All sides clicking during Ponies' win streak

Following a 54-28 loss to Miles City three weeks ago, the outlook appeared bleak for the Havre High football team. The defense was struggling, the offense couldn’t run the ball and nothing seemed to be clicking.

However, fast forward three weeks and the Blue Ponies have not only righted the ship, they have reminded themselves and their fans why pundits thought so highly of them in the preseason.

During Havre’s 1-2 start, the Ponies allowed an average of 37 points per game, including the 54 points they allowed to Miles City and the 44 they gave up in their opening game to Whitefish. Yet, back on Sept. 18 in a home game against highly touted Sidney, things finally started to come together for Havre on both sides of the ball.

The Ponies started cutting down on the turnovers and the defense started making plays. Havre won that game 26-21 and since then HHS has not looked back. Last week, Havre shut out Browning 28-0 and last Friday on a soggy night at Blue Pony Stadium, the once-maligned defense posted its second straight shutout in a 40-0 win over Livingston.

Now through six games, the Pony defense is giving up just 22 points per game and during the Ponies’ three-game winning streak, they have allowed a total of just 21 points or an average of seven points per game.

Of course, Browning and Livingston are not Class A powers in football. In fact, both schools are far from it. If the two teams didn’t play each other later this season, both the Indians and Rangers would likely finish the 2015 season without a win.

But, that doesn’t change the fact that the Havre defense has made a dramatic transformation over the past three weeks. The Ponies have forced seven turnovers in the last three games and a run defense that was giving up more than 250 rushing yards a game has steadied itself in a big way.

“I think we have just done a better job of getting our keys and our reads,” Havre senior cornerback Nate Rismon said. “We are stopping the run a lot better and that’s made a big difference.”

Livingston certainly doesn’t have the firepower that Whitefish and Miles City do, there is no debate about that. Yet, the Havre defense did what was expected of it, that and more. In addition to forcing four turnovers, two coming on fumble recoveries and two via interceptions by Nate Korb and Ivar Aageson, the Pony defense was so dominant that the Rangers couldn’t even cross midfield. It also scored a touchdown of its own thanks to Korb’s 14-yard pick six.

“We have really stepped up and have been playing good defense,” Korb said. “We have been able to stop the run and have been really locking people down.”

Yet, as strong as the defense has been in recent weeks, the offense has been just as good. After averaging just 18 points during its first three games, the Havre offense has scored at least four touchdowns in its last three outings and has averaged more than 31 points per game.

The offensive line has been better, the running game has been better and the entire offense has done a much better job of avoiding killer mistakes such as penalties and turnovers.

The turnover battle is always an important factor when it comes to winning football games and during their three-game win streak, the Ponies have turned it over just three times, putting the team’s turnover margin during that span at plus four.

Through it all, the players and the coaches have stayed the course. Head coach Mark Samson and defensive coordinator Jarrod Wirt have been flexible and when their defensive scheme wasn’t working they changed it — going from a 3-4 to a 5-2 and now to a 4-3.

Players have changed positons and roles and they have done it all without question or pause. Of course the real test comes this week in Belgrade.

The Panthers have owned the Central A in recent years and more importantly they have owned Havre. And even though they will come into Friday’s showdown at 1-4, they played a brutal non-conference schedule that featured playoff contenders Billings Central, Butte Central, Miles City and Laurel.

However, despite their record, the Panthers are coming off a 35-6 win over Central A rival Lewistown and appear to be figuring things out just as the Ponies have.

Yet, as Samson said leading into the Livingston game, good teams always come to play. And if the Ponies can continue their recent level of play in Belgrade Friday, they will not only prove they are a good football team — they will prove to be the best in the Central A.