Blue Pony Extra: The Warp to Rismon connection

Great players find a way to come up big when it matters most. And even though a number of Havre football players made big plays in Friday night’s win over Sidney, Nate Rismon and Dane Warp were the most impactful.

Coming into the Sidney game, the Blue Ponies were in desperate need of a win. Fresh off a blowout loss to Miles City, HHS needed a shot in the arm and thanks to a 26-21 win over an Eastern A team with playoff aspirations, it got it.

There were a lot of key moments in the Ponies’ dramatic win over the Eagles and it seemed that both Rismon and Warp were at the heart of almost every single one of them.

The first came on a third-and-10 on Havre’s opening drive. After getting possession to open the game, the Ponies were a play away from going three-and-out. When Warp drilled an 18-yard pass to Rismon, giving Havre a fresh set of downs. Warp would go on to complete five more passes on what ended up being a 15-play, 72-yard drive that culminated in a Jase Stokes touchdown.

Later in the first quarter, came another of the game’s turning points and again it was Rismon, who made the big play as he returned a kickoff 88 yards for a touchdown, following a Sidney touchdown to put Havre up by six.

“I just tried to follow my blocking,” Rismon said. “The guys did a great job, I saw an opening and I just ran through it.”

With Havre leading by 12 at halftime, the Ponies looked like a good bet to come away with the win, but after a lightning quick touchdown drive by Sidney that trimmed that Havre lead to 19-14 early in the third quarter, HHS needed an answer, so it turned to its senior connection of Warp and Rismon.

On their first possession of the second half and with Sidney looking poised to take the lead, Warp got the ensuing drive going by scampering for 12 yards on a third-and-five at the Havre’s 46-yard line.

The run by Warp moved the ball into Sidney territory, but after a couple plays for negative yardage and an offensive penalty, Havre was faced with a third-and-22 from its own 47. Coaches often say there are no good play calls for third-and-22, but for the Ponies it was as simple as Warp finding Rismon, which he did for 30 yards as the senior receiver outfought a pair of Sidney defenders for the football.

However, Warp and Rismon weren’t done on the drive — not by a long shot. The Ponies pushed the ball all the way to the 11-yard line before two negative plays forced Havre into a fourth-and-18 attempt at the Eagle 20-yard line.

First, the Ponies sent out the field goal unit, then called a timeout and put the offense back on the field. In hindsight, it was the turning point in the game, because Warp found Rismon again and once again Rismon caught the ball over a swarm of Eagle defenders to find the end zone and give HHS a 26-14 advantage.

“I thought that Dane Warp was exceptional and I thought Nate Rismon was exceptional, too,” HHS head coach Mark Samson said. “I mean, holy cow, Nate was making big catches on offense, he made big plays on defense, and he did a great job playing defensive back. It was great for him, but it also showcases that (Rismon) is talented. He did a great job tonight and Dane did a great job of making good throws and getting him the football.”

With a 12-point lead in tow, the Ponies just needed to seal the deal. But, after giving up 54 points in a loss to Miles City, there were doubts about whether the Havre defense could keep Sidney out of the end zone in the fourth quarter.

But, thanks to an outstanding effort up front, and a couple of key pass deflections by Rismon, both coming on fourth-down stops on Sidney’s last two drives, the Havre defense held and preserved the key non-conference victory.

Football games are often decided by a few key plays throughout the game and even though a number of players stepped up in Havre’s win over Sidney, it was two seniors — Warp and Rismon who stole the show and ensured a huge Pony victory.

Havre returns home to play Park Oct. 2.