Pony Extra: New stars step up in win over Cowboys

One of the great things about high school football is that every year, new stars emerge. And Friday night, in Havre’s 13-12 win over Miles City at Blue Pony Stadium, there were a slew of them that burst onto the scene.

For all intents and purposes, at least as far as Havre is concerned, all the defining moments of the Blue Ponies’ come-from-behind win over their Eastern A rival, came in the fourth quarter. The first of those just came over a minute into the final stanza when Trey Murphy, a first-year starting quarterback, found Michael Loftus for an 85-yard touchdown pass.

Before the play, Havre trailed 12-0. It hadn’t gotten a first down since the second quarter and it was in desperate need of a spark. Loftus, a track star who didn’t even play football last season, provided it.

“That play was a little exciting,” HHS head coach Ryan Gatch said. “Michael had to catch it a couple of times, but once he did, he was gone. He has really come in and done a great job for us. He’s doing the right things in practice and he has been a great leader.”

For the game, Loftus made two receptions and finished with 115 yards. But he wasn’t the only Pony receiver to have a dramatic impact on the game — Isaac Warp did as well.

Of course, the name Warp is synonymous with Havre football, but against Miles City, it was Isaac, not Dane Warp, who was the star of the show.

“He will always have his place here,” Isaac Warp said of his famous older brother. “This is just one game for me, I am just happy we won.”

The senior wide receiver, who battled injuries throughout his junior season, showed he has plenty of good football ahead of him. And while he made some huge plays in the fourth quarter, the truth is that he was a key figure throughout the game against the Cowboys.

Late in the second quarter, Warp made two key receptions on a Havre drive, one on a third down that gave HHS a first-and-goal at the eight-yard line. Unfortunately, Havre failed to score and turned it over on downs.

Warp has played well from the safety spot all season long, but against the Cowboys, he was particularly active. And he would cap off his defensive performance with a key fourth-quarter interception that helped the Ponies salt away the win.

“He was all over the place,” Gatch said. “He’s a good football player. He does so many good things in practice, we know what he’s capable of doing, but it was really nice to see that hard work pay off for him like that.”

Yet, the biggest play he made, came with just under six minutes remaining in the game. Facing a 4th-and-7 and a five-point deficit, Murphy lofted a pass up the right sideline and Warp jumped up and made the spectacular catch, then alluded a pair of tacklers before diving into the end zone.

“I was just trying to help my team out,” Warp said.

“I knew Isaac was one-on-one and I just trusted him,” Murphy said. “He made a great adjustment to the ball.”

He certainly did, but while it was a big night for Warp and Loftus, it was also a big night for Murphy, who put to rest any doubt about who will be the Ponies’ starting quarterback for the foreseeable future.

In the first two games of the season, Murphy was solid. He threw a couple of interceptions, but he tossed a touchdown, too. And in the most important category, wins, he was 2-0. He managed the game and with the way Jase Stokes was running the ball, he didn’t have to do much with his arm for the Ponies to win.

Friday night, it was a completely different story. Stokes was stymied and the vaunted Havre running game couldn’t gain any traction. In the third quarter, Stokes, who had 431 yards in the previous two games, managed four carries for -1 yards in the third quarter.

So head coach Ryan Gatch went to four wide receivers and put the game in the hands of his quarterback. And all Murphy did was throw for 139 yards and two touchdowns in the final stanza, including back-to-back touchdown drives that vaulted Havre into the lead, and ultimately the win.

“I think this will give us a lot of confidence,” Murphy said. “I have a lot of great players around me and I have a lot of confidence in them.

“It was real big,” Gatch said of the junior QB. “That was a big confidence builder for him. Miles City had a great game plan coming in and they shut down our running game. Trey made some outstanding throws. He made an audible on one of the touchdowns, he’s a smart player and that’s just the kind of quarterback he is.”

The season is still in its early stages and while Havre is 3-0, the Ponies haven’t achieved anything in terms of the playoff race. But, there is no doubt that new playmakers are emerging for Havre and if more can emerge like Murphy, Warp and Loftus already have, HHS looks to be a dangerous team in Class A football.