Title Night: Ponies host rival Eagles

Last Friday, the Havre High football team defeated Belgrade for the first time in four years. Tonight, with a win over Lewistown, the Blue Ponies can do something else they haven't in four years - win a Central A Conference championship.

Thanks to their win over Belgrade, the Ponies (5-2, 3-0) are in the driver's seat in the Central A and can wrap up their first conference title since 2011 with a win over Lewistown (3-3, 1-1) tonight at 7 inside Blue Pony Stadium.

"When I came here, I told the kids that I wanted to win championships," HHS head coach Mark Samson said. "But, it is really up to them. I know there are some kids that know what it takes to win championships on an individual level, but now we need to figure out a way to do it as a team."

If the Ponies are going to win the Central A conference title, a victory tonight is essential. If Havre loses to the Eagles, who are still alive for the title in their own right, the champion would be determined by a tiebreaker. And unless Havre lost to the Eagles by four points or less, the title would go to Belgrade if the Panthers win out against Livingston and Browning.

For Lewistown, earning the top spot in the final league standings is a long shot. They would need to beat Havre by 32 points or more to win the tiebreaker. Yet, a win is needed either way for the Eagles to keep their playoff hopes alive.

Lewistown needs to pull the upset to have any chance of finishing second in the Central A. A win is also much needed to have any prayer of beating out Sidney or Laurel to earn one of the two wildcard spots available in the Eastern A.

"We need to be ready to play," Samson said. "We played with a lot of emotion against Belgrade and hopefully we will play like that against Lewistown. It's a big game because if we can win a conference championship, I think that would help generate some more excitement about the football program. When you win, it makes kids want to come out and be a part of it."

As if there wasn't going to be enough electricity in the air already, tonight's game is also senior night for HHS, which should give the Ponies even more motivation to dispatch of their arch rivals.

And while the Ponies should get at least one more home game, regardless of what happens tonight, this will surely be the final time they play at Blue Pony Stadium on a Friday night, under the lights.

"We have put in four years of hard work," Quarterback Dane Warp said. "It's time for us to lock it down (win a conference title) and take care of business against Lewistown."

Warp, a senior, has been a driving force behind the Havre offense this season with 1,515 yards and 15 touchdowns. He is also completing more than 68 percent of his passes and has thrown just seven interceptions.

Yet, as good as Warp has been, he has benefited greatly from the play of his wide receivers, namely Nate Rismon and Parker Filius. Rismon has been on a tear recently and for the season has 653 yards from scrimmage and a total of 11 touchdowns. Filius has also been highly productive with 517 yards from scrimmage and eight touchdowns, four rushing and four receiving.

"I know I have said this before, but I still think we have the best combination of quarterback and receivers in Class A," Samson said. "Dane made a couple of mistakes against Belgrade, but overall he played a very good game. He's done a great job of getting the ball to Rismon and Filius and letting them make plays for us after the catch."

While the Havre offense has been rolling recently, the team has been getting it done on both sides of the ball during its four-game winning streak. The offense has averaged more than 34 points per game during that span, while the defense is surrendering just 12.

One reason for the emergence of the Havre defense has been the outstanding play of linebacker Jase Stokes. Last week against Belgrade, Stokes finished with 17 tackles. For the season, he has a team-high 64. The junior also leads the team in sacks with three and forced fumbles with six. He also is tied for the team-lead in tackles for loss with five as well as interceptions with one.

Filius has also played a key role on the defense (54 tackles, 1 TFL, 1 sack) as has fellow linebacker Dane Flammond, who has emerged with 30 tackles, five tackles for loss and two sacks. When it comes to the secondary, Rismon, who has 31 tackles, one interception and four passes defensed, and Logan Pleninger, who has 26 tackles and two passes defensed, have led the way.

Like it has been all season, the biggest challenge for the Pony defense against Lewistown will be containing an Eagles' ground attack that comes in averaging 190.5 yards per game. Thad Kucera is the Eagles' top rusher with 378 yards and two touchdowns. Junior Isaac Fry has also proven to be productive with 48 rushes for 331 yards.

Dylan Blythe is a multi-dimensional threat Havre will have to account for and has 196 rushing yards, with an average of 6.8 yards per carry and 112 receiving yards. Lewistown's top receiver is Hunter Errecart, who is averaging 17.2 yards per reception on 13 catches for 224 yards.

The play of quarterback Eric Knox will also be a big key in the game and so far this season he has been up and down. The junior is completing just 56 percent of his passes and is throwing for only 122 yards per game. He also has just four touchdown passes compared to five interceptions thrown.

Yet, on a night where the Ponies will celebrate the careers of 11 seniors, Warp, Rismon, Pleninger, Travis Adams, Thomas Keith, Patrick Leeds, Cole Keller, Keegan Kennelly, Austin Burnside, Daniel Almas and Alex Stilger, the key, according to Samson will be a fast start.

"What I told our kids was that we need to start out fast," Samson said. "We need to score and hold them, score and hold them and score and get up on them and let them say 'it's just not going to happen tonight."

Tonight's game between the Ponies and Eagles will kick off at 7 at Blue Pony Stadium. The seniors will be honored before the game. Havre wraps up the regular season next Friday night in Polson.

Tonight at 7 p.m.

at Blue Pony Stadium

Radio: 610 KOJM AM