Blue Ponies tangle with Rangers tonight

Nonconference play has not been kind to the Havre High football team this year. The Ponies lost three of four games. But the great thing about high school football is those nonconference games don't matter, not when it comes to making the playoffs anyway.

For Havre, the games that count start tonight in Livingston. The Rangers represent the first of four conference opponents in five games for HHS. The outcome of those four games, against Livingston, Belgrade, Lewistown and Browning will determine when and if the Ponies are playing in the Class A state playoffs come November.

Kickoff between the Ponies and Rangers is tonight at 7.

"Every game is important," HHS head coach Jason Christenson said. "But these conference games are even more important. They determine whether you make the playoffs and where you will be seeded. You have to win these games to have a chance to win the conference and get a home playoff game, which is always our goal."

The Ponies, who are 1-3, enter their game against the Rangers fresh off a 40-12 victory over Glendive. It was an offensive explosion that was needed for a Havre offense that averaged just 15 points a game against Whitefish, Miles City and Sidney.

HHS was able to get sophomore tailback/wide receiver Parker Filius involved early and he ended up burning the Red Devils for more than 200 total yards and four total touchdowns. All-State quarterback Dane Warp also had a heck of a day, throwing for more than 400 yards and accounting for five total touchdowns.

If the Ponies are going to get their second consecutive win this week against the Rangers, they will need to keep the big plays coming.

"We just have to keep mixing it up," Christenson said. "Throw different things at the defense. Use different plays, different formations and different personnel groupings to try and keep them off balance that way. If we can do that, maybe we can catch them off guard and get our players in a position to make some big plays and get some success that way."

Regardless of who is getting the football, the Havre offense will go as the passing game goes. Through four games, Warp is averaging 296 yards passing per game to go along with nine touchdown passes and three interceptions.

Filius has been his top target and leads the Ponies with 23 receptions for 360 yards and three touchdowns. He also has 57 yards rushing and three rushing touchdowns. In addition to Filius, Isaac Warp has also been a threat in the passing game with 16 catches for 270 yards and a touchdown so far this season.

"We want to try and get Parker one-on-one again on that backside," Christenson said. "If he runs some good routes hopefully we can (get) some big plays out of him that way."

Despite the success in the passing game, the ground game has struggled. Yet, after Jase Stokes had the best performance from a Havre running back this season, carrying the ball six times for 73 yards, there is reason for optimism. The sophomore will be given more opportunities this week to awaken a running game that has averaged just 58 yards a game in nonconference play.

Defensively, the Ponies are surrendering just 18 points a game and are also coming off their best effort of the season. In fact, in their last two games they have given up just 26 points combined against Glendive and Sidney, which does not bode well for a Livingston offense that has scored just seven points all season.

The Rangers have played a difficult schedule but are currently 0-4 after falling 33-0 to Sidney, 47-7 to Butte Central, 49-0 to Miles City and 67-0 to Laurel last week. Yet, when the Rangers are trying to move the ball, they will try to do it on the ground with their single-wing offense.

"They run the ball a lot. They run out of the single-wing and the double-wing," Christenson said. "They run a lot of misdirection and try to fool you with that. They run a lot of traps and a lot of guard/tackle pulls. They do have a good running game and have a nice running back that likes to pound it at you, so we just need to play sound, assignment football."

Stokes will lead the way for HHS on defense and has developed into a key player for the Ponies on that side of the ball. He has a team-high 39 tackles from the middle linebacker spot and is an integral part of the run defense. In the secondary, the Ponies will be led by Filius, who has 29 tackles, three forced fumbles and a fumble recovery. Former All-Conference defensive end Tyrell Pierce will also key the Havre pass rush and so far this season he is leading the team with three sacks.

As Havre prepares for conference play, Christenson wishes the Ponies would have won more games in the nonconference, but he believes the experience and high level of competition made his team better in the long run.

"We played some tough teams in the nonconference," Christenson said. "And we played all those teams tough and if it wasn't for some turnovers or penalties we could have won those games. So I think that was a positive. We know we can play with those tough teams and they beat us more because of things that we did to ourselves."

The Ponies and Rangers will kick off their Central A conference opener tonight at 7 in Livingston. Havre returns home to host Belgrade next Friday night.

Week Five

Central A Play

Tonight at 7 p.m. in Livingston

Radio: 610 KOJM AM