Blue Ponies ready to tackle Pirates

It’s hard to say that a nonconference game is a must win for the Havre High football team. But, after back-to-back losses, the Central A Blue Ponies need a win, regardless of the opponent.

Tonight, the Ponies, who are 2-5 overall and 1-2 in Central A conference play, will take a break for their conference slate to play host to Polson. Havre’s contest with the Northwestern A rival will kick off inside Blue Pony Stadium at 7 p.m.

Despite the sub-500 record, HHS can still make it into the Class A state playoffs with a win over Browning next week. But before the Ponies can worry about that, they need to deal with Polson (3-4, 1-2), which is looking to hand Havre a third straight loss following a 40-27 loss to Belgrade Oct. 4 in Havre and an 18-7 defeat in Lewistown last Friday.

“I think the most important thing is that need to find each other again and find our team,” HHS head coach Jason Christenson said. “We need to find that cohesiveness again. If we can do that, I think the win will take care of itself and get us back to feeling good about ourselves.”

In addition to getting prepped for the playoffs, the Ponies will also be looking to avenge last season’s 52-20 loss at Polson, in which Havre turned the ball over three times and were never really in the game in the second half.

If HHS is going to enact some revenge on the Pirates, a key factor will be the Ponies ability to take care of the football and cut down on the penalties, which have plagued Havre all season long.

“We just can’t shoot ourselves in the foot,” Christenson said. “Penalties have been our Achilles heel this year. Turnovers at inopportune times have also really hurt us. If we can put together a semi-perfect game and cut down on the mistakes, we will fair alright and increase our chances by a lot.”

As Christenson said, limiting turnovers is key and despite throwing three interceptions in the loss to Polson a season ago, Havre quarterback Dane Warp has done a good job of not turning it over this season, throwing just five interceptions compared to 18 touchdowns through seven games.

Warp’s top target in the passing game will once again be Parker Filius, who is leading the Central A in receptions with 45 as well as receiving yards with 562. The sophomore tailback/slot receiver also has 10 total touchdowns this season, six receiving and four rushing. Yet, if Warp is going to be able to get the ball to Filius or his other talented targets such as wide receiver Isaac Warp or running back Jase Stokes, he will need protection, which has been an issue the last two weeks against the heavy blitzing applied by both Belgrade and Lewistown.

“Teams that watch our film against Lewistown and Belgrade are going to try and attack us the same way, however that fits in their scheme,” Christenson said. “That style of play (blitzing) has proven effective against us and until we can show that we can stop it and handle, teams will continue to do that to us. So, we need to make sure we make a statement right now that we can handle and exploit that pressure.”

Defensively, the Ponies will face a balanced attack from the Pirates team that is headed by junior quarterback Wyatt Ducharme, who has a strong pair of running backs behind him in seniors Bridger Rowley and Joe Gallatin.

In the passing game, Ducharme will look to target sophomore tight end Matthew Rensvold, who at 6-3, 210-pounds is a dominant physical specimen that will also run the ball out of the wildcat formation in addition to catching passes. The other top targets on the outside for the Pirates are junior Jacob Harrod and sophomore Cadis Chowning.

The key to the Havre defense lies with Stokes, who is the Ponies’ middle linebacker and team leader in tackles. Filius will also play a key role from the safety position as will Kody Pribyl, who had nine tackles and an interception a week ago. Defensive end Jace Billy is also coming off a strong performance that included 13 tackles and a sack against Lewistown.

“They have two really good running backs that run very hard,” Christenson said. “They are a tough, physical team. They are going to come right at us and sometimes we struggle against the run and if they are able to establish that it could be a long night.”

Despite the fact that a win or loss against Polson will not affect Havre’s playoff position, a win is needed to build confidence and momentum, which will be an essential ingredient of a possible postseason run.

“We just need to get a win and build some positive momentum,” Christenson said. “Then, hopefully we can get rolling against Browning and into the playoffs.”

Kickoff between the Ponies and the Pirates is set for 7 p.m. The Ponies host Browning in the season finale next Friday.