Back on top of the Central A

Much like their season, the Havre Blue Ponies’ win over Lewistown wasn’t perfect. There were ups and downs. But in the end, the result was a victory and with it came Havre’s first conference title in football in four years.

On a sublime autumn night in Blue Pony Stadium Friday, the Ponies used a mix of explosive plays on offense as well as a bend but don’t break defense to dispose of Lewistown 34-12. It marked Havre’s fifth straight win and gave HHS a perfect 4-0 record in Central A conference play for the season. Overall, the Ponies are 6-2 and are assured of a first-round bye and a home game in the Class A state playoffs.

“It wasn’t pretty,” HHS head coach Mark Samson said. “But, we got it done.”

The game didn’t start out great for Havre as Lewistown recovered a squib kick to open the game. But, after an Eagles punt, Dane Warp found Nate Rismon for a 94-yard touchdown and a 7-0 lead.

“He is uncoverable,” Warp said of Rismon. “It makes my job really easy. The safety was kind of shading the other side, so he was wide open.”

It was the first big passing play in the game for Havre, but it wouldn’t be the last. After the two teams exchanged defensive stops, Havre took over the ball at its own 13 midway through the second quarter.

Facing a third-and-six early on in the drive, Warp found Rismon for 42 yards. Later, on third-and-10, Warp scampered for 27 more. A few plays after Warp’s run, Jazz Schroeder found the end zone from seven yards out to make the score 14-0 in favor of HHS with 4:05 left in the second quarter.

Havre got a quick three-and-out and took possession of the ball with just over two minutes remaining before halftime. With time a factor, Warp and the Havre offense worked quickly. First, the quarterback found Jase Stokes on a 36-yard pass play. Then, to cap the drive, he and Rismon hooked up again, this time on an 18-yard touchdown pass that put Havre ahead 20-0.

“Dane and I just know how each other play,” Rismon said. “He knows I am going to be open and he throws it up and I just go up and grab it.”

Lewistown made things interesting with a third-quarter touchdown and a punt return by Issac Fry that gave the Eagles the ball in Havre territory down 20-7. Yet, as it did all night, the Havre defense stood tall in the red zone and forced a turnover on downs.

“The defense really came up big a couple of times, especially early in the game,” Samson said. “We got some big stops and that’s a credit to the kids, they stuck to their assignments.”

Up 13 and looking to put away Lewistown, Warp hit Parker Filius for a 32-yard gain. Four plays later, on a fourth-and-four, Warp found Rismon for 34 yards, which set up a nine-yard touchdown pass to Jake Sedahl that extended Havre’s lead to 27-6.

Lewistown scored again, thanks to a touchdown run by Devin Blythe, putting the onus on the Havre offense to protect the 27-12 lead. And once again that meant Warp to Rismon.

After Havre recovered an onside kick, Warp found Rismon for 52 yards, advancing the ball to the Eagles one. Schroeder punched it in the end zone on the next play and that clinched the Ponies’ 22-point win and the Central A title.

“It’s big for the kids,” Samson said. “I know that some people look at the Central A and think it’s not that tough. But all I know is that we are getting better. We are putting points up on the board, our defense is getting better, and we are getting turnovers. We are doing the right things and we are just going to take things week by week. We had to get this win before we can get the next one. Next week, we have a non-conference game, then a first-round bye, then we will have a week off and we will get ready for a home playoff game.”

It was fitting that on senior night, Warp and Rismon stole the show. Warp was 10-of-16 in the win and passed for 312 yards, while also pitching in with three touchdown passes. Rismon also had a stellar performance with six catches for 241 yards and two touchdowns.

“It means a lot, it’s something we haven’t done before,” Warp said on winning the Central A. “We were able to overcome a slow start. Now we are focusing on Polson next week and getting healthy.”

Defensively, Dane Flammond led the way for Havre with 11 tackles and two tackles for loss. Stoke also had a big night with eight tackles and a sack.

Havre will travel to Polson next week for a non-conference tilt with the Pirates, before hosting a quarterfinal playoff game on Nov. 7 at Blue Pony Stadium against an opponent that will be determined.

Blue Ponies 34, Eagles 12

Lewistown 0 0 6 6 – 12

Havre 7 13 7 7 – 34

H – Nate Rismon 94 pass from Dane Warp (PAT Good)

H – Jazz Schroeder 7 run (PAT Good)

H – Rismon 18 pass from Warp (PAT Good)

L – Cordell Gallagher 14 run (PAT No Good)

H- Jake Sedahl 9 pass from Warp (PAT Good)

L – Devin Blythe 1 run (Conversion Failed)

H – Schroeder 1 run (PAT Good)

Havre Individual Stats

Passing – Dane Warp, 10-16, 312.

Rushing – Jazz Schroder 19-62, Jase Stokes 5-9, Warp 4-1.

Receiving – Rismon 6-241, Stokes 1-35, Filius 1-30, Sedahl 1-9, Isaac Warp 1 (-2).