Blue Ponies swamp the Rangers

Leading up to the Havre High football team's homecoming game against Livingston, head coach Mark Samson talked about how good teams show up to play regardless of opponent.

Well Friday night, the Blue Ponies showed signs of being a good team as they not only dominated a weaker opponent in Livingston, they also overcame the elements at a rain-soaked Blue Pony Stadium on their way to a 40-0 win. The win over the Rangers was the third straight for Havre and improved the Ponies overall record to 4-2 and their record in Central A conference play to 2-0.

"I don't ever remember being a part of a game where it rained that hard," Samson said. "It was just a weird day. It was homecoming and the game started late, but overall, I thought that the kids played pretty well, especially in the first half. We got a lot of kids in the game, and we didn't play as well in the second half, but the weather didn't help anything."

Right away, the wet conditions made an impact on both teams as the first three possessions of the game ended in fumbles. Yet, after the second Livingston fumble of the night, the Ponies took advantage as Dane Warp connected with Nate Rismon on a 13-yard catch-and-run touchdown that put Havre in front 7-0 midway through the first quarter.

The Livingston offense, which has struggled mightily all season long, got little traction against the Ponies and punted on its next possession. Once Havre got the ball back, it didn't take long for the Ponies to reach the end zone as Warp found Rismon for the second time in the opening stanza, this time from 33 yards out to make the score 14-0 at the end of the first.

"Nate Rismon is really playing well for us," Samson said. "He is especially doing a really great job once he gets the ball in his hands after the catch."

Early in the second quarter, after another Ranger punt, Rismon showed, once more, what he can do, taking a reverse and scampering 25 yards for a touchdown to extend the Havre lead to 20-0.

"It's a lot of fun," Rismon said of finding the end zone so frequently. "But I just like to play football. When guys try to angle at me, I just try to do what I can to get by them."

Down 20 points, the Rangers were already in a big hole, but on their next offensive possession, Nate Korb put them even further behind as he intercepted a pass and returned it 14 yards for a touchdown in what ended up being one of four turnovers forced by the Pony defense.

"I just read the quarterback and saw him throw the ball that way and I jumped the route," Korb said. "Then I was able to pick it off and run it in. It worked out well."

Leading 26-0, the Ponies continued to dominate on both sides of the ball and following a three-yard touchdown run by Parker Filius, the lead was 33-0. But Havre wasn't finished, not yet anyway, and with just minutes to go before the half, Warp found pay dirt thanks to a spectacular 25-yard scramble that made the halftime score 40-0.

"That was a pretty good run by Dane," Samson said. "It was kind of funny, he came over to me after the run and said, 'Coach, I don't think I have ever run that far before.'"

Once the second half started, the rain worsened and neither team was able to generate much offense. But by then it didn't matter. The mercy rule was in effect, which meant running clock, so offensive opportunities were limited.

Despite not getting to throw the ball much, Warp had a solid day completing 7-of-11 passes for 149 yards to go along with three total touchdowns (one rushing) and one interception.

Rismon hauled in three passes for 63 yards and two scores, while also rushing once for 24 yards and a score. Filius also had a productive night offensively with 63 total yards from scrimmage and a touchdown.

The offense may have slowed down in the second half but the defense kept applying pressure to the Livingston offense and when it was all said and done, it preserved its second consecutive shutout.

Blue Ponies 40, Livingston 0

Livingston 0 0 0 0 - 0 

Havre 14 26 0 0 - 40

H - Nate Rismon 13 pass from Dane Warp (PAT Good)

H - Rismon 33 pass from Warp (PAT Good)

H - Rismon 25 run (PAT No Good)

H - Nate Korb 14 Interception return (PAT No Good)

H - Parker Filius 3 run (PAT Good)

H - Warp 25 run (PAT Good)

Havre Individual Statistics

Passing – Dane Warp, 7-11 149, Trey Murphy 1-1 5.

Rushing – Jazz Schroder 9-44, Warp 4-33, Stokes 6-33, Filius 5-23, Rismon 1-24, Jake Sedahl 1-8, Trey Murphy 1-2.

Receiving – Nate Rismon 3-63, Parker Filius 1-39, Nate Korb 1-15, Dane Warp 1-14, Jase Stokes 1-8, Ivar Aageson 1-5.