PONY PLAYOFF POWER

Leading up to Havre's Class A quarterfinal playoff game with Columbia Falls, head coach Mark Samson talked about how his team needed to play four good quarters of football. Well, when it was all said and done Saturday, it's safe to say Havre did exactly that.

On a warm, blustery day at Blue Pony Stadium, the Central A champions demolished Columbia Falls 47-13 in quite possibly the team's best performance of the season. HHS dominated in all three phases of a game that was never really in doubt. The Blue Ponies will now face defending state champion Dillon on the road this Saturday in the Class A semifinals.

"I think that this was the best I have seen this team play all year," Samson said. "I am really proud of all of these kids. They all played great and it was just a great team win. We really played well on offense, defense and special teams.

"I am really happy for them," he added. "All they have wanted is a chance to play against one of the best teams in the state and they have that chance now."

Havre has that chance in large part thanks to quarterback Dane Warp, who put together an immaculate performance in the win.

Yet, it did take the Pony offense a couple of drives to get going.

Early in the first quarter, a failed fake punt gave Columbia Falls a red zone opportunity, but a Logan Pleninger interception foiled the Wildcats' scoring chance. Then, on the ensuing Havre drive, the Ponies faced a third-and-16 from their own nine.

That's when Warp found Parker Filius for a gain of 72 yards. Three plays later, Warp would finish the drive with a nine-yard touchdown run, putting HHS in front 7-0.

"We just have playmakers," Warp said of the team's penchant for big plays on third down. "We want to win and we want to score on every drive, and we aren't going to give up just because it's third down."

After a Columbia Falls punt on its next possession, Havre took over at its own 23 yard-line, and it took just five plays for the Ponies to cover 77 yards as Warp found Nate Rismon for a 33-yard touchdown to make the score 14-0.

The touchdown came on a play-action pass that was set up after three runs on the drive for 39 yards, including a 22-yard scamper from Jase Stokes the play before the touchdown pass.

"Jase and Jazz (Schroeder) were running great," Rismon said. "That helps keep the defense off balance and they don't really know what we are going to do. That helps open things up a lot."

It got worse for Columbia Falls before it got better as the Wildcats fumbled the ensuing kickoff and Havre recovered, putting the Ponies in position to put a stranglehold on the game.

Four plays later, on third-and-seven, Warp found Rismon, who made a spectacular 21-yard touchdown reception. At that point, Havre led 21-0.

"We have been waiting for two weeks to play these guys," Rismon said. "So to beat them and take it to them feels great."

Columbia Falls did creep back into things with a 65-yard touchdown strike from Dakota Bridwell to Austin Green to make the score 21-7. But before the two teams adjourned for halftime, Warp scored on a six-yard touchdown run to give the Ponies a 28-7 lead.

"We had a good game plan going in," Warp said. "We just took advantage of what defense they were in."

In the third quarter, a fumble at the Wildcat's two-yard line kept more points off the board for Havre, but the Pony defense, which had four takeaways in the win, stood strong and got the ball back to Warp and the offense with good field position.

Then, after a 26-yard pass from Warp to brother Isaac Warp to convert a third-and-13 from the 28, Jazz Schroder walked into the end zone from two yards out to give Havre a 35-7 advantage.

On its next drive, the Havre offense continued its dominance and this time, Stokes got in on the act, taking a Warp pass 31 yards for a score to extend the lead to 41-7.

"Played pretty good didn't he?" Samson said of his quarterback. "He made some plays with his feet that kept plays alive. He had that one fumble, but other than that, he did everything right."

It seemed like Warp and the Ponies could do no wrong. Even after a Columbia Falls touchdown shrunk the lead to 41-13, HHS had the answer.

On the ensuing kickoff, Filius put an exclamation point on the win, as he weaved through tacklers for an 85-yard touchdown. The return came with 10:40 to go in the fourth quarter and made the final margin 47-13.

Warp was stellar in the win for Havre, accounting for five total touchdowns, three passing and two rushing. He also completed 12-of-14 passes for 249 yards and ran nine times for 43 yards.

"We are just looking forward to Dillon now," Warp said. "They are a solid team. We are going to put in some work this week and hopefully come out and do what we did (Saturday)."

Rismon hauled in two receptions for 54 yards and two touchdowns, while Stokes, Schroeder and Filius each scored as well. Filius also contributed with two receptions for 92 yards.

One of the most encouraging things about the win for Havre was its ability to run the football. Stokes carried the rock 16 times for 105 yards. He also caught five passes for 72 yards. As a team, Havre ran for more than 180 yards and for the game averaged more than 4.5 yards a carry.

"Our offensive line did a great job," Stokes said. "They are working really hard and I think they are starting to believe they can get that good push against anybody.

"I thought the offensive line really played well," Samson said. "We ran the ball the way that we hoped to. A lot of people have overlooked our line and I thought they played great. They blocked to the whistle and that helped Jase have a great game."

Defensively, Havre held Columbia Falls to just 274 total yards and 84 yards on the ground. The Ponies recovered three fumbles, intercepted a pass and had two sacks. Stokes led the way individually for the defense with 11 tackles, two for loss. Tyler Schaub had four tackles and two sacks, while Rismon had six tackles and three passes defensed.

"Our defense did a great job," Samson said. "Holding them to only 13 points, that's pretty good. I'll take that."

The win was Havre's first in the playoffs since 2013 and advances the Ponies to the semifinals for the first time since 2011. The only hurdle that remains between Havre and hosting the Class A state title game is Dillon. The two teams will meet in Dillon this Saturday. Kickoff will be at 1 p.m.

"We are one of the four elite teams in Class A football," Samson said. "All these kids have wanted is a chance to play a team like Dillon and I told them after the game, 'if we want to be the best, we have to beat the best.'"

Blue Ponies 47, Wildcats 13

Columbia Falls 0 7 0 6 – 13

Havre 7 21 13 6 – 47

First Quarter

H – Dane Warp nine run (PAT Good)

Second Quarter

H – Rismon 33 pass from Warp (PAT Good)

H – Rismon 21 pass from Warp (PAT Good)

CF - Austin Green from 65 pass from Dakota Bridwell (PAT Good)

H – Warp six run (PAT Good)

Third Quarter

H – Jazz Schroeder two run (PAT Good)

H – Jase Stokes 31 pass from Warp (PAT No Good)

Fourth Quarter

CF – Sean Hoener 12 pass from Bridwell (PAT No Good)

H – Parker FIlius 85 yard kickoff return (PAT No Good)

Havre Individual Stats

Passing – Dane Warp, 12-14 243.

Rushing – Jase Stokes 16-105, Dane Warp 9-43, Jake Sedahl 1-26, Jazz Schroeder 13-13.

Receiving – Jase Stokes 5-72, Parker Filius 2-92, Nate Rismon 2-54, Isaac Warp 3-44.