Blue Pony Football Extra: This walk was extra special

The Walk is what they call it, and it’s always a special thing for the seniors of the Havre High football team. But the fact that the Blue Ponies got to take the walk right after winning their first conference championship in four years made this year’s version even more meaningful.

Eleven football players participated in the walk following Havre’s 34-12 win over Lewistown Friday night at Blue Pony Stadium. And for the likes of Dane Warp, Nate Rismon, Logan Pleninger, Travis Adams, Thomas Keith, Keegan Kennelly, Cole Keller, Daniel Almas, Patrick Leeds, Austin Burnside and Alex Stilger, all of whom walked end zone to end zone, hand-in-hand with the Havre High cheerleaders, there couldn’t be better way to do it.

“It’s really, really exciting,” Rismon said. “There was a lot of emotion knowing that it was senior night. We knew that if we won, we would be conference champs, so that carried a ton of momentum over.

“It was special,” Pleniger said. “Knowing that this was the last game that we will play under the lights and for us to come out and get a win, was special. We haven’t won a conference title since I’ve been in high school and it was really awesome to do it here on senior night.”

Of course, thanks in part to the Ponies win over the Eagles Friday night, the 34-12 victory over their Central A rival will not be the last time Havre takes the field at Blue Pony this season. By way of its conference title and first-place finish in the final Central A conference standings, Havre is guaranteed to have a first-round bye and a home game in the quarterfinals of the Class A playoffs, which will be played Nov. 7.

Yet, there’s a reason why high school football games are played Friday nights. It’s a unique and special atmosphere and it’s one that the Ponies’ 11 seniors will never experience again. But at least they made sure that their final experience was one of their best.

“It’s pretty exciting,” Keith said. “It’s more than I ever expected. I can’t believe we were able to do it and be undefeated champs this year.

“It was emotional,” Keith added about the walk. “I was looking around at my other teammates and thinking that we have been on a long ride, but in the end it was totally worth it.”

Keith also talked about the Ponies’ upcoming playoff game and how great it will feel to win that game, “It will feel even better, if we can win that Saturday.” Keith said.

The point is that the season is far from over for the Ponies. Winning a conference title is great, but this year’s team is far from satisfied. With a quarterback like Warp, a receiver like Rismon and a defense that seems to get better each and every week, who is to say how far Havre can go come the Class A playoffs.

Senior night is always a memorable night and it was made even more memorable by the fact that Havre won a conference championship. But the real legacy of this senior class and its senior season will be written in the next few weeks, yet for one night at least, this year’s seniors got a chance to reflect and enjoy being alone at the top.