Bitten Again: Bulldogs tackle Ponies

Under the direction of new head football coach Mark Samson, the Havre Blue Ponies came into Saturday's home-opener with high hopes and the expectation of getting a win.

The problem was, that somebody forgot to tell the Whitefish Bulldogs.

The Bulldogs, Havre High's Northwest A rival, spoiled Samson's home debut for HHS by dominating the Ponies from start to finish in a 44-12 win inside Blue Pony Stadium Saturday. The win was the fourth straight against Havre for Whitefish, which also retained the BNSF traveling trophy.

"We were outplayed and out coached," Samson said. "I don't want to take anything away from Whitefish - they are a good team - but we were not ready to play in that football game."

Just as they did a season ago, the Bulldogs attacked Havre with a power running game and the stellar play of quarterback Luke May, and just like a season ago, the Ponies had no answer for it.

The two teams spent much of the first quarter feeling each other out, but Whitefish struck first late in the first quarter, when Chris Park scampered 16 yards to get the Bulldogs on the board at 7-0.

On the next drive, Havre drove to the Whitefish 43-yard line before stalling and being forced to punt. Then, on the ensuing possession, May went to work, racking up consecutive runs of 28 and 22 yards to put the Bulldogs in a goal-to-go situation. Park finished off the drive with a five-yard touchdown run and with 6:42 to go in the second quarter, Whitefish led 14-0.

"We have a great group of seniors," Whitefish head coach Chad Ross said. "They really spent a lot of time in the offseason working to get better and I think that paid off for us today."

Facing a 14-point deficit, the Ponies quickly advanced the ball into Bulldog territory on a 20-yard pass from Dane Warp to Parker Filius, but on the very next play, Whitefish intercepted Warp, putting the Bulldogs back in business.

Seven plays later and after two completions from May to Jed Nagler for 40 yards, Brian FauntLeRoy scored a 13-yard touchdown run and suddenly it was 21-0 with 3:38 left in the first half.

Down by three scores, the Havre offense responded with its best drive of the day. Warp completed five straight passes for 60 yards and got HHS into the end zone by finding Nate Rismon from 21 yards out. Rismon, who made a circus catch over two defenders, got Havre within 15 at 21-6 with 1:20 remaining in the second.

Yet, the comeback was short lived, as FauntLeRoy returned the ensuing kickoff 80 yards for a touchdown, putting Whitefish in front 28-6 at the halftime intermission.

In the second half, it was more of the same. The Bulldogs and May in particular, ran all over the Havre defense. Yet, to put the final nail in the coffin, May used his arm as he tossed two second-half touchdown passes, one to FauntLeRoy in the third to put the Bulldogs up 34-6 and another in the fourth to Nagler, which put the icing on the cake and the Whitefish in front 41-6.

In the end, May accounted for just two passing touchdowns, but considering he racked up 101 yards on the ground, his impact can hardly be understated.

"He just continues to get better and better," Ross said of May following the game. "I think he only had like one completion in the first half, but he stayed patient and really got things going in the second half. He's just a great leader and he showed great leadership for us."

Havre did tack on a score in the fourth quarter as Warp connected with Rismon on a 22-yard touchdown pass to make the score 41-12, but by then it was too little too late. Whitefish tacked on field goal with 30 seconds left to wrap up the scoring.

Just as it did a season ago in a 27-14 win, Whitefish dominated time of possession, thanks to 320 rushing yards, 150 of which came from Park. Warp put up good numbers, completing 17-of-23 passes for 218 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. But, he was held to just 23 attempts and the Havre offense was limited to less than 50 plays total, thanks to Bulldogs' ball-control offense.

Rismon had a solid day for HHS, notching four receptions for 67 yards and two touchdowns. Filius added five receptions for 67 yards. Chris Gabrielsen pitched in with three catches for 36 yards and Logan Pleninger added two 32.

Whitefish not only kept Warp in check, the Bulldogs also held Havre's starting running back Jase Stokes to just 43 yards on 13 carries. And thanks to seven sacks, the Whitefish defense limited the Ponies to just 29 yards rushing for the game.

Stokes led the way for the Ponies on defense with 10 tackles, while Dane Flammond also notched four tackles and two sacks. Pleninger and Ivar Aageson each notched a pass defense.

Havre (0-1) will be back on the field this Friday, when the Ponies will host Hardin at Blue Pony Stadium in another non-conference matchup. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.

Whitefish 44, Blue Ponies 12

Whitefish 7 21 6 10 - 44

Havre 0 6 0 6- 12

WHI – Chris Park 16 run (Nicholson kick)

WHI – Chris Park 5 run (Nicholson kick)

WHI – Brian FauntLeRoy 13 run (Nicholson kick)

HAV – Nate Rismon 21 pass from Dane Warp (conversion failed)

WHI – Brian FauntLeRoy 80 kickoff return (Nicholson kick)

WHI – Brian FauntLeRoy 17 pass from Luke May (kick failed)

WHI – Jed Nagler 22 pass from Luke May (Nicholson kick)

HAV – Nate Rismon 22 pass from Dane Warp (conversion failed)

WHI – Haley Nicholson 33 FG

Havre Individual Stats

Passing – Dane Warp 17-23, 218.

Rushing – Jase Stokes 13-43, Chris Gabrielson 1-0, Jazz Schroder 1-12, Dane Warp 9-(-26).

Receiving – Parker Filius 5-67, Nate Rismon 4-66, Chris Gabrielsen 3-36, Logan Pleninger, 2-32 Nate Korb 1-9, Isaac Warp 1-8, Jase Stokes 1-3.