Ponies thump another set of Bulldogs

The Havre High football team was looking forward to the challenge of playing a much-improved Hardin team on the road. Yet, it didn’t take long to see, for the Blue Ponies, it wouldn’t be much of a challenge at all.

For the second straight week, behind a dominant running game and an unrelenting defense, the Blue Ponies battered their opponent into submission with an old-school style of football.

And for the second straight week, Havre won because of it, this time besting the Hardin Bulldogs 31-0 in Hardin.

“I was really happy with our performance,” HHS head coach Ryan Gatch said. “I really thought that we were able to control the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball and that was a huge key for us.”

Of course, playing old-school football only works if you have the right players and in that regard, it sure helps to have Jase Stokes.

The senior, who rushed for 281 yards in the season-opener against Whitefish, had another stellar day against Hardin, toting the rock 20 times for 151 yards. He also found paydirt three times, giving him a total of six touchdowns and 432 rushing yards in two games.

“He had another pretty solid game running the football,” Gatch said of Stokes.

Although Stokes carried the bulk of the load for the Havre offense, the Ponies struck first thanks to the right arm of Trey Murphy, who found Jacob LaBrie for a 27-yard touchdown pass, which put Havre up 6-0 in the first quarter.

In the second quarter, as the Havre defense dominated, Stokes gave his team a little cushion going into halftime as he scored from 10 yards out to put HHS in 12-0 at the break.

In the third quarter, Havre began to pull away and, following a pair of third-quarter touchdown runs by Stokes, one from four yards out and another from one, the Ponies held a commanding 25-0 lead.

In the fourth quarter, Havre continued to run the football and Hardin still could not stop it. And to cap things off, freshman halfback Mason Dionne scored his first career touchdown on a two-yard run, which put the finishing touches on another solid outing for the Ponies.

“I think that we did some really good things,” Gatch said. “Each week is a challenge, but I like the way that our guys are performing right now.”

Certainly, it’s pretty easy to win football games when the opposing team can’t score and through two games, the Havre defense has proven to be quite stingy.

Thus far, the Ponies have allowed just six points and after holding Hardin to just 121 total yards, (Whitefish had 153 a week ago), the Ponies are only allowing 137 per game, to go along with an average of three points.

“I think we are still a work in progress,” Gatch said. “We are starting to find our identity, but each week is a new test.”

In addition to holding the Bulldogs to just 121 yards, Havre also forced two turnovers. Stokes led the way for Havre with four unassisted tackles on defense, he finished with a total of nine. Dionne had a total of 12 tackles (2 solo), while Chris Gabrielsen also had a stellar game, notching six tackles (2 solo) and one tackle for loss. Austin Ratliff contributed with five tackles (1 solo) and a fumble recovery.

While a dominant defense was a big part of Havre’s winning formula, so was a ball-control offense that centered on the ground game. Stokes carried the ball 20 times, but Dionne added 13 carries for 34 and Murphy had five for four, giving the Ponies a total of 38 rushing attempts.

As a passer, Murphy didn’t put up big numbers, but he was solid, completing 4-of-10 passes for 80 yards. He also threw one touchdown and one interception.

“I thought that Trey did a nice job,” Gatch said. “I think his numbers would have been better if we didn’t have a couple of dropped passes, but he a had a good game for us.”

Michael Loftus made a big play in his first game back, catching one pass for 35 yards. Stokes hauled in one pass for nine yards as did Nate Korb.

The Ponies (2-0) will finally be in Havre this Friday, hosting Miles City in the team’s first home game of the season. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. inside Blue Pony Stadium.

“Miles City is a really good football team,” Gatch said. “We watched the film on them and they are good. So it’s going to be a good challenge for us. But, I am glad that we get this one at home after being on the road the past couple of weeks.”

Havre 31, Hardin 0

Havre 6 6 13 6 – 31

Hardin 0 0 0 0 – 0

HAV-Jacob LaBrie 27 pass from Trey Murphy (run failed)

HAV-Jase Stokes 10 run (pass failed)

HAV-Stokes 4 run (kick failed)

HAV-Stokes 1 run (Stokes kick)

HAV-Mason Dionne 2 run (kick failed)

Havre Individual Stats

Passing - Trey Murphy, 4-10, 80 yards.

Rushing - Jase Stokes, 20-151; Mason Dionne 13-34; Trey Murphy 5-4.

Receiving - Michael Loftus, 1-35, Jacob LaBrie 1-27, Jase Stokes, 1-9, Nate Korb 1-9.