Ryan Gatch named head football coach at Havre High

After a lengthy search, the Havre High football team finally has its new head coach and his name is Ryan Gatch.

If Gatch sounds familiar to Havre football fans, it's because he should, following a coaching stint at Montana State University-Northern in 2004, he was a finalist for the Lights' head coaching job in 2014, before MSU-N offered the post to Aaron Christensen.

Yet, after coaching Class B Forsyth this past season, the opportunity to return to Havre emerged, after the departure of former HHS head coach Mark Samson. So when Havre High activities director Dennis Murphy offered Gatch the job recently, he said it was an opportunity too good to pass up.

"I am excited about it," Gatch said. "It's a nice feeling to have an opportunity to go somewhere where there is a lot of pride in the community and a strong tradition, not just in football, but in all sports."

Murphy recommended Gatch for approval to the school board, but the earliest that will come is at next Tuesday's school board meeting. Until then, the hire is pending.

Gatch, a native Montanan, played high school football at Colstip and was an All-Conference player for Dickinson State University. He has coached in five different college programs, including MSU-N, DSU, Minot State, Chadron State and Northern State. And before becoming the head coach at Forsyth last season, he was the head coach at Lead-Deadwood High School in South Dakota.

"I love Montana football," Gatch said. "Whether it's Class AA, Class A, Class B or Class C. I have always been a big fan of Class A football and I am excited to take over a program that has been a traditional power. It's a program that gets tremendous support and I know how excited the community is and how prideful they are about football."

Gatch will take over a program that has been without a leader since February, when Sampson announced he was going to Great Falls High. However, he inherits a Pony team that has 16 players returning from a team that went 8-3 a season ago and won the Central A Conference championship.

"I don't remember anyone ever saying that Havre doesn't have it in football," Gatch said. "I remember when I played (in the 1990s), the Ponies were always good. Havre has always been one of the traditional powers in football if you ask me and I think it's one of the best Class A jobs out there."

Gatch said in terms of offense and defense, he needs to evaluate his players before deciding what he wants to do. Yet, he did promise that his teams would emphasize speed and physicality.

"I think Havre kids are physical kids, so that's a good thing to have," Gatch said. "I think offensively, I am versatile. We want to do some different things with formations and motions to try and confuse the defense and create some mismatches. But, when people look at our football team, they are going to say we are fast and physical. Those are two things we are really going to work towards."

The coach, who has moved around and been apart of the profession for nearly two decades, said he thought the community of Havre was a perfect fit for his family and that he couldn't wait to get started.

"Havre is just a great community," Gatch said. "The people are really great. I noticed that when I coached at Northern (in 2004) and again last year, my wife and I noticed that when I interviewed for the Northern job. I think it's the perfect place for me and my family."

Gatch said he was also excited about Friday nights this fall at Blue Pony Stadium.

"Friday nights are special everywhere in Montana," Gatch said. "But I know they are really special up in Havre."