Ponies stampede their way in

The Havre Blue Ponies had two objectives they wanted to achieve against Browning — clinch a berth in the Class A state football playoffs and send the seniors out with a win.

Check and check.

The Ponies were dominant against the Indians Friday on senior night inside Blue Pony Stadium, routing Browning by the score of 62-0 in a Central A conference clash.

The win clinched the third seed in the Central A for Havre and means HHS will travel to Miles City Saturday for the opening round of the playoffs.

“The kids came out and executed very well,” HHS head coach Jason Christenson said. “We created some turnovers, which was great, but we played well on both sides of the ball. Last home game under the lights, they had a great game and played really hard and it was a great way to go out for the seniors.”

It didn’t take long for HHS to assert its dominance.

After forcing a Browning punt on the game’s opening possession, the Ponies drove 71 yards in 35 seconds to take an early 6-0 lead. The drive was capped when Parker Filius scored on a 23-yard touchdown run with 10 minutes left in the first quarter.

On the ensuing kickoff, Havre’s Nate Korb recovered a Browning fumble and the Ponies were back in business. Three plays later, Dane Warp threw the first of four touchdown passes, finding Jacob LaBrie to put Havre up 12-0.

Later in the first quarter, with HHS leading 20-0, LaBrie intercepted a Browning pass to give Havre the ball at the Browning 25. On the next play, he caught a touchdown pass from Warp to put the Ponies up 27-0 at the end of the first quarter.

In the second quarter, Warp would find LaBrie in the end zone two more times, from 16 yards and 34 yards out, respectively, extending the Havre lead to 41-0.

“It was a total team effort,” Warp said. “Everybody played out of their minds.”

With the Ponies in complete control, the Havre offense was turned over to the seniors, and late in the second quarter, Gunner Aageson, a starting outside linebacker for HHS, took advantage of his opportunity and scored his first career touchdown on an eight-yard run to make the halftime score 48-0.

In the third quarter, Aageson found pay dirt again, this time scoring on a four-yard rushing touchdown to put the Ponies ahead 55-0.

“It was his time,” Warp said. “Gunner has been playing for four years and it was great for him to get in the end zone.”

Then, in the fourth quarter, with the outcome decided, senior Levi Huston closed out senior night in style.

Huston, who played his first and only season of varsity football in 2014, scampered 25 yards for a touchdown to push the Havre lead to 62-0, offering the perfect ending to a near-perfect night.

“It was the icing on the cake for (Gunner and Levi),” Christenson said. “You always want to make it extra special for the seniors and try to figure out a way how — and getting them a touchdown was it. I am just proud of Gunner and Levi, they ran hard, the o-line did a great job blocking for them and it was just extra special to see that.”

Warp was highly efficient in the win for Havre, completing 11-of-14 passes for 213 yards and four touchdowns. Labrie had four receptions for 81 yards and four touchdowns to go along with an interception on defense.

Filius also had a solid outing with four receptions for 87 yards as well as six rushes for 58 yards and a touchdown.

Defensively, the Ponies dominated the Indians and held them to just 41 yards of total offense. Josh Emge led the way for the Havre defense with six tackles and four sacks, while Jace Billy also had five tackles and three sacks in the win. Filius also forced two fumbles and recovered one.

With the win, the Ponies finished the regular season 4-5 overall and 2-2 in conference play. They will now take on Miles City, which defeated them 27-19 earlier in the regular season. That game was also in Miles City.

“We feel pretty good going into the playoffs,” Christenson said. “We got a lot of momentum, the kids are confident, so we will go down there and play as hard as we can.”

Havre and Miles City will square off in the first round of the Class A playoffs this Saturday. Kickoff is set for noon.

Blue Ponies 62, Browning 0

Browning 0 0 0 0 - 0

Havre 27 21 7 7 - 62

HAV-Parker Filius 23 run (kick failed)

HAV-Jacob Labrie 4 pass from Dane Warp (pass failed)

HAV-Safety, ball snapped through end zone

HAV-Jase Stokes 2 run (kick failed)

HAV-Labrie 25 pass from Warp (Gunner Aageson kick)

HAV-Labrie 16 pass from Warp (Aageson kick)

HAV-Labrie 34 pass from Warp (Aageson kick)

HAV-Aageson 8 run (Aageson kick)

HAV-Aageson 4 run (Aageson kick)

HAV-Levi Huston 25 run (Aageson kick)

Havre Individual Statistics

Passing – Dane Warp 11-14-213.

Rushing – Parker Filius 6-58, Kody Pribyl 3-54, Jase Stokes 4-45, Gunner Aageson 9-41, Chris Gabrielson 5-27, Levi Huston 1-25.

Receiving – Isaac Warp 2-33, Jacob LaBrie 4-81, Parker Filius 4-87, Jase Stokes 1-14.