round playoff game Saturday afternoon, the Havre Blue Ponies stormed back to beat the Cowboys 21-20 and advance to the Class A quarterfinals.

Dane Warp threw a short touchdown pass to Tristan Manuel with 8 minutes left in the fourth quarter, putting the Ponies up by one. Then, on three straight series, Havre's defense held on, including HHS withstanding a furious Miles City comeback try with under two minutes left. The Cowboys had one last gasp inside the eight-yard-line with only 13 seconds left in the game, but when quarterback Ben Herzog was brought down short of the goal line, time ran out and the Ponies advanced.

Havre's defense pitched a shutout in the second half, while the Pony offense overcame five turnovers in what was HHS's first playoff win since the 2011 season. Havre (5-4) will now travel to Columbia Falls this Saturday.

For complete coverage, see Monday's HDN