Ponies ready for Sidney ground attack

When the Havre High football team takes the field tonight against the Sidney Eagles, it will not only be looking to win a football game — it will also be looking to win back some respect.

That's because the 2015 season has started unexpectedly rough for the Blue Ponies. First, HHS was soundly defeated at home by Whitefish, then after squeaking out a home win against Hardin, the Ponies were again dominated last week in Miles City, losing 54-28. So now, as the Sidney Eagles, another vaunted Eastern A program, gets set to invade Blue Pony Stadium, Havre is looking for a win and looking to regain some confidence.

"I think after the Miles City game some kids were dropping their heads a bit," HHS head coach Mark Samson said. "And Sidney is another good football team. They have a lot of kids back, but there is no reason why we can't compete with them. We have seen it at times this season. We just need to be consistent and we need to go out there and compete for four quarters."

The biggest area of concern for Havre after three games is a defense that has surrendered rushing yards seemingly at will and has allowed opposing offenses to score an average of 37 points per game. The Ponies have given up more than 200 yards rushing to all three of their opponents so far this season, which is something that will need to stop if HHS is going to get back on track.

"Sidney has some really big kids up front, and they are going to come in here and run it right at us," Samson said. "It's just a matter of the kids competing and doing a better job of finding and trusting their reads."

Havre and Sidney are long-time non-conference rivals that meet again this season after the Eagles came to Havre and snuck out a 14-13 victory over the Ponies a season ago. Last year, despite a 6-3 record, the Eagles failed to make the playoffs and as they come into tonight's game sporting a 3-0 record, they are determined to make sure they don't miss out on the postseason again.

And part of the reason why the Eagles have gotten off to such a hot start has been its running game, which is averaging close to 300 yards per game. While Sidney has a number of different ball-carriers, the primary one will be Bridger Coffman, who is averaging close to 140 yards per game and has eight touchdowns so far this season.

Coffman has been so dominant this season that he is averaging 6.2 yards per carry and in a 32-8 win over Lewistown last Friday in Sidney, he racked up 181 yards and two TDs on the ground.

When Coffman isn't toting the rock, it will usually be in the hands of senior fullback Chris Gartner, who has 92 rushing yards and two scores this season, as well as sophomore Alex Lovegren, who is averaging 8.4 yards per carry this season and is a threat as both a runner and receiver.

At quarterback, the Eagles will go with Tel Hermanson, who is in his first season as the team's full-time starter and thus far, he has played well, completing 65 percent of his passes, while throwing two touchdowns and just one interception. He also has 62 rushing yards and a touchdown.

The Havre defense may have its hands full stopping Sidney, but the offense also needs to improve on its play from recent weeks. So far through three games, the Ponies are averaging just 18 points per game, a pedestrian number for a team that features a three-time All-State quarterback as well as All-State and All-Conference wideouts.

Havre quarterback Dane Warp has been putting up solid numbers, averaging 198 passing yards per game to go along with six touchdowns and three interceptions. But, those yards have not equated to a lot of points for Havre and according to coach Samson it comes back to offensive miscues.

"Offensively, I think that we have played well at times," Samson said. "But it seems like on every drive, we get a couple of good things and then we shoot ourselves in the foot with penalties or giving up sacks. We have been struggling up front and we need to get better there."

In terms of targets to throw to, Warp couldn't do much better than junior Parker Filius and senior Nate Rismon. Through three games, Filius has hauled in 18 passes for 228 yards and three touchdowns, while Rismon has caught 14 for 160 yard and a pair of receiving touchdowns.

Filius and Rismon will be vital in the passing game, but Havre will also look for contributions from Nate Korb, who caught a touchdown pass against Miles City, as well as from Logan Pleninger. In the running game, Havre will turn to Jase Stokes to carry the load. Jazz Schroeder should also gets a fair share of touches.

"I know that we can score points against these guys," Samson said. "Looking at the film, we know that we can move the ball, we just need to get off to a good start and stop making the mental mistakes."

On the defensive side of the ball, Stokes has been a standout for the Ponies this season as has Filius. Those two will pace the Havre defense from the linebacker spot, while Rismon, Pleninger, Korb and Ivar Aageson are key parts of the secondary. Up front, the Ponies will be counting on defensive lineman Travis Adams and Chris Gabrielsen to wreak havoc and hold the point against Sidney's dominant ground game.

Havre and Sidney will kick off tonight inside Blue Pony Stadium at 7. The Ponies will then travel to Browning next Friday to open Central A Conference play.

Tonight at 7 p.m.

Blue Pony Stadium

Radio: 610 KOJM AM