Comeback in the Corral

Sometimes, to change a football game, all that’s needed is one big play. Yet, in order to win a football game, it often takes making a few more, and Friday night at Blue Pony Stadium, the Havre High football team made just enough plays to upend Miles City.

Facing a 12-0 deficit and with an offense that was stagnant for much of the game, the Ponies turned to their passing game. And quarterback Trey Murphy, along with a pair of his receivers, Michael Loftus and Isaac Warp. delivered.

Murphy connected with both Loftus and Warp for touchdowns in the fourth quarter, first finding Loftus for 85 yards, then Warp for 38, on a 4th-and-7, to put Havre in front 13-12 late in the fourth quarter. Then, the Blue Pony defense did the rest, holding the Cowboys scoreless the rest of the way and sending their Eastern A rivals home with a heartbreaking one-point defeat.

“Our student-athletes really played a great game,” HHS head coach Ryan Gatch said. “Miles City is a really good football team, but our kids just kept fighting and kept battling. We faced some adversity, adversity that we have not faced yet this season and the kids really responded to that and they made some big plays when they needed to.”

Did they ever.

Coming out of halftime, the game was scoreless and even though Havre started the third quarter with the ball, the Ponies would generate next to nothing offensively in the stanza, punting the ball three times.

Miles City on the other hand, got on the board midway through the third, when Gabe Gundlach found Tyler Burk in the end zone on a 17-yard scoring strike that put the Cowboys in front 6-0 with 6:04 left in the stanza.

Less than five minutes of game time later, the Cowboys struck again as Jacob Morris scored from 11 yards out, giving Miles City a 12-0 advantage to start the fourth quarter.

With the Ponies down 12-0 and the Cowboys again driving on their side of the field, it seemed like Miles City was about the put the nail in the coffin. Yet, the Havre defense forced a punt, giving Murphy and the offense another chance to get back in it.

“That was a big stop for us,” Gatch said. “It was different for our kids because Miles City was scoring and gashing us a little bit. But we stood up and said that was it and held them out the rest of the game. I was proud of the kids for that.”

With the football at its own 15-yard line and desperately in need of spark, Havre went to its spread package (1RB, 4WR) and it immediately paid dividends as Murphy found a wide-open Loftus, who juggled the ball, then secured and scampered 85 yards for the score to make it 12-7 with 10:27 to go.

“Coach (Scott) Leeds told me if they have a single high safety then they are coming (blitzing),” Murphy said. “And I saw that so I checked to a pick play and that turned out to be a good call by Coach Leeds.”

The play gave the Ponies exactly what they needed — momentum. And on the next defensive series, they got even more of it.

After Miles City got a first down thanks to a pass interference penalty, the Havre defense rose to the occasion, forcing a fumble and giving the offense the football back in Cowboys’ territory.

However, a fumbled snap that pushed Havre back into a 3rd-and-23 situation made things look bleak. But all that was needed was another big play and this time, Warp would be the one to make it.

First, Murphy found Warp, who made a nifty one-handed catch for 16 yards, which made it a manageable 4th-and-7. Then, on the next play, Murphy threw one down the right sideline and Warp, a senior, came down with it, then avoided tacklers before diving into the end zone to put Havre ahead 13-12, with just 5:52 remaining.

The play turned out to be the game winner.

“I was just trying to help my team out and get the W,” Warp said. “That’s all that matters.”

“It wasn’t a very good throw,” Murphy added. “It was a back shoulder throw and he made a bit of an adjustment, it was a great catch. The whole time, we were just preaching ‘finish what you started.’ We are a tight group and we just kept thinking, finish. That was something Coach Gatch really stressed to us.”

Murphy may have only completed three passes in the final stanza, but they went for a total of 139 yards and two touchdowns. It also gave the signal caller a memorable come-from-behind win in his first home start.

“We are just a mentally tough team,” Murphy said, “and we never quit. We just kept fighting.”

Finally with the lead, the Pony defense went to work keeping it. And just 41 seconds after the Warp touchdown, senior linebacker Jase Stokes tipped a Miles City pass up to himself and intercepted it, giving Havre the ball back.

“They had been running the screen all game,” Stokes said. “And I knew they were coming back to the middle sometime, so I just read it and got a hand on it.”

Yet, the Havre defense would need to hold two more times. On the next Miles City possession, Warp came away with an interception, but after the Ponies failed to score, the Cowboys had one last chance.

Miles City advanced the ball near midfield as the seconds ticked away, but with 18 ticks to go, the Ponies forced a turnover on downs, which allowed the Havre offense to line up in the victory formation.

“Loftus had that huge catch and then Isaac made some big catches and was breaking tackles,” Stokes said. “It was awesome and that helped us get the momentum back and then our defense was able to get rolling.”

Stokes, who has been the bell cow for the Havre offense, with 431 rushing yards in the first two games, was held in check, at least offensively and was held to 43 yards on 20 carries. That paved the way for Murphy, who threw for 236 yards and two touchdowns. Loftus also had two receptions for 115 yards, while Warp added five for 95.

Stokes may not have had the best numbers running the ball, but his effort defensively was first rate. He led a defense that forced a total of five turnovers and finished the game with six tackles, a sack, an interception, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery. Dane Flammond also added 10 tackles and Chris Gabrielsen had four tackles, two tackles for loss and a blocked kick. Brady Ophus also pitched in with two tackles and an interception for Havre.

The win got Havre to 3-0 and ends a two-game losing streak to the Cowboys, but at the end of the day, for Havre, the thinking is already of the next game, which is this Friday night in Sidney.

“I don’t think I have seen our kids play this hard,” Gatch said. “So that was really nice to see. I am sure Miles City is going to be disappointed by some of the things they left on the field. They are a good team, a traditional power and this was a big win for us. You could see on the kids’ faces that it meant a lot to them and they played like it.”

Ponies 13, Miles City 12

Miles City 0 0 12 0 – 12

Havre 0 0 0 13 – 13

MC-Tyler Buck 17 pass from Gabe Gundlach (kick blocked)

MC-Jacob Morris 12 run (run failed)

HAV-Michael Loftus 85 pass from Trey Murphy (Jase Stokes kick)

HAV-Isaac Warp 38 pass from Murphy (run failed)

Havre Indidivual stats

Passing - Trey Murphy, 12-20, 236.

Rushing - Jase Stokes, 20-43.

Receiving - Michael Loftus, 2-115, Isaac Warp, 5-95, Nate Korb 2-14, Jacob LaBrie 1-15, Jase Stokes 1-1, Mason Dionne, 1 - minus 4.